UTD Tech 2 Gold Crossover in San Diego

Cross-posting this from divematrix.com

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This past Saturday (11/14) and Sunday (11/15), Don Chennavasin and I took part in a "custom" UTD class with Andrew Georgitsis (AG) in San Diego, CA.

A bit of background. I took my GUE Tech 1 class with Bob Sherwood last summer. This year, I've done about 30 T1 dives. I consider myself a very green "technical diver" (a silly term, but, alas), but one who is diving and getting better. Due to logistical reasons (e.g. getting enough gas onto a boat for two (or more) T1 dives, cost, not wanting to always lug the double 130s around, etc), I was interested in adding a stage bottle to my diving. I was also interested in adding a second decompression bottle (O2) for long weekends of T1 diving (i.e. clean up), and in preparation for doing slightly longer deco dives in the T1 range (~165') [I had been maxing deco to 25-30 minutes previously], and for eventually extending my depth marginally (to 180'). I was *not*, however, interested in doing GUE Tech 2 (bottom stage + two deco bottles, and more) at this point (due to cost, needing to find 5-7 days for the class, cost, not having many buddies yet looking to make this jump, cost, and a lack of interest in currently diving deeper than 200' [lack of great local sites at these depths and my general boredom with deco], oh, and cost).

I contacted AG a few months ago about his thoughts on putting together a class that would include adding a bottom stage to one deco bottle dives, and two deco bottle management. He said this would be no problem; he'd be happy to do a "custom" class. This would basically consist of a crossover to UTD Tech 2 (basically GUE T1 + bottom stage, minus 18/45) and UTD Tech 2 Gold upgrade (addition of second deco bottle in lieu of bottom stage). The plan would be two days of training, one of skill development, the second of experience dives. The UTD Tech 1+2 online classroom material would also be made available. For the relatively modest cost, *for me* this seemed a good alternative to teaching myself the addition of the second bottle (I'd considered adding the stage myself, but really did want some instructor input for the second deco bottle).

In (relatively) short order, we booked a weekend of diving in San Diego. We would be at La Jolla Shores for skills dives on Saturday, and on the Yellow Boat with Danny for two 160' experience dives on Sunday. Only issue was finding someone with whom to take the class. Thankfully, Don wrote me to say he'd be interested in joining. We'd met briefly on Catalina during the UTD Symposium, but had not had the chance to dive together.

On Friday, Don and AG (and his rather large Rhodesian Ridgeback) drove down to SD. We all met early on Saturday at the Shores. We discussed issues surrounding the addition of the second bottle for awhile, then headed into the water to practice (Don and I each carried an AL80 and an AL40). Stage bottle drills consisted of s-drills and valve drills, done mid-water. For *practice*, AG wanted everything done with the primary light deployed. Managing the light cord while switching an OOG diver on your stage reg to your long hose took some work, but we made good progress. Next, we did a dive into the canyon, where we had to deal with repeated failures (backgas, stage, rolloffs, OOG, etc). We finished up with ascending from the stage, cleaning up, and switching to deco gas.

After these dives, we went for lunch, video debrief, and a discussion about gas management with the stage. AG was happy enough with our performance, so we planned a fun dive for after lunch. Roger Bly joined us, and we did a pleasant 70 minute dive along Vallecitos Point, exiting the water just as the sun set. We then met Jeff Seckendorf and his wife, Karen, for dinner, before retiring home (Jeff and Karen stayed over at my mom's place).

Sunday morning we met Danny at Shelter Island. Kim Cardenas had also come down from LA to join us on the boat (she and Jeff would be teaming up). We loaded the five sets of doubles, the five AL80s, and the 15 AL40s, geared up, and headed off (sorry for trying to sink your boat, Danny!). First dive was on the Missile Tower. We planned 20 minutes of bottom time, as the goal was to leave nearly all back gas intact. Had a great tour of the structure (it's small, and even in 20 minutes we made three loops). Deco was in light current, but otherwise uneventful. Second dive was on the Cape Charles. We descended into sand, so I put a reel in and we found the wreck in a few minutes. Last time Jeff and I did this site, the vis was terrible, but this time it was a decent (though dark) 15'. A great 25 minute tour, plus Andrew pointing out the largest ling cod I've seen (it was bigger than Don), and we were off for 30 minutes of deco. A quick group dinner once back on land, and we all started in on our drives back north.

Thoughts on the class:
-A huge kudos to AG and UTD for being flexible and willing to put together such a custom class. It covered exactly what *I* wanted.
-I feel comfortable and competent moving forward with two bottles. That said, a few more shake down dives are needed in the coming weeks to make this slick. AG did a great job showing us what we need to work on. I do wish, however, we'd gotten more time to practice on Saturday, in place of the fun dive, but not a huge deal. I'll get in the water this week and knock it out.
-I feel this is a great bridge between GUE Tech 1 and Tech 2. For me, moving from one bottle dives to 3+ bottles seemed rather daunting. I think this "Tech 1.5" class will serve as a nice transition if/when I take Tech 2 in the future. It's also much "smarter", IMO, than the newly created GUE T1+ endorsement (no second deco bottle, and silly depth/deco increases).

Important Thank Yous
-Don, it was *great* diving with you. You're a wonderful diver. I felt we were on the same page at every step. Made the whole weekend a breeze.
-Blackwood and Seckendorf for initially getting me interested in the UTD crossover.
-Blackwood, Bly and Arkuszewski for the loaner gear, and especially Maciek for taking the time last Monday to blend some trimix when no one else in LA seemed to be doing so (DEMA).
-Ambrose, Bly and Blackwood for discussing what to expect in an AG class.
-Liu for getting in the water with me for a few hours last week to get used to two bottles. This made everything a lot easier. Very, very much appreciated.
-My mom for playing host to many of us down in SD.
-Jen for her tireless support. Really, I don't know how you put up with me. <3.