Technical Diving
Go Beyond The Limits Of Recreational Diving
Technical or Tec diving allows you to greatly expand both your diving skills and knowledge and can provide you with experiences and exploration opportunities in places very few people will ever see.
Technical diving is definitely not for the faint hearted and attracts experienced divers who want to go places that others simply cannot. These types of divers usually enjoy a challenge and are willing to focus on the prolonged, arduous demands of tech diving and earn themselves the coveted PADI Tec50 rating.
Fully qualified technical divers are able to visit reefs and wrecks at depths significantly below the 40 meters recreational limit and with specialised training, they can explore underwater caves and other places beyond the reaches of mainstream sport diving.
PADI Tec 40
The PADI Tec 40 course is where you transition from recreational scuba diving to technical diving. It's a great place to start because it's the first subdivision of the full PADI Tec Diver course and bridges the gap between no stop diving and full technical deep decompression diving. You gain experience and begin building the knowledge and skills you need to continue your tec diver training. You will qualify to make limited decompression dives to 40 meters.
To enrol in the Tec 40 course, you must be:
A PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
A PADI Enriched Air Diver with at least 10 dives using enriched air deeper than 18 meters
A PADI Deep Diver or have proof of at least 10 dives to 30 meters
At least 18 years old and have a minimum of 30 logged dives
PADI Tec 45
The PADI Tec 45 course is the second part of the full PADI Tec Deep Diver program. You'll extend your depth limit to 45 meters and learn to plan and execute repetitive decompression dives using a single stage/decompression cylinder. It puts you in a complete tec diving rig, which can be either back-mount or side-mount. You'll also make accelerated decompression dives using EANx or pure oxygen. This is a course where you'll rise to the challenge and make the commitment to become a technical diver.
To enrol in the Tec 45 course, you must:
Be a PADI Tec40 diver
Be a PADI Rescue Diver
Have a minimum of 50 logged dives, with at least 12 dives on enriched air nitrox deeper than 18 meters and 6 dives deeper than 30 meters
Be at least 18 years old
Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
PADI Tec 50
The third part of the full PADI Tec Deep Diver program is Tec 50. As a Tec 50 diver, you show that you've developed competency as a tec diver and have the skills to dive to a maximum of 50 meters. You know how to make extended, accelerated decompression stops using up to two gases. It's not easy to reach this level and earning your Tec 50 certification opens the door to deeper diving expeditions.
To enrol in the Tec 50 course, you must:
Be a PADI Tec45 diver
Have a minimum of 100 logged dives, with at least 20 dives on enriched air nitrox deeper than 18 meters and 15 dives deeper than 30 meters
Be at least 18 years old
Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
PADI Tec Trimix 65
If you're into technical diving then you know that to extend your depth range you need to use trimix - a blend of helium, oxygen and nitrogen. The Tec Trimix 65 course introduces you to using trimix down to a maximum depth of 65 meters There are advantages to using three gases, but you need to know how to do it right. Earning the Tec Trimix 65 certification makes deeper exploration a reality.
You're qualified to enroll in the Tec Trimix 65 course, if you:
Are a PADI TEC 50 diver
Have a minimum of 100 logged dives
Are at least 18 years old
Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
PADI Tec Gas Blender
The PADI Enriched Air Diver course is the most popular diver specialty course and the number of technical divers is on the rise, which means that lots of scuba divers want enriched air and gas blends.
The Tec Gas Blender course teaches you to blend enriched air nitrox and helium-blend gases using one or more blending methods. Being the blender is a key job at a busy PADI Dive Center or Resort and your work allows other divers to do what they love to do - scuba dive.
If you're a PADI Enriched Air Diver and are at least 18 years old, you can enrol in the Tec Gas Blender course.