Record deep dive in Utila

On december 11th, Utila Dive Centre´s Tec Trimix Instructor Fernando Cañada and Tec Trimix Diver Mikey Moses performed a record Trimix dive to 350 ft (120 mts) using 4 different gases with 10 minutes bottom time over Duppy Waters, Utila. The decompression lasted more than an hour and a half, 30 min of that at 20 ft with 100% Oxygen. Many support divers took part on the historical expedition. Congratulations Fernando and Mikey new record deep divers in Utila !!!

Extending the limits of Tec diving

According to the new limits for Trimix diving, Utila Dive Center has issued the first Tec Trimix Diver certification for diving to 300 ft and the first Tec Trimix 65 intermediate level for 220 ft. On the last days of the course, the class visited Duppy Waters at 220 ft, CJ´s Drop Off at 260 ft and the Pinnacle at 300 ft, where Tec Trimix instructors Guillermo and Fernando and Tec Trimix diver Ben used 14% oxygen, 50 % helium and 20 decompression stops that lasted for about an hour.

Congratulations Ben and Michael, new Trimix divers !

Trimix dive training at Utila Dive Center

In august we completed another DSAT Tec Trimix Diver course reaching a depth of 245 ft / 75 mts. In the last dive we used a hypoxic mix of 16 % oxygen and 42 % helium, performing 16 deco stops in the way to the surface breathing nitrox 32% and 100% O2. Congratulations Mick and Seth, Tec Trimix divers !

Tec courses in the Undersea Journal

The official PADI members´publication Undersea Journal published on the 3rd quarter of last year 2009 this article about a DSAT Tec Course at Utila Dive Centre. Smiley instructor G shows in the picture next to the student that received a scholarship from the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Utilizing Tec Training for Whale Shark Research

Technical diving allows access to deeper dive sites, with longer bottom times, beyond the limits of traditional recreational diving, which around Utila allows divers to see caverns, deep drop off's and off shore sea mounts with more abundant fish life.

However in 2009 and 2010 our technical diving team at UDC have been working with EcoOcean and Deep Blue dive resort to help switch out the acoustic sensors used for tracking and recording the activity of tagged Whale sharks. There are 3 sensors located at different dive sites around Utila, and they are secured at depths of 130ft/40mt to 165ft/50mt. The sensors batteries are good for 15 months and the UDC tec team had volunteered their staff, training and expertise in deep water projects to locate the current sensors, and to change them with new sensors and replace the anchoring lines which are subject to corrosion.

Tracking the Whale Sharks!

Researchers are now looking into the data collected from the sensors over the last 15 months to determine which tagged Whalesharks have been in the waters around Utila, and to compare these recordings to data collected from sensors located in Belize and Mexico. For more information on Eco-ocean, visit their website www.ecocean.org.

Tec dive sites

The tec diving course offers the possibility of visiting some extreme dive sites. Some of them are known to normal divers but at these depths, CJ´s drop off, Duppy waters, The Pinnacle are some of the most popular vertical walls on the Turtle Harbour, North Side of the island. More remote and less (or not) visited by normal divers are the sea mounds. Located by GPS satellite coordinates, these places used by some fishermen don´t see human diver action and are crowded with fish and healthy coral. Besides, on the final decompression in the blue we had the chance of sharing waters with Manta Rays, Marlins, Sharks and Dolphins. Only tec diving puts you in this situation, drifting in mid water, off shore and on top of a sea mound, every new dive expedition to these magic locations opens the door to incredible marine life encounters.

New and updated DSAT 2010 Tec program

At the beginning of 2010, PADI decided to update and change the structure of their tec program. The changes bring updated information about multi gas dive computers, decompression models, skills and more. The basic tec certification is now divided in Tec 40, Tec 45 and Tec 50 levels that take the diver progressively from 3 to 4 tanks, nitrox to pure oxygen and 130 to 165 feet, 40 to 50 meters.

Our schedule is 3 days for each segment and a total of 9 days for the whole Tec pack that can be shortened to 8 or 7 days if necessary. Students receive the new Knowledge Reviews and Handouts that contain updated and extra information besides the DSAT Tec Deep diver manual. They also watch the DSAT Tec Gear Setup and Tec Skills DVD before starting the course. We have a dedicated classroom with a computer that runs V-Planner, the most popular decompression diving software.

The new modular program allows for an easy organization and compatibility for busy people like UDC´s DM´s and instructors

The Tec Diving Gear

Tec diving uses extensive methodologies and equipment to manage the added risk involved in decompression diving. The gear must be in top shape and, in a group of four, we are talking about 16 regulators and 20 tank valves ! Utila Dive Centre has the most complete equipment room in the Bay Islands plus the Tec Room where we keep our special stuff.

Besides the private tec gear, we keep here 3 complete sets of tec gear including Dive Rite backplates with harness, double BCD´s and balanced diaphragm regulators for the back set. We use Scubapro MK2 for decompression tanks, simple and reliable. We have also accesories like lift bags, reels, pouches, slates and knives, always ready.

The gas blending station consists of a Bauer K26 compressor with air storage banks, a Coltri compressor connected to a Nitrox stick, a 4 tank cascade Oxygen system, a 3 tank cascade Helium system, plus 2 Oxygen and 1 Helium analyzer.

I enjoy taking care of this gear myself, with 7 years experience as Equipment Technician in UDC and Cross Creek, certified by Mares, Scubapro and Sheerwood, I train every month new PADI Equipment Specialists always eager to help me out to practice their new skills.

Tec diving in Utila

Originally brought to Utila in 2001 by CD Andy Phillips, Tec diving is becoming increasingly popular among dive professionals and the diving community in general. Every month new tec divers get certified at Utila Dive Centre and become members of this growing family. There are also tec diving trips organized for the already certified, often to sea mounds that can be found only by GPS or sheer walls on the north side of the island.

On these sites, the diver enjoys an extensive display of marine life and underwater landscapes that are only available to those who are trained to cross the No Deco Limits. Ocasional trips to the neighbour island of Roatan and Cayos Cochinos offer a different experience within 1 or 2 hours of boat ride, and always the possibility of spotting and swimming with whale sharks, manta rays or dolphins.