My good friend Ayesha Cantrell recently became a Technical Diving Instructor, one of the few women to take on the challenges of going below 60 metres and teaching others how to enter this amazing but hostile environment. Here she describes what attracted her to tech diving and why she did her tech courses in Thailand
1) What made you want to take up tech diving?
Curiosity. I had so many unanswered questions – what happens when you go into deco – how does everything change – how’s the narcosis and what the hell is really down there anyway!! And do I really need all these tanks and all this equipment (yes)???? I knew that it was going to be a challenge for me physically too but I also knew that it would improve my knowledge and experience as a dive professional. I also have a big girl chip on my shoulder and this type of diving is usually dominated by men – so therefore anything you can do …I actually started my tech courses in Mexico and although I loved it technical diving in this region revolves around fresh water cave exploration rather than open ocean diving – really not my thing.
Ayesha
2) What previous scuba experience do you have and how do you progress to being a tech diver?
I’m a scuba diving instructor and have dived all over the world but you don’t have to be that experienced. As a recreational diver you can be trained as a technical dive but you do need some experience and qualifications. You must have entry level, Advanced and Rescue qualifications plus your basic Nitrox qualifications. Beyond that you must be experienced in deep diving too within recreational limits – however any dive centre offering a technical course will undoubtably be able to offer you the courses and experience that you may be missing to start you technical diving adventure.
The most important thing to remember is that you are happy with your chosen school – check out their experience and qualifications and what type of diving they are doing. For me it was important that they were active and experienced technical divers with a solid group of active and experienced divers to learn from, running trips frequently in order to keep skills up to date so that I didn’t finish my course with no outlet for interesting diving. Technical diving isn’t for everyone and you must be comfortable with the risks.
Getting in the water can be tricky
3) Why did you choose Thailand as the place to do your tech course?
I always intended to complete my courses and upon arriving back to Koh Tao in Thailand to work as a underwater videographer for ACE Marine Images I started to look around for training. To complete my course I wanted experienced and active technical divers – and some real diving – not recreational sites – and knowing Koh Tao well I didn’t think this would be available.
In my 18 month absence from the island however things had changed. I was introduced to Jamie and Stuart who are the proud owners of MV Trident – Thailand’s first technical liveaboard. Fully equipped, the team are finding virgin wreck sites each time they drop mooring lines. I knew this is where I wanted to be – being among the first to dive some of these deep wrecks is absolutely amazing. I’ve always loved wrecks and these are untouched – finding each wreck as she has slept on the sea bed unseen by human eyes for decades – everything is as it fell – not like the sanitized wrecks dived by hundreds each day. Having the opportunity to venture down the shot line just to see what is at the bottom – if that large red mass picked up by the boat’s sounder is another wreck or …? Amazing – true exploration and hidden treasure. Where do you get that in the world now ???
Techthailand.com is Jamie and Stuart’s website for the MV Trident. I’ve been on 3 trips now and each time it just gets better. Descending down that line is something I can’t describe – I never knew 60m was that far. The water on top of the thermacline must top 30m viz….dipping into the thermacline and seeing the wreck appear like some lumbering ghost, shrouded by nets, groupers the size of cars hiding in wheelhouses, and everything just literally as it slipped and fell as the ship took her last gasp of sea air. A lot of the wrecks we have dived still need identification and we identified one on the last trip – even finding her bow over a mile away. Barracuda the size of me keeping a watchful eye on your deco schedule, jellyfish floating passed like mini eco systems of their own and belligerent sea snakes to avoid on the deco bar !!
MV Trident
4) Will you be doing tech diving elsewhere in Thailand e.g. Pattaya or Hin Muang
Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are definately tempting at some point in the future but for now I’m counting the days til MV Trident drops her mooring lines once again in the new year to visit a few old friends and search for new wrecks …
5) what’s the most important thing you’ve learnt while tech diving
Check everything and be prepared for anything…..
6) Do you ever get the fear when you are down at 60 metres? How do you deal with it?
I’m not sure I’ve experienced ‘the fear’ yet but certainly I’ve been given a few different slants on reality due to our old friend narcosis.
Check everything twice…
7) Do you prefer tech diving to recreational diving (above 40 m)
Im sure i will never lose the love for the relative simplicity offered through recreation diving – I do like reefs and ‘pretty’ fish (sorry boys- I’m still a girl) but recognise that in order to feed my wreck passion and sometimes in other instances too that diving deeper is required and this needs to be done safely and with the proper procedures.
8 ) You’ve worked as an Open Water instructor for the last couple of years – what do you think you’ll do next in the dive world?
My decision now is whether just to keep technical diving as a hobby or whether to teach or whether to take my photography and videography skills to a whole new depth – but all this costs ….
9) What’s your favourite colour
BLUE
NB: Ayesha became a Technical Diving Instructor after she wrote up these answers for me and has subsequently dived the USS Lagarto, the USA submarine discovered by Jamie and Stuart on the MV Trident in 2006 in the Gulf of Thailand. Thanks to Ayesha for taking time out to answer all my questions!