We have built IDS based upon this term and it is something that reflects our core
beliefs about the world of Scuba diving today.
Scuba diving enjoys an ever growing popularity around the world. It is sold as a
fun, easy and safe sport that anyone can do with a small amount of training.
While we agree with this statement as a generalization, this attitude has been
pushed so hard by the diving periodicals and the certification associations in an
attempt to capture the never ending array of consumers for the dive industry.
What is Tec-Reational diving?
Tec-Reational Diving is, simple put, the practice of applying Technical diving
principals to Recreational diving. It is the gray area between the two disciplines
as the Missing Link is between the Ape and the Human Being. It is exploiting
technical skills to make recreational dives safer and more enjoyable for the
average person. It is having the right equipment, redundant back-ups and the
right skills to respond to any situation that may arise underwater and the calm
frame of mind to handle those events as the develop.
What Tec-Reational diving is not!
Tec-Reational diving is NOT exceeding the recreational diving limits without the
training, skill and equipment that is necessary for such diving. Exceeding these
limits without proper training or gear is NOT technical or Tec-Reational diving - it
is just stupid. So keep that in mind...
Tec-Reational Equipment
Tec-Reational diving builds upon the equipment that is used in recreational
diving. It uses the standard regulator/octopus setup, along with a dive computer.
This computer can be air integrated or be separate with a submersible pressure
gauge to monitor pressure. Tec-Reational diving, as with recreational diving,
relies on the buddy system as the primary back-up in the event of underwater air
loss or regulator malfunction.
In addition to the standard recreational setup, additional pieces of equipment are
used. A knife and a separate line cutter are necessities. These are not weapons,
as much of the world thinks, but tools. These should be carried on all dives and if
your dive operator demands that you remove them for a dive, then you should
demand another dive operator. The Tec-Reational diver knows when and when
not to use these tools.
The Tec-Reational diver carries a surface marker buoy and a twenty foot length
of rope on all dives. This is useful for safety stops in a current as well as marking
your position in the event that you are separated from the boat.
Spare Air and Pony bottles are common pieces of equipment for Tec-Reational
divers, as are Independent Twins. These additional air sources are there for
emergencies (with the exception of Independent Twins). They are not intended to
increase bottom time on a dive!
In Tec-Reational diving, the diver's gear is configured similar to technical diving.
Hoses are streamlined, objects are put in pockets or on belts and nothing is left
dangling from the diver. Computers that drag through the sand, regulators that
bounce across coral and cameras that float above a diver's head have no place
in Tec-Reational diving. These are hazards and should be eliminated before
hitting the water.
Tec-Reational Divers and Training
The majority of divers in the world receive their Open Water certification and then
never pursue additional training or certification. Tec-Reational diving involves the
diver being trained for the environment in which they dive. While this may seem
simplistic, one can imagine how often a diver sees a wreck, cave or deep wall and
decides to dive it without concern for the training that is required to prepare them
for such an environment. Nitrox, Deep and Wreck specialties are a must for a
Tec-Reational diver. Some may argue against this but there is just no argument
for being prepared and properly trained for any reasonable diving environment
within the recreational diving limits.
A Tec-Reational diver has a different attitude than the average recreational diver.
They stay calm under stress. They know that problems under water must be
fixed underwater and they do not shoot for the surface when a situation becomes
uncomfortable.
Who are Tec-Reational Divers
Tec-Reational divers are usually technical divers who happen to be diving
recreationally. But as technical diving expands and grows, the Tec-Reational
concept is growing. This form of diving is not for everyone but is embraced by
those with an adventurous attitude and a calm frame of mind. It is not intended to
be a new certification level or an elite status. It is simply an attitude - a different
approach to the fun diving that we do recreationally. It is knowing one's limits,
being prepared for every situation and having fun while doing so.
