New TecRec Training Materials

Tec Diver Course Instructor Guide
(includes newly revised instructor guide and instructor appendix CD-ROM)
- replaces 70407 Tec Deep Inst. Guide
Product # 70605

Tec 40-45-50 Instructor Slates Set
Newly-revised 19 slate set, coil-bound and printed on “wet notes.”
- replaces 60204 Tec Deep Inst. Cue Cards
Product # 60420

Tec Diver Course Lesson Guides CD-ROM
- replaces 70838 Tec Deep Lesson Guides
Product # 70913

Tec Trimix Instructor Guide
(includes instructor guide and Tec Trimix 65 addendum)
If you already own the Tec Trimix Instructor Guide, please contact PADI Training regarding the revisions. Product # 70430

Exams
Tec 40 student exam (product # 71040)
Tec 45 student exam (product # 71045)
Tec 50 student exam (product # 71050)

Blank answer sheets and answer keys are in the Tec Diver Instructor Guide and will be available soon on the PADI Pros site.

The instructor-level exams have changed. If you are a TecRec Instructor Trainer please contact PADI for details.

Unchanged Items
None of the student materials have changed for any of the courses.
No changes to the Equipment Set-Up DVD.

Gas Blender: none of the Gas Blender materials have changed. The instructor guide is now in a new binder so it matches the other guides, but the content is unchanged.

Tec Trimix: students use the Tec Trimix student exam for the Tec Trimix 65 course. Instructors can continue to use the same Trimix Lesson Guides.

Promotional

The new TecRec ‘Go Beyond’ brochure is product # 19205.

If you have any questions about implementing the new courses, the changes that have taken place, or becoming a PADI TecRec instructor or diver, contact your local PADI TDD Technical Consultant.

Tek Chicks

Article by Ayesha Cantrell, TecRec Instructor, of Thailand Technical Diving

Female technical divers certainly seem to be in the minority and I always seem to be stuck on a boat with guys comparing hose length and discussing penetration. Imagine how happy I was to teach my first female student and have an all girls tech team. That prompted me to try and understand why there are considerably less of us and maybe break down some of the barriers.

By training as a technical diver you are agreeing to accept the increased risks that come from exceeding the no decompression limit. Females are naturally more cautious which I believe is part of what inhibits their participation yet ironically caution is a strong trait in any good technical diver.

You might also be concerned about all the gear, its weight and your physical strength. There is a lot of gear and yes it’s heavier than your recreational kit but I’m all of 5 foot and I manage. I’m certainly not skipping around the deck but I can giant stride off with 4 tanks. Once you’re in the water the kit becomes more manageable – the same as your recreational kit does. And here’s the inside scoop…yes there’s more of it but it’s no more technical than your recreational kit. If you understand how that works then you’ll understand this. Your kit, simply put, is doubled. You take 2 of everything, just to be sure, rather like a handbag really!

The pre-requisites of technical training mean that you are already quite an experienced diver and unless you are a dive professional tec training will be the most intensive course you have taken since your rescue course. This in itself could leave any diver a little intimidated but at this level it’s likely that you have been conducting your own dives for a while and have a good understanding of dive theory too. We teach you the rest …remember…if we were fish then we wouldn’t need to take a course, so don’t be frightened about learning something new!

Technical diving deepens your understanding of dive theory and really sharpens your techniques underwater. Courses are actually split too so that you don’t have to commit to the full thing. A basic technical course will broaden your skills and knowledge as well as giving you the opportunity to decide if you want to continue to full decompression diving.

It doesn’t actually seem that long ago that ladies were in the minority on recreational boats and I hope the numbers of tec chicks will increase too. But please don’t make me wait too long as I really need to have a serious conversation about crotch straps.

DEMA TecRec Seminars a Success

Two seminars were conducted at the DEMA show in Orlando, USA on the 4th and 5th November; one on the future of CCRs in the recreational field and one explaining the range of new TecRec courses. Although they were conducted in 100 seat rooms, they were both fully subscribed.

In the CCR talk, Mark Caney (Director, Rebreather Technologies in the PADI TDD) explored what is needed for these devices to become mainstream tools for recreational divers. Towards the end of his talk he outlined PADI’s policy regarding supervisory staff using rebreathers when running PADI courses. This new policy, which comes into being in the first quarter of 2010, essentially states that staff can use CCRs on any dives where indirect supervision is allowed, with certain other limitations.

The second presentation had Steve Mortell, Jeff Loflin and Mark Caney as presenters. Mark outlined the new range of courses, Steve, the TDD Director, Cave Diving, described the new TecRec distinctive specialty options, including Cave Diver. Jeff, an extremely experienced Cave Diving instructor and TecRec IT, explained how sidemount could be a very valid option for open water diving as well as for penetration diving.

An indicator of how the changes to the TecRec range were received was that at the end of the conference, 25 instructors who held other agencies’ technical diving qualifications elected to take the Tec Instructor exam on the spot so that they could take advantage of the new courses.

ISO Gas Blender Standard Under Development

International experts from the diving industries of Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA gathered in Orlando during the last two days to discuss draft ISO standards for diving. One of the standards under negotiation covers the requirements for a Gas Blender rating. This standard is now largely drafted in its initial form and will be moving to the next stage of development.

Tec Instructor Crossover Option in Egypt

As announced earlier, if you’re already an instructor with another technical training organization and would like to certify Tec 40 divers, a free crossover is available through 2009. With this in mind, the dates for three Instructor Crossovers in Egypt have been announced. These will be similar to the event being offered at the DEMA show and will take place in Sharm El Sheikh on the following dates:

• 6th November 2009 am + pm

• 20th November 2009 am + pm

• 14th December 2009 am + pm

Attendance at these Crossovers is free, although registration in advance is compulsory. If you meet the requirements for the crossover (please click here to check) and would like to attend, please contact Terry Johnson via email at terry.johnson@padi.co.uk specifying a preferred date. If you are successful you will then become a TecRec Tec Instructor. Please note that you will need to have purchased your Tec Instructor materials, and have pre-studied them as there is a written standards exam as part of the process. Upon completion of this cross-over programme, attendees will be certified as DSAT Tec Instructors.

Any PADI Instructor who meets the prerequisites may attend – please contact the Training department before registering to check whether your qualifications meet the requirements. There is no fee to attend this crossover programme, but pre-registration is required as spaces are limited.

TecRec Events at the DEMA Show

If you are attending the DEMA show in USA next week, don’t forget there are two seminars about TecRec; on the mornings of the 3rd and 4th of November. For more details, and to learn about the free instructor crossover, see here.

Deep Wrecks Explored in Lebanon

Report by Leigh Cunningham, TecRec Instructor and TDI IT

On the 19^th of September 2009 a team of British, German, Dutch and Lebanese technical divers set out on the quest to dive the HMS Victoria off the coast of Lebanon.

The re-named HMS Victoria was the flagship of the British fleet in the Mediterranean during that late part of the 19^th century. Just off the coat of Lebanon, Admiral Tyron, at the helm of the Victoria, ordered a maneuver in coordination with the HMS Camperdown a few kilometers off the coast of Tripoli (Lebanon).Tragically, admiral Tyron had miscalculated the safe distance between the two mammoth battleships and a collision occurred. On June 22^nd 1893 the HMS Camperdown struck the starboard side of the HMS Victoria, around the coal bunker area causing catastrophic damage, leading to the sinking of the Victoria approximately 5 kilometers off the shore of Tripoli, North from Beirut. Over 350 hands went down including the Admiral with the ship, in the short time it took to sink. The propellers of the Victoria were still running as the ship plunged into the deep blue, ramming the ship vertically into the sea bed, where she lies today.

All logistics technical or otherwise for the expedition were provided and handled by Alain Sassine and Walid Noshie of The National Institute for Scuba Diving (NISD), Beirut, Lebanon. I led a team of eight divers who conducted six dives over six days. The initial dives were spent on the SS Lesbian, the Torpedo wreck and a very large Russian freighter. Depths varied between 45-67 meters over the initial dives, the team conducted bottom times ranging between 25 – 45 minutes with 90 -150 minute dive times, using trimix and EAN.  Back gases used twin 12 and 15 litre manifolded steel cylinders with Trimix 18/35, EANx32, EANx80, EANx50 and O2 in 12 liter single aluminum cylinders.

The most impressive wreck dive aside from the Victoria was the SS Lesbian.  This large freighter was scuttled outside Beirut harbor in 67 meters of water. Five minutes from the Jetty and the NISD diving centre.

Diving the Victoria

The Victoria itself was absolutely amazing! This is one of a few wrecks to be resting bow down, at a 90 degree angle. The bottom mix for the Victoria was Trimix 10/60, the intermediate mix was Trimix 18/35, with EANx32 and EANx80 for deco.

At approximately 55 meters the stern section with huge propellers and rudder come into view. This section was being constantly circled by a large school of Jacks. Neil Black, my buddy and I, continued down the middle of the deck to 112 meters. After passing the huge stern gun we continued to a lower level and saw stacks of intact crockery inside the wreck through holes in the deck. Due to respect for the dead and the Victoria being a military grave, we took nothing apart from some video footage. The wreck proved to be one of the greatest dives of my life. However, the depth of the wreck therefore requires precise planning and logistical support.

Many thanks to Alain and the dive trek team and all expedition members involved. We look forward to further exploration on the Victoria next year.

Distinctive TecRec Specialty Courses Templates

Following the recent series of international TecRec Forums, PADI has announced that instructors are now able to write their own TecRec distinctive specialty courses. The distinctive courses will need to be submitted to a Technical Diving Division consultant for approval. The intention is to enable TecRec Instructors to offer specialised training in areas of technical diving not currently addressed through the existing programmes.

The process for applying for one of these ratings is as follows.

1. Contact your PADI Technical Diving Division consultant to confirm whether your concept would be suitable for a distinctive outline.

2. Using an existing PADI Specialty outline as a template complete your distinctive outline. Be sure to include full details of the standards relating to your course, the knowledge development and the dive data.

3. Submit your distinctive outline to your Technical Diving Division consultant for review. Please also include your instructor application at the same time. You can use the standardised PADI Specialty Instructor application for this; please be sure to include the wording ‘TecRec’ at the start of your title to clearly indicate the nature of your outline. Please also be sure to include proof of your personal experience in the area you have chosen.

4. The outline will be reviewed and, if necessary, returned to you with comments or suggestions. Once the outline has been reviewed and amended to a point at which it is acceptable to both the instructor and PADI, it will be forwarded for processing.

In order to assist you with writing these outlines, PADI has begun to design templates that can be used to provide guidance in certain areas (eg: Cave Diver, Tec Rescue, Advanced Wreck). These templates represent the minimum content required for the course – you should use and develop them to encompass all the necessary information. This gives you a chance to ensure the course content suits your local environment and tec diving techniques. The first of these templates are available for download from the PADI Pro Site under the heading “Training and Education”.

If you have any questions regarding a possible TecRec distinctive specialty, or the process involved in writing one, please contact your Technical Diving Division consultant.

PADI Staff Try Rebreathers

Kevin Gurr of VR Technologies, the designer and developer of the Sentinel mixed gas electronic CCR showed his unit to PADI staff in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA. Assisted by highly experience Sentinel diver Rikki Battistini, Kevin gave John Kinsella, Steve Mortell, Kelly Rockwood, James Morgan, and Budd Riker an overview of its components, design philosophy and features, followed by a try-dive in the PADI pool.

Karl Shreeves also attended the session; along with Mark Caney of PADI International Ltd., Karl qualified to use the Sentinel last May at Innerspace in Grand Cayman.

On behalf of the global PADI family, thanks Kevin, Rikki and VR Technologies for investing your time in keeping us on the cutting edge of CCR technology.

CDAA Recognizes PADI Cave Programs

PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors) – the world’s largest diver training organization recently developed training guidelines and standards for cave diving. Qualified PADI Instructors may submit cave diving teaching outlines to PADI for review. These submissions must meet these guidelines and standards.

Officers of the Cave Divers Association of Australia Inc. (CDAA) – acknowledged by the Australian Government as the peak body in cave diver training and also the largest trainers of Cave Divers in Australia – recently reviewed these guidelines and standards and found that they meet the Standards of the CDAA.

The result of this review means that the CDAA now recognizes PADI Divers and instructors who hold the PADI Cavern Diver and PADI Cave Diver Distinctive Specialty qualifications. These individuals may apply to the CDAA to gain CDAA equivalency recognition for the CDAA Deep Cavern Diver and Cave Diver ratings, respectively. This recognition will allow them to access cavern and cave sites where the CDAA has agreements with land owners and Government organizations.

PADI and the CDAA will be working together to develop formal procedures for PADI qualified cave divers wanting to visit CDAA administered sites within Australia. In the meantime, PADI qualified cave divers must contact the CDAA by mail, provide evidence of their qualifications and follow the CDAA protocols before attempting to gain access.

In accepting the PADI cave diving guidelines and standards the CDAA National Director, Warrick McDonald said in a formal communication to PADI: “It is my pleasure to inform you that the CDAA has accepted PADI’s Cave Courses as compatible with our Standards.”

Warrick went on to congratulate PADI for this step towards developing a common training standard for all cave divers in Australia and overseas.

Terry Cummins, International Vice President PADI Worldwide and a member of the CDAA for many years said; “PADI was keen to ensure that our new guidelines and standards for cave diving mirrored those of the CDAA,” and acknowledged the CDAA’s expertise, devotion to the sport and outstanding safety record established over their 36 years of incorporation.

For more information:

PADI Worldwide 30151 Tomas Street Rancho Santa Margarita California 92688-2125 USA 1 949 858 7234 www.padi.com

PADI Asia Pacific Unit 3, 4 Skyline Place Frenchs Forest NSW 2086 Australia 61 2 9454 2800

CAVE DIVERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (Incorporated in South Australia) ABN 65 062 259 956 P.O. Box 290, North Adelaide, S.A. 5006 Australia www.cavedivers.com.au