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serious the injury, the more public the event and exposure crowning the exploits of the individual and scorning the endeavours of the sport. Pushing the limits to extend your own ego is looking for problems. Pushing the limits slowly to explore your own depth is the wise diver. The old saying, “there are old divers and there are bold divers, but there are few old, bold divers,” is so adept. My advice? Push the limits in small steps over time.


Pieter Smith


Do not start technical diving too soon – give yourself at least +100 dives and in various conditions/places and depths. 1. Ensure that you link up with a competent instructor that not only just wants to finish the course but is willing and able to dive with you and to coach you well after the official training programme – as technical diving becomes a way of life.


2. Ensure you have the time, means and correct gear to qualify as a technical diver, and more importantly, to continue and grow further in technical diving after the course – it is a continuous learning curve and skills tuning journey, with initial training just a very small portion of it.


3. Dive regularly with your technical gear and especially depth, skills and drills to stay technically diving ‘fit’.


4. Read, Google, discuss and share knowledge so that you stay in tune with techniques and technology and to contribute towards the sport.


5. Cave diving requires dedication from you in that you must dive caves regularly and not just one cave, but different caves (I dive one to two times per month). 6. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it!


Peter Herbst


So you want to start tech diving and don’t know where to start… or what to do, or how to go about it? Here are three easy steps”


Step one: Have access to funds, and I mean lots of funds. Tech is expensive, good gear is expensive (and no, you cannot use that reg you bought on ‘special’) and good training is expensive. The old adage of ‘you get what


you pay for’ is very true… Some people shop price and some people shop quality – tech is definitely a possibility for the latter but should not be attempted by the former. Having said that, just buying the most expensive gear is not the answer either! Step two: Ask around, but not your buddy with five dives more than you… Speak to different tech instructors, like your instructor and trust him/her. Then listen to what they say – you are paying a lot of money, not just for the training but also for the advice (see step one!) while doing training – and one sure way of really rubbing your instructor the wrong way is to buy exactly what he told you not to. Step three: Dive and dive a lot – fresh water, salt water, swimming pool… it doesn’t matter, live in the water and become very familiar with equipment malfunctions and get to know yourself underwater. Too many divers are chasing depth too soon in their diving careers – they either lose nerve or worse, lose their lives… and don’t make a mistake, people do die scuba diving. You might just not always hear about it!


Pieter Venter


It is dangerous, take care. If possible, do your technical courses at more than one trusted training organisation. No one training organisation is perfect, so keep an open mind and read a lot. Beware of people marketing their brand as the ‘only’ way to dive. Dive with buddies with your skill level, who are safe and who you can trust. Take baby steps and do build-up dives towards deep dives. Check and double check your gas mixes before a dive. Use two mixed gas computers or have a bailout table. Get used to your set-up and stick with it for most of your diving. Keep your dive set-up simple.


Make no more than one change to your diving set-up before a dive. If you are prepared and ready, deep dives are as stressful as a 10m dive on a tropical reef. If you feel more stress, then be better prepared next time. Buy good diving gear that can be used for technical diving and do your homework before you buy. Get to know your buddies equipment and dive set-up. Follow the deep, wreck and cave dive rules established over years of experience. Keep on learning. Most of all, have fun. If it is not fun, why do it?


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