I have always been a very curious, but cautious person. I started my diving career partly because I found it scary (and exciting of course!), and so, choosing to enter the world of technical diving was a big step for me. It didn´t help that the first ten pages in the PADI TEC Deep Diver Manual consistently tried to talk me out of doing it. They actually use the words death, hazard and injury 11 times. But here I am, at the very same place where the plague and the vikings found the United Kingdom. Dale Spree at the Fathom & Blues Dive Centre generously offered me to do my technical training, and I said yes-yes-YES. With my UW photography and video, I had long felt a need to be able to extend my bottom time, and I was finally ready.

We had a good, long week to finish my Tec 40 and 45 training, which proved necessary. Luckily, not because of my uselessness, but as a result of endless challenges like equipment failures, weather forecast and illness. My instructor, Ellis Watson, did an amazing job nonetheless. At one point we were all in the rib on our way to the dive site, the weather was horrid (it was late November and freezing cold!) and as we checked our equipment again, one last time before the dive – it turned out the knob for one of his valves wouldn´t work. I want to salute Ellis for deciding not to  enter the water that day, even though it meant the course would be delayed. We could have dived, and it might have been alright, but the thing about technical diving is that you NEVER dive with equipment in anything but top shape, and especially when you dive with students. My most important lesson is to not cut corners when you dive technical, because when it comes to technical diving you don´t always have an easy way out in an emergency. You may find yourself choosing between ascending with your unconscious buddy and risking DCI for both of you, or just inflate your buddy´s BCD and send him up alone with the risk of barotrauma and DCI.

But I am getting ahead of myself. My biggest worry ahead of the course was that I wouldn´t be able to reach the isolator manifold and the valves during the shutdown procedure – but thankfully, Dale and Ellis had put me in twin 7´s, and they were perfect for my midget-torso. So, my first dive ever with a twin set was awesome! Of course, if you turn just a little bit too much to one side you´ll tilt all the way over and end up on your back waving your hands and feet helplessly in the water like a dying hamster. That aside, hovering around like a spaceship with twins and stages felt really cool. Nothing could stop me now – I had all the gas I could dream of.

The course consisted of theory days, equipment fiddling and diving. Thankfully we did the first dive in a pool, so I got some time to familiarize myself with the equipment, and then we headed out to Vobster Quay for my first open water dives, before we took the boat out to do real saltwater diving. Because of the weather we had to head back to Vobster for my exam dive the last day, but we all agreed it was magical. It is not everyday you go diving and everything around you is covered in snow, with swans flying past as you enter the water. I should mention that we were so cold we nearly considered not diving and just sit by the fireplace and drink hot chocolate instead. But of course we didn´t, as the hard core, badass tec divers we are.

In the world of technical diving you can not escape from fancy gadgets and smart equipment – and I found good use in my VR Technology NHeO diving computer during the course. I had never used a multi gas computer before, and I guess I didn´t realize just how awesome the toy in my hands was before the instructors came by and drooled all over it. I really enjoyed using the tool though, and it even has games to use during decompression! And, even though very low-tec, Ellis´ EMT shears (also known as scissors) were just amazing. I didn´t know until he told me, but they are actually the same scissors paramedics use to cut through kevlar. Yes, KEVLAR. So we put the scissors to the test, and actually cut a coin in half.

Despite all our struggles with equipment, weather and illness – we managed to get through the course, and have fun at the same time. The Fathom & Blues Dive Centre is genius that way. In the basement they have the dive locker and everything necessary for diving, on the ground floor there is a pub, and up from there is accommodation – perfect for travelling divers such as myself, and I recommend paying them a visit if you´re considering some cold water diving.

And remember; any diver can abort any dive at any time for any reason.