NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver
54 Introduction to Deeper Diving
FIGURE 5-6. Technical diving is a disciplined approach to undertaking diving that has a much higher degree of risk than traditional diving.
fine to suggest an alternative dive. Personal preparation
also includes general good health and physical fitness,
currency in skill proficiency, adequate rest the night
before the dive, and proper nutrition prior to the dive.
Abstinence from drugs that alter your physical or mental
state or affect your decompression obligation is essential.
You need to feel fit, both physically and mentally, when
intending to make a deeper dive.
You have already read that your equipment needs to
be in proper working order, but we are re-emphasizing
the point here due to the importance of properly functioning
gear at depth.
Planning for the dive needs to be more thorough
than usual. Extra equipment is needed. Emergency preparedness
requires more attention. You need to know
the location of the nearest operational recompression
chamber, how to contact the appropriate medical and/
or chamber facility, how to make arrangements for any
needed treatment, and how to get someone there who is
in need of treatment. Finally, your necessary arrangements
need to be exact and well understood.
A review of the NAUI Dive Tables or your dive
computer manual is in order. Re-familiarize yourself
with them by reading the information on the dive planning
and the dive tables in the NAUI text, NAUI Scuba
Diver. You must be able to use the tables correctly
when the dives you are making are actual dives rather
than just problems posed on paper. Your instructor will
probably review them as part of your Advanced Scuba
Diver course. A more thorough review plus some new
information on the dive tables is included in the NAUI
Master Scuba Diver and Deep Diving Specialty courses.
For the diver who plans to exceed the limits of traditional
recreational diving, NAUI’s Technical Diving Division
qualifies instructors who deliver “cutting edge” training
(figure 5-6). NAUI members have been pioneering diving
since 1960. It is not surprising that they were the first to
embark on “extreme” dives and develop training protocols
for those who wish to follow.
When planning your deep dive, it is important that