info@underthejungle.com
SIDEMOUNT EXPERT AT A GLANCE
• Course Duration: 4 Days Minimum
• Certification Fees Included
• Tanks With 32% Nitrox Fills Included
• Equipment: Tec-Appropriate Side Mount Harness
– Diver Must Have Own Harness, All Other Items Available for Rent
PREREQUISITES
• Age: 16 Years Old
• Number of Dives: 25 Logged Dives
• Certification: Open Water Certification
• Course May Be Combined With Subsequent Courses
WHAT CAN I DO WITH THIS CERTIFICATION?
This course will get you a TDI Side Mount Certification and qualifies you to independently use single or double cylinders on recreational side mount dives. It is a prerequiste for any of our technical, cavern, or cave courses should you choose a side mount configuration for your training.
True redundancy, the ability to access and repair gear underwater, reduced drag and improved stability . . . there’s many reasons to dive side mount 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 side mount requires much more than simply strapping two tanks on your sides, and it’s true that it’s a bit more complicated than back mount at the beginning. But with proper training, using your side mount 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 SIDE MOUNT 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 SIDE MOUNT COURSE
The TDI Side Mount 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.
⇒ SIDE MOUNT THEORY
There’s more to side mount 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 side mount) and emergency considerations. We’ll also review any base dive theory skills such as dive planning that you feel rusty with.
⇒ CONFINED WATER SIDE MOUNT SKILLS
In side mount, 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 side mount 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⇒ SIDE MOUNT 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.
