Global Underwater Explorers; Why it’s a Great Federation for Technical Diving

Are you a recreational diver who has been thinking about taking that next step into the technical diving world? Have you reached the recreational limits and thought, I want more? Technical diving officially starts once depths deeper than 40 metres (130 ft) are reached. Up until those depths, it is considered recreational diving.

Several diving federations offer technical diving courses, but it’s not always easy to choose which would suit you best. Here we will be discussing Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) and what they have to offer. Maybe you will find this to be the technical diving federation of your choice!

GUE is the kind of federation that thinks beyond course requirements. Their goal is to create a community of passionate divers who continue to explore, learn and educate. The number of GUE divers is definitely less than other federations, but the quality of divers in GUE is high.

The courses GUE provides cover a more comprehensive range of theory and a higher number and level of skills. Even though they have classes that cater to new and beginner recreational divers, GUE excels in their technical diving courses and is especially sought out for those. They offer beginner courses, open circuit technical courses, closed-circuit/rebreather courses, cave diving courses

One element that really makes GUE stand out from the crowd is its level of standardisation. Every GUE diver anywhere in the world will learn the exact same theory and skills, the very same equipment configuration, and pass courses with the same expectations.

This training philosophy means that you can confidently dive with any other GUE diver globally know that they know what you know and dive how you dive. Considering divers often travel around the world, having this assurance makes diving trips more relaxing and enjoyable.

Some Unique Selling Points of GUE:

A cleanup dive with Ghost Diving and Healthy Seas - cleaning up fishing line - Credit: Jenny Lord

●      GUE’s focus is spread between education, conservation, underwater projects, and exploration. They are a non-profit that puts a lot of money back into these missions to raise awareness and protect the environment.

●      GUE divers support the environment through affiliates with other conservation organisations such as Ghost Diving, Reef Check, and more.

●      They also have Project Baseline, where they survey and map out underwater locations to allow environmental monitoring.

●      GUE diving is very team-oriented. It goes beyond the well-known buddy system. You can fully trust that your team is on point and you are supported as a diver, just as much as they can rely on you to support your team members.

●      They work with equipment standardisation, so no matter where you take the course, you can always guarantee the same equipment will be used.

●      It is also mandatory that anyone who joins the GUE community is a non-smoker. This is part of their goal to create “personal excellence, physical fitness, and mental toughness” in their divers.

●      They really invest in their instructors to continue and grow as divers themselves, so they can continue to excel as instructors. They want to instill the passionate explorer mindset into their instructors to share it with their students.

An Overview of GUE Courses

Two CCR divers post-dive in Dahab, Egypt - Photo Credit Mohammed Magdy Hafez

The Fundamentals
This course provides new GUE divers with the groundwork to become confident and competent divers. Anyone who wants to take this course needs to be a certified diver already. This course focuses on perfecting your fin kicks, covers multiple safety procedures, implements the team-diving mentality, tries to perfect buoyancy, and so much more.

For anyone wanting to get into the GUE world, even experienced Advanced Trimix instructors, have to take this course first. Even experienced divers have reported learning a new way of thinking, doing, and diving from the GUE Fundamentals course.

Technical Diver 1
This is the first course that steps into the open circuit technical diving world. It will teach you the proper mindset to manage risk, focusing on dive planning, teamwork, communication, and situational awareness. This is an effective entry course into the diving world, and by the end of it, divers will feel genuinely ready to tackle that next step.

Technical Diver 2

This next step in open circuit technical diving allows experienced technical divers to reach new depths. They will increase their knowledge and confidence to suit the challenges and risks associated with this new kind of diving. Tech 2 will enhance their deep-diving proficiency while using helium breathing gases and oxygen-enriched decompression gases.

CCR Diver 1

This is the first Closed Circuit Technical Course. Divers must have passed the Technical Diver 1 course and have at least 25 technical diver 1 dives to be eligible to take this course. CCR Diver 1 allows divers to experience a whole new kind of diving, minus the bubbles! Diving on a rebreather unit allows for longer dives, deeper dives, and the opportunity to get closer to marine life.

Other courses offered by GUE include Cave Diving courses, DPV diving courses, and more!

Full CCR kit for a GUE diver - Photo Credit: Imad Farhat

Do You Want to Become a Global Underwater Explorer?

Suppose you are looking for a diving experience and a diving federation that provides you with a tight community, a high level of teaching, and an endless amount of passion and dedication. In that case, GUE is the federation for you.

Whether you are new to diving, or an experienced diver who wants to change things up and become an even more confident diver, we can’t recommend GUE enough. Become part of the community that lives beyond the requirements! Find out more by visiting their website gue.com