Tec 40, is more or less, a basic introduction to deeper diving by actually applying basic skills to the real environment.  I think it is worth repeating… take the basic fundamentals, or skills, of deeper diving and actually apply them to the real world of scuba diving.  All of this can be done with a little more equipment, if you don’t have it already, than you would plan for standard deep dive.  With this in mind, it could be a good recommendation that every instructor teaching the PADI Deep Diver course should go through the PADI Tec 40 class to have a more in depth knowledge of deeper diving and actually apply what they learn.

To some, technical diving is more of a mindset than the actual dives themselves. Sure, someone can go through training and work themselves up to a 500ft dive in the Great Lakes or ocean, or they can spend more time on shipwrecks like the USS Oriskany.  The principles of technical diving start out with a mindset.  Technical divers plan for the ‘what if’s’ of every dive.  Here are some examples of ‘what if’s':

What if you end the dive alone?

What if you actually do run out of air?

What if you exceed your plan depth or time?

What if you break the glass ceiling on a safety stop or decompression stop?

What if you are blown off the wreck by current?

What if your Buoyancy Control Device (BCD or Wing) punctures?

What if you misjudge the gas requirements for the dive?

What if this?

What if that?

These are similar questions you should be asking yourself on any deep dive, even if you are not breaking the no-decompression limits.  It’s all a mindset to become a better, safer diver.  These are principles that are not taught and actually applied in a typical deep diver class unless the instructor adds them in.  Even the PADI Deep Diver class talks about some of it, but doesn’t actually require you to apply them.  It’s more or less trying to increase your awareness to things while diving deeper.

The fortunate part, for almost every “what if” scenario, there is a probable solution or protocol.  Not every “what if” will have a perfect layout.  By accounting for it, you become aware of it and implement measure to try to insure it will not happen. Even in recreational diving, by preparing or anticipating problems, you become a more confident diver.  By being more confident and with experience, the likelihood of problems will drastically decrease.

The PADI Tec 40 class is not gear intensive as compared to the PADI Tec 45 or Tec 50 classes.  The Tec 40 class takes an average certified deep diver, or a certified deep diver instructor, one step more into deep diving to increase the safety of the diver.  As a scuba diver, we already know the safer we are underwater, the more we can actually enjoy the dive.  Enjoying the dive may not always have anything with going deep, but having the ability to stay longer at depths that the no-decompression limits prevent us from doing.  Increasing our enjoyment is the whole reason we all got into scuba diving in the place.

Butch Zemar

Still, I had to chuckle as both would make a statement about why didn’t they start this sooner when they were in Hawaii (long needle scratch over vinyl).  Hawaii?  Yep, both of these people lived on the island for over a year in their 20’s and never took up diving.  Waited until they were back here in the Midwest and started diving.  Now I could say that is because they wanted to be better divers and appreciate those warmer climates better.  If I did say that, it would probably create a couple messages’ that cannot be repeated.  So, why didn’t they take up diving in Hawaii?

Why do I bring this up?  You may never know where your next great opportunity will come from.  Really, what I want to say is that you are a SCUBA diver.  Take that opportunity and travel with it!  Go to different places, see different things and have experiences that will live with you.  That is the beauty of SCUBA diving, you are going to see things if you give yourself the opportunity to do so.

You don’t necessarily have to plan a dive trip all on your own.  You can look at some of the meet up groups, dive shops or clubs and see if they are going places that you might want to go too.  Let some of these other people take the lead and figure things out for you.  If you don’t see anything set up for where you want to go, ask for some help on people or agencies to talk with about setting up your next destination.  There are some good ones out there.

Dive travel is an education and experience that is not best read through a book.  It is best experienced!  So grab hold of your dream and take off for that next destination.

I need to hear some more stories about places to go dive.  I love to hear about where you have been and
what excited you.  I know you need to seize that opportunity.

So don’t let Hawaii, The Great Barrier Reef or the Red Sea pass you by.  Before you know it, you might not have that opportunity again.  Go live the dream and experience.  Have fun in your own opportunities!

-Mike Shea, The Scuba Shea Adventure

I am reminded of this as I am talking to a future client, wearing his Submariner and looking to sign his two daughters up for Open Water.  As the paperwork is being filled out, he starts to hit me up for discounts on instruction.  Now, understand, I am all about trying to protect you as much as possible.  That is why for your preteen daughters, I did not have you buy fins or mask and snorkel.  It would have been a waste of money as the ladies will outgrow what is bought in about twelve months or so.  Then try to leverage my instruction price against another instructor or shop in the area?

So bear with me a moment longer and I will take you down the road with me.  When he came to the shop for the first time about six months ago, it was to take a refresher class.  I remember meeting him, talking with him and sharing a couple of laughs while we waited on his instructor.  Hey, we are all here to have fun, remember diving is social, so have fun!  Well, in that time he caught up with us a couple of more times and started to knock the rust off his diving.  As we talked about his daughters, they were developing an interest in the water and SCUBA diving too.  So, why not make it a family affair?

My thoughts are that I and my fellow instructors were on a “try out”.  Were we good enough for his daughters?  HE did the right thing, without a doubt.  I have told people before, find people that make you feel comfortable about diving.  He did that and gave us the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of his family.  If we weren’t the right choice, he would have been down at the other shop filling out paperwork there.

Please, find divers and instructors that you like and make you feel like you’re one of their friends.  As a friend, we are going to watch out for you as much as we can.  We are going to take care of you as much as we can but at some point, we will let you make the decision to learn from.  Since you are the best and you are looking out for your family.  We are going to do the best for our friends.  So please, don’t sell that short; friends may be hard to come by somedays.

-Mike Shea, The Scuba Shea Adventure

We have all seen the blog posts, maybe even heard some of the “horror stories” on who did what and what were they thinking.  But really?  What does it all mean?

Now, I will not use a certifying agency acronym here.  I will point out that I was originally trained to be a diver by the USN (ok, one acronym).  I would argue that they are probably the most in depth training organization but some will disagree with that (someone has too).  I also hold certifying agency cards of various organizations.  So I have been around the block, seen a couple of schools of thought and even sit back and chuckle at a couple.

At any point in time, you can use our friend Google and put in X agency “sucks” and come back with probably a couple hundred thousand hits.  At the same point, you can put in Y agency “is great” and end up with the same results.  I could be so confused by all of this!

What does all this mean to you?  The diver or looking to become a diver?  Well, everything!  First thing that I would recommend, make sure the certification is recognized around the world (there is no such thing as an online only certification.  You must get in the water at some time!).  Once you found that, follow your inner sense.  Yes, I am telling you to follow your gut!  Find an instructor that makes you feel comfortable.  Find an instructor that can help you achieve your desires without undue stress and issues.  I look at it like this, you want to breathe underwater, for some an unnatural act.  Find yourself someone that leaves all those acronyms at the door and looks after you as a FRIEND.  When you are able to find that, then you are able to become the diver that you want to be.  When you find that, then you will want to find out more about this fantastic lifestyle with all the fun and adventure and pleasure.  Heck, maybe you will even like it so much that you get other people involved.  It only starts with you being comfortable in the water and having that trust of the instructor.

Ultimately, in this alphabet soup of certifying agencies we all come out fairly close to the same end goal.  What you need to look at more closely, is who is going to get you to that end goal.  If it suits you, go with it.  Don’t get yourself caught up in the blogs and Google this “sucks” top 100 list.  There is plenty of time for you to join that fuel for the fire once you are certified and an expert.  Till then, you don’t need mom scolding you because the canned soup is cold.  Besides, if it tasted better, wouldn’t we have ate it quicker than just playing with the letters?

- Mike Shea, The Scuba Shea Adventure

Tech diving is not commercial diving or all about going deep.  Although, some of activities that are involved may interchange or overlap.  Tech diving is what you want to make of it.  Maybe you do want to go deep and the dive the Andrea Doria (or the damaged carnival ship in the next high tides) or do a deep penetration into a cave, and that’s OK.  For others it could be just enjoying something a little longer or a little better.  Some great shipwrecks or wall dives are 80ft to 150ft.  Having the ability to safely scuba dive for twice, or even three or four times the recreational no decompression limits can bring joys and conversations that can last a lifetime.  Enjoying a scuba dive ‘better’ can be relative.  For the purpose of this article, I’m going too refer to it as a noise free environment.

This noise free environment can attract more fish by not scaring them away from the sounds of your bubbles when you exhale.  This creates an opportunity for better photo and video expedition or dives. This is all done with rebreathers. Although I am not a rebreather instructor, I know there are benefits to it, but at a cost.  This cost will continue to come down as it becomes more mainstream.  Due to the expense, many divers, including myself, have used open circuit scuba for their tech experience.

Without being intimidated by tech diving, you can experience tech diving without the investment.  You can do this through a discover tech experience.  This can be an orientation in a classroom setting and an optional pool session in the water you can stand up easily in.  This usually is followed up with a questions and answers session with no obligation to do anything.  it is not for everyone.  My only question for you is how do you know for sure until you actually try it?

If an introduction to tech diving orientation is of any interest, please contact me and we can set it up.  We mainly do it in groups at a central location or dive center.  This is an advantage so you can hear other divers questions and concerns.  You should jump in and try it.  Contact us today!

This is why ScubaButch.com decided to come up with a new look for 2012.  ”My students kept asking why don’t I have a logo.  The most honest answer is I never did get around to it.  Stepping up to the plate to do this opened up other doors on things that I didn’t think were there.” said, Scuba Butch from ScubaButch.com.
“This creates new adventures and for that I’m grateful (and excited).” Zemar continued.

Achieving milestones is just part of the adventure.  This is usually an exciting or unusual experience.  Some may say it is for the bold and risky, or it can just be something out of the norm for someone.  Adventurous activities can lead to more experience and knowledge.  With scuba diving, this is always a positive thing to increase enjoyment and safety.

There are many scuba divers out there looking for the new adventure.  This could be world travels, a new class, or just to go scuba diving more, locally.  Whatever it is, scubabutch.com wants to hear about it.  We are currently taking in videos or blog postings talking about your next scuba diving adventure.  Share it to the world.  They want to hear about it in 2012.

Some of these adventures can include, but not be limited to the list:

- Scuba diving the world

- New equipment

- New class (hence, adventure)

- Discovery of new limits such as a shipwreck (technical diving, depending on statistics)

- Becoming an active divemaster or scuba diving instructor

- New business venture in the scuba diving industry (no cost exposure, but no sales pitch)

- Meeting new people in great places doing what you enjoy, scuba diving

Some scuba divers rather stay private about their experience and that’s understandable.  However, there are many scuba divers who want the world to know about their scuba diving experience and that is what we want to help with.  Sharing it to the world will make it that much more of a milestone for you.  Telling everyone about this adventure may lead you to meet someone, or a group of people, striving to do the same thing as you; creating
friendships.  This elevates the fun.  After all, that’s why we scuba dive.

Please send all blog postings, articles submission or questions through our contact form on http://scubabutch.com/contact/.  If it is a video, please upload it to YouTube.com and send us a link at http://scubabutch.com/contact/.

For most of us, life gets in the way. Chasing the kids, family commitments and work deadlines are keeping us out of the water. Almost like one long surface interval.

We develop motor skills to accomplish a task. If we go several weeks, or longer, we lose some of the skills and accuracy. Everyone knows there is an inherent risk in scuba diving. Once you master the skills, scuba diving
is a very safe sport activity. If we haven’t practiced those skills in a while, potentially safety concerns can arise.

This is why every year, unless you are scuba diving every few months or logging 50 plus dives throughout the year, you should sign up for a scuba review with a certified scuba instructor.

They will walk you through:

• Safe diving practices
• Dive planning fundamentals
• Skills review
• Industry updates

The scuba review class will increase your confidence and your comfort level. This will allow you to continue to enjoy scuba diving through out the year and travel destinations.

Be sure to contact us for the next scuba review.

Connect with us on facebook.

Want to bring a friend to try scuba? Contact us about bringing your buddy with you to
try scuba.

At this point, many would say I need to pat myself on the back (or my social media guys at Focused Online Marketing<http://www.focusyouronlinemarketing.com/>).  However, with one busy summer of scuba diving, golf and spending time with the family, there hasn’t been much time to devote to the site.  What this tells me is, scuba, is more alive than ever.

Scuba diving has taken years to evolve. Although most people that are certified to scuba dive originally earn the certification because of a specific trip or vacationing, many want to scuba locally.  The old cliché, “who goes scuba diving in the Midwest” is becoming old and obsolete.

Scuba diving in Chicago is still happening right now, fall of 2011.  The water is turning chillier, that’s for sure. However, that’s why the great minds in scuba diving created thermo protection.  Once you break the surface, you won’t even realize that you are wearing all that crazy neoprene or dry suit.

As the winter approaches us, there will be opportunities to keep up with your scuba diving skills.  Taking the Scuba Review class and jumping in the pool is always a great start.  If you cannot get away, you can take some local trips such as Bonne Terre, MO and dive in a mine shaft.  Learn more while you are dry and take non-diving specialties such as becoming an equipment specialist or know more about aquatic injuries.

Now, stay tuned for up and coming events and classes.  Just by staying active you will enhance your diving experience so you can enjoy it even more.

Butch Zemar

www.ScubaButch.com

What I decided to do was alternating dives with the classes. First, I took the open water scuba class down to play with the fish. After we completed all the skills that were required and took a small tour of the underwater world, we surfaced for their surface interval. During their surface interval I took the advanced open water class scuba diving and showed them some new tricks and gave them a dive briefing on what we needed to do. Of course, I was tracking my dives through my dive computer that I was taking with me on the dives. By the time I exited the water with the first group, did my dive briefing with the 2nd group and got back into the water to do our pre-dive safety check, I was out of the water for about 35 min. This gave me plenty of room for back to back scuba diving.

After some fin pivots, mask cleaning, search and recovery and some navigation skills we had four divers with new certifications. Within 5 hours I was able to put in six dives, one after the other with only scuba tank changes and dive briefings in between. Luckily, I was able to grab a water bottle in between scuba dives and stay hydrated.

The sun is shining down giving us what I call the “scuba diver’s tan”. This is when you have a tan line around your eyes and nose where the mask was. You wouldn’t believe the amount of fish that were swimming all around scuba divers. The blue gills were big enough to be called ‘mutant blue gill’. Let’s not forget the 4 foot catfish, the albino catfish, the bass and the White Sea snake. Ok, Ok, I made up the White Sea snake, but you should take a look at these blue gills. They are huge. With the cool water of the quarry, it was a great day to go scuba diving. I’d have to say, scuba diving in Chicago is the way to go.

Butch Zemar
www.ScubaButch.com

A good friend and dive buddy, Director of Training Jimmy Sommer, has mentioned several times, if he had a chance to redesign the certification levels that he would put the Rescue Diver course right after the entry level (the training wheels). He believes it so much, he says it with real passion. Jimmy goes on to explains how it builds confidence and awareness simultaneously. This is a really interesting concept. No other scuba class you take has this kind of intense training. The scuba diver will have the ability to anticipate most problems before they occur and help calm situations down before they spiral out of control. When a diver comes up to you and says “my dive buddy is missing” how will you react? It could be your buddy or even you that is missing.

Driving a car, you have a pretty good chance of learning from the lesson by surviving. Scuba diving adds too many additional factors into the mix. If you are not ready, or even worse your buddy is not ready, the situation may not have a positive outcome, which to learn a lesson. The good news is, with certified Rescue Scuba divers around you, including you, you can increase the likelihood of a better outcome of a potential situation. Now scuba divers can move on to other scuba classes and diving adventures knowing they have their training wheels off and are ready to enjoy the underwater world. Join Goose’s October 15 and 16 for the Rescue Diver course. For more details on becoming a Rescue Diver call or stop in the shop!