Technical Diver Training
Becoming a technical diver is not a trivial decision. You need to acquire some real-world experience to be fully competent while doing conventional recreational diving in different water conditions before attempting staged decompression, switching breathing gases, and dealing with the rigours of more complex dive plans.
Simply put, there is no quick way to safe technical diving, only time underwater and many hours of practice are the correct entry into these courses. In addition, each of us has to be sure that we understand and are perfectly happy with the risk/benefit equation when we venture a little deeper for a little longer.
But, if you are ready for that commitment, you will find our technical diving programs are designed to bring your diving to a completely new level. They will challenge you, but you’ll have the benefit of being coached by some of the most experienced technical diving instructors in the industry.
As a result, your skills will be polished, your diving planning will be thorough, your teamwork and awareness will be sharpened… you’ll be the best you can be, more comfortable than ever before, and you’ll have more fun diving visiting places off the beaten track. We’re there to support you from your first dive to advanced rebreather and cave. That is The RAID Way™.
This Is Technical Diving
Technical diving has never been a straight forward thing to define. At one time, using nitrox was considered the gateway to technical diving, and of course now, RAID OW20 students can use nitrox during their checkout dives. Another early definition was diving with any equipment other than the traditional jacket BCD and a single cylinder, and now some students opt to take RAID core recreational programs in a sidemount rig.
Perhaps the only constant is that by its nature, technical diving may expose the diver to hazards beyond those normally associated with recreational diving, and to a greater risk of serious injury or death. And the whole point of technical diver training is to reduce risk by developing appropriate skills, knowledge and experience, and by using suitable equipment and procedures. The skills may be developed through appropriate specialized training and experience. The equipment often involves breathing gases other than air or standard nitrox mixtures, and multiple gas sources.
