Today I successfully completed my TDI Decompression Procedures Diver certification in Wellington, New Zealand. My instructor was Tony Howell of the New Zealand Sea Adventures dive center in Wellington, New Zealand.
Recreational sport divers do not practice or even learn planned decompression. The TDI Decompression Procedures course prepares divers for planned staged decompression diving. This course is a first step beyond the recreational sport diving limits, with a maximum operating depth of 45m. Some of the valuable information and skills Tony taught me on this course were the following topics:
- Equipment requirements
- Kit set-up
- Decompression breathing gases
- Decompression techniques
- Gas management
- Contingency planning
Together with TDI Advanced Nitrox, this course forms the foundation for the TDI Exteded Range and TDI Trimix courses.
The training materials we used included the TDI Divers Guide to Decompression Procedures, as well as the US Navy and the Buhlmann air decompression tables.
