TDI Extended Range

Certain areas of the world provide spectacular dives at depths deeper than 39 metres/130 feet but you may not have access (or very limited access) to helium. The TDI Extended Range course teaches you the proper techniques for utilizing compressed air as a breathing gas, and with a maximum depth of 55 metres/180 feet, so you don’t have to miss those dives! 

The TDI Extended Range Diver Course provides the training and experience necessary including proper techniques, equipment requirements, and hazards of deep air diving, to competently utilize air for dives up to 55 metres/180 feet that require staged decompression, using nitrox mixtures or oxygen during decompression.

The Training

The TDI Decompression Procedures Course includes three parts:

• Online learning – once you have signed up for the course, we will provide you a code to sign up for the online learning in advance of your practical training to work through at home. You will then go through key areas in greater detail with your instructor and cover areas such as plus many others:

• • Hypoxia 
  • Decompression options 
  • Team planning
  • Technical dive support
• Classroom training – After you have reviewed the key knowledge areas and ready to go you will then join your instructor for the practical element of your training and cover the following areas:
  • Generating decompression plans using computer software
  • Creating contingency dive schedules in the event of an emergency
  • Equipment checks and labelling prior to a technical dive
  • Use of START acronym to begin a dive
• Open Water Training – After you have covered the key knowledge through the online learning, you will then join your instructor for 4 open water dives where you will cover the following plus much more:
  • Lift bag deployment as back-up buoyancy
  • Demonstrate ability to confirm gas switches at depth with buddy/team members
  • Demonstrate competence managing 2 stage cylinders
  • Gas matching procedures

What to expect:

Following sign up, we will be in contact to send you across your e-learning for Extended Range,  to give you ample time to complete before you join us for your practical training.

The training takes place either over 2 days for the single course or 4 days for the combined course consisting of a mixture of classroom theory, dive/gas planning and of course in water training. The days are pretty extensive, starting between 7 and 7:15am to get the dives done, with the afternoons being used for the classroom sessions.

The majority of our training dives are conducted on the Zenobia wreck as it provides the perfect training ground allowing a maximum depth of 42 metres with multiple platforms for training key skills and drills. At least one of the dives will be conducted off the wreck to allow the depth needed to complete the training, due to the nature of Larnaca bay, the bottom is sandy with clear visibility so offers a controlled training environment to complete the deeper, more challenging dives.

In between the dives you will spend time in the classroom with your instructor going into detail on dive planning using decompression software and creating back-up decompression schedules. Due to the skill heavy nature of the course we only teach at a maximum of 2:1 ratio to allow adequate practice time for each student, increase safety and enjoyment.

No more than 2 dives will be conducted in a day as they are skill heavy and to allow your bodies a break, plenty of water and food is advised throughout the course to keep you in tip top shape and ensure you get the most out of your course.

Throughout the course we allow for ample time for equipment adjustments and to get comfortable in the equipment so we may carry out additional dives to ensure you are comfortable before you leave us.

It is important to note that technical diving and training is never one to be taken lightly, you are now looking into a level of diving which requires a lot more study, discipline and, most importantly, accepted risk than you will have experienced at any of your previous levels of recreational training. As a result, as much as we want you to enjoy your training we also want you to take it seriously for your own safety and those who you choose to undertake this diving with in the future. Please note passing this course is not a given and does require your full attention, if for whatever reason we are asking you to extend your training or go and build experience before continuing we are doing this purely in your interest and safety.

Pre-requisites

• Age: 18 years old and above
• TDI Advanced Nitrox Diver and TDI Decompression Procedures Diver ,or equivalent, from an alternative agency
• Minimum of 100 logged dives, of which 25 must be deeper than 30 metres
• Good physical health – You will need to fill out a self certification medical statement. If you have any medical conditions you think may prevent you from scuba diving please feel free to contact us