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Chapter 43
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Chapter 43
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TECHNICAL DIVING
Most recreational SCUBA divers use compressed air in a single cylinder, with a single-hose
regulator, to depths up to 30-40 metres, and avoid any decompression staging obligation (although
routinely a safety stop is included for dives exceeding 12 metres).
Technical diving is a term used to describe extended diving or where the gas and/or the equipment
is different from the original “Aqualung” concept, which only used open circuit, compressed air.
The purpose of this technical diving is to extend durations or depths. The simplest modification is
the use of a different gas in the scuba cylinder. Then comes the use of several different gases, in
multiple cylinders. To reduce the increasing bulk of this diving apparatus, as well as to reduce gas
loss, complex rebreathing equipment can be added.
The increasingly complex equipment bestows some advantages, but with increased risks. Some
industry representatives and other enthusiastic advocates have promoted this technical diving to the
recreational diving community as a safer alternative, enticing others who may not be as adept. It is
a more complex and more risky activity than recreational diving and requires expensive equipment
and extensive training – two reasons why it appeals to the diving industry.
Most of the diving accidents and deaths which occur in recreational scuba diving, are not due to
decompression sickness. Indeed the major causes include the ocean environment (Chapter 6), the
stress responses on the individual (Chapter 7), equipment failure or misuse (Chapter 5 & 34) and
some diving practices which are especially hazardous – exhaustion of the air supply, buoyancy
problems, and failure to follow buddy diving practices (Chapter 34). Technical diving techniques
do not reduce and often increase these risks.
The complexity and novelty of technical diving has attracted many established divers, mainly men.
Possibly the element of danger and the
avant guarde
nature of the activity combine to offer an
enticing challenge, extending diving experiences and excitement.
The technical diver, often studious and attracted to risk taking behaviour, operates on a reduced
safety margin but usually with a quiet confidence in his skills and equipment.