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EXPERT SIDEMOUNT AT A GLANCE
• Course Duration: 5 Days Minimum
• Certification and Entrance Fees Included
• Tanks With 32% Nitrox Fills Included
• Equipment: Appropriate Sidemount Harness
PREREQUISITES
• Age: 16 Years Old
• Number of Dives: 25 Logged Dives
• Certification: Open Water Certification
• May Be Combined With Subsequent Courses
WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE CERT?
This course will get you a TDI sidemount certification and qualifies you to independently use single or double cylinders on recreational sidemount dives. It is a prerequisite for any of our technical, cavern, or cave courses should you choose a sidemount configuration for your training.
CAVE TRAINING PATH
SIDEMOUNT EXPERT DETAILS
True redundancy, the ability to access and repair gear underwater, reduced drag and improved stability . . . there’s many reasons to dive sidemount but the most important reason is harder to define. It’s a feeling of freedom, of the ability to move and hang in all directions effortlessly. Learning to dive sidemount requires much more than simply strapping two tanks on your sides, and it’s true that it’s a bit more complicated than backmount at the beginning. But with proper training, using your sidemount system to its full benefit quickly becomes second nature. Side mount is not a trend and it’s not just for tech divers anymore. It’s a new way of diving, and we love it!
WHERE WILL I DIVE DURING THE SIDEMOUNT COURSE?
One of the advantages of training in the Riviera Maya is that we have some of the nicest “pools” in the world. The confined water portions of the side mount course are conducted in the open water of the cenotes, in locations such as Cenote Ponderosa. Where you dive for your scenario practice and check out dives will depend upon the goal of your side mount course. If you are enrolling in open water side mount, the last day of the course will take you to the ocean on a private boat for two reef dives. If you are combining your course with a the TDI Cavern Diver or TDI Cave Diver training, the course will be combined with overhead environment skills, and your check out dives will move you forward with your cave training. All theory and equipment tinkering is conducted at Under the Jungle, where we have a classroom, work shop, and air conditioning!
WHAT WILL I LEARN DURING THE SIDEMOUNT COURSE
The TDI Sidemount Course combines and equipment workshop, dive theory, confined water skills, and scenario practice.
⇒ EQUIPMENT WORKSHOP
The great thing about side mount gear is that it’s highly adjustable. The drawback of side mount equipment is that it must be adjusted to each diver. The equipment workshop will help you achieve a custom fit, and ensure you understand how to make adjustments to your side mount system in the future. During the work shop, we will also cover a variety of regulator configurations for different types of dive scenarios.
⇒ SIDEMOUNT THEORY
There’s more to sidemount than you might think, at least if you want to do it properly. During the theory portion of the course, we’ll cover topics such as gas management, tank configuration, diving with mixed teams (back mount and sidemount) and emergency considerations. We’ll also review any base dive theory skills such as dive planning that you feel rusty with.
⇒ CONFINED WATER SIDEMOUNT SKILLS
In sidemount, divers have more options for solving problems than they do in back mount. None of the solutions are complicated, but it’s definitely worth covering them in the confined water before ever taking your gear to a more difficult environment.
• Donning and removing side mount gear at the surface
• Pre dive checks and planning
• Proper sidemount trim and kicking techniques
• Regulator switching
• Long hose air sharing and restowing the long hose
• Valve shut downs
• Managing free-flows and hose issues by feathering the tank
• Switching to back up buoyancy system
• Managing free flowing power inflator in a variety of ways
• Dealing with a hardware or clip failure
• Dealing with a bungee failure
• Removing and replacing a tank underwater
• Ditching a tank underwater
• Mouthpiece replacement
⇒ SIDEMOUNT DIVES AND SCENARIO PRACTICE
Open water dives under the supervision of an instructor will help you to practice skills in a realistic scenario and enjoy your first side mount dives in a safe manner. These dives will also give your instructors a chance to drill you on your new skills in a more realistic environment, but don’t stress, if you have perfected your skills in the shallow confined water, doing them at depth is a piece of cake! If you are combining your side mount course with a cavern or cave course, you’ll do a little more training for the overhead environment, then start to apply these skills in the cavern.
