Recreational Trimix Course

[Chuck_Northrup]

Hello again everyone, it has been a while:

This is a message I had not anticipated needing to write for a month or so, but it seems that the proverbial cat is out of the bag. Going Under Dive Center will now be offering the Enriched Air Trimix (EA3) or Recreational Trimix Course.

This course is designed as a recreational course (MOD 132fsw) with the use of enriched air/helium mixtures. I do not want to get too in-depth on the specifics. That is primarily course material, but upon graduation students will be able to use trimix mixtures with 28-40% O2 content and an equivalent narcotic depth of no greater than 70fsw. The use of 30/30 will be encouraged. Basic Nitrox and Advanced Diver are required, and Deep Diver certification is encouraged. This course can be taught in conjunction with Nitrox and Deep Diver with the addition of more classroom time and additional dives.

There is more information available on our website , and for those of you who have seen the earlier section it has been updated as of yesterday. In order to support our EA3 divers we will also have pre-mix 30/30 on tap. We will be offering certification through two agencies IANTD and TDI.

The first class I will be offering will be either the second or third week in August. Sorry it will be so late in the season, but a busy schedule and the newness of the program necessitate a bit more time. For those of you wondering where the course came from, I can tell you that it was generated from the bottom up. Consumers in the industry have demanded it and the agencies are finally endorsing it.

We at GUDC have been mulling over the program for a while, and just before Our World Under Water I pitched the idea to TDI headquarters. They were interested, but needed an outline before they could make any decisions. While working on my outline Ron took a trip with Tom Mount and found out that IANTD already had an approved outline, so we decided to run with it. Approval for my TDI outline was just received yesterday, which is the primary reason I have withheld posting anything.

The first few classes we run will receive both certifications. This will help lend credibility to the program and also eliminate the “we do not accept so-and-so’s certification” attitude still prevalent in some dive shops across the country. Those of you interested in additional information can call me at 763-424-8717 or email me at Chuck@goingunder.net

I now officially open the floodgates of slander and opposition to the course, but what do you expect from a stroke who teaches people how to dive with death machines? All I ask, as usual, is that all hate mail is delivered in person.

Safe Diving,

Chuck Northrup
Going Under Dive Center