Essential of Tech

Description

The UTD essential of tech course gives every diver an opportunity to learn the personal diving skills needed to participate in a unified team, and be safe and in control while in the water finning around as a DIR “thinking diver.” A marked improvement in one’s abilities, one’s comfort in the water and safety, which are very important even if one does not intend to continue with the technical courses. You stay in trim effortlessly, move with greater precision and with less effort, reduce fuel consumption and interact effectively with your team. The control of some technical aspects of the dive becomes simpler and more automatic, so you have more time to enjoy the dive itself and better respect the environment. Furthermore, the skills necessary to face the subsequent courses concerning technical diving are acquired.

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What you’ll learn

Main topics: knowledge of technical diving equipment, dive planning and in-water checks, accurate management of buoyancy and trim (bank), awareness and attention to the dive team and the environment, various types of kicking including reverse and rotation in place (helicopter), gas sharing by means of the long hose, use of the twin cylinder and manipulation of the taps, laying and retrieving the guideline, launching and recovering the peg, introduction to cylinder management decompression, recovery of a diver intoxicated by O2.

How it’s done

Eight hours of daily lessons including theory, dry exercises and diving at depths within 18 metres. The dives are videotaped and reviewed in the classroom at the end of the day. Maximum 3 students per instructor during in-water sessions. The gas normally used is air or Nitrox 32.

Duration

The Essential of Tech course lasts four days full time. After registering on the UTD website, you will receive a dropbox link where you can download demonstration videos, slides and articles.

Prerequisites

• At least 16 years of age;
• advanced level recreational certification;
• Nitrox certification,
• medical certificate
• Must be able to swim a distance of at least 50 feet/15 meters on a breath hold.
• Must be able to swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 14 minutes without stopping.

Before starting

Check that you have the necessary equipment available:

• https://media.wix.com/ugd/cb6828_d92c40e70cb54a3eb1647f8aa45dad78.pdf
• https://media.wix.com/ugd/cb6828_a8f716f34f4c40af83c9a56ac67b52f2.pdf

Note: at Argentario Divers you will find all the equipment you will need for the course. Contact your UTD instructor before purchasing equipment.

Optional extensions

• Sidemount (if the course was carried out in Backmount configuration)
• Backmount (if the course was carried out in Sidemount configuration)

Recommended reading:

UTD student and diver procedures handbook.

Included: some extra-course materials, equipment rental, certification and dives.

Not included: teaching material  to be purchased on the UTD website and Nitrox fills.