One of the questions I hear most often from newly certified tech divers is: "So where can I put these skills to use?" Answer: Lots of places, including many you already know and love.

Tech diving isn't always about going to extreme depths or locales--sometimes it's about staying longer at traditional sport diving depths and sites. Think of it this way: technical skills allow recreational divers to expand the boundaries of where, how, how deep and how long they dive. Many "traditional" recreational sites are also excellent tech dives--but the tech diver enjoys a thorough look, while divers following no-deco depths and times get only a brief glimpse.

With that in mind, here are 10 great dives for beginning techies.

Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman

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| | Dive with the hammerheads of Cocos Island's Dirty Rock on a semi-closed rebreather to get more bottom time and less decompression.| Depth: 120 to 160 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression and advanced nitrox.

Bloody Bay Wall is renowned for its vibrant reefs and an abundance of tropical marine life at traditional sport diving depths. Well, guess what: It's pretty great down deeper, too.

The wall drops well over 1,000 feet, but for the beginning tech diver, I recommend a dive to 150 feet for 20 minutes, leaving you with only nine minutes of deco on air. If you're advanced nitrox certified, you can gain a physiological advantage by breathing 38 percent nitrox (available from shops on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac) on the deco stops. Another option: Make the entire dive on 27 percent nitrox and cut your deco time to six minutes.

Dirty Rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Depth: 140 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression, advanced nitrox and rebreather certifications.

The next hot spot on our list--Dirty Rock--is predator central. A deepwater pinnacle off Cocos Island, it's known for its schooling hammerhead sharks and a prolific list of marine life, including eagle and manta rays, whitetip sharks, sea turtles, silky sharks and enormous schools of jacks. Dirty Rock tops out at 65 feet, and while divers on air and standard recreational nitrox blends spend the bulk of their dive at this depth, divers trained and equipped for deco diving can drop down to the ledge at 140 and take in the entire ecosystem.

Diving on semi-closed nitrox rebreathers also helps divers get the most out of Cocos. Diving in stealth mode lets you drop onto sites like Lone Stone and watch as schools of curious hammerheads sweep in over your head. In addition to a more intimate interaction, rebreather divers also benefit from a very extended gas supply and longer bottom times with a shorter decompression obligation.

USCG Cutter Bibb, Key Largo, Fla.

Depth: 140 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression, advanced nitrox and wreck penetration.

This 327-foot Coast Guard cutter lies intact on her starboard side, and the wreck is both a slice of history and a haven for marine life. Descending on the mooring lines, you'll pass through schools of barracuda lined up along the ship that guarded Allied trans-Atlantic convoys from deadly U-boat attacks in World War II, and served in the Battle of Okinawa. It takes just a little imagination to see the activity on her bridge and feel the presence of her crew.

Though still in the range of traditional sport diving depths, no-deco profiles give you just 10 to 13 minutes to explore this large wreck. A basic decompression profile allows you the chance to explore the exterior at a more leisurely pace. Hanging wires and other entanglements, along with the size, age and the tilt of the wreck, also challenge wreck penetration divers.

USS Curb, Key West, Fla.

Depth: 140 to 190 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression, advanced nitrox, wreck penetration--and for the more adventurous, extended range diving.

In Key West, you'll find the USS Curb, a U.S. Navy tug lying on a sandy bottom in clear, warm water. The most interesting parts of this dive are found between 140 and 165 feet, requiring a staged decompression profile to explore the exterior fully and wreck penetration training to explore the interior of this vessel.

As divers descend through the water column, the hull of the ship seems to be undulating. Descend a few more feet, and the school of bait fish that conceal the hull will part so that you can see the actual structure of the wreck. The Curb is virtually untouched by divers and many artifacts still remain. The interior compartments are loaded with schools of yellowtails, angelfish and juvenile jacks. They're also home to a resident 300-pound jewfish.

Hydro Atlantic, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Depth: 175 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression, advanced nitrox and wreck penetration.

One of the most picturesque natural shipwrecks on the East Coast is off Ft. Lauderdale. The Hydro Atlantic was being towed to a salvage yard when she sank in a storm in 175 feet just off Hillsborough Inlet. Close your eyes and imagine a shipwreck--towering masts above a flat deck covered with marine life and circled by large barracuda. Add strong Gulf Stream currents and you've conjured the Hydro Atlantic.

At a depth of 150 feet, penetration divers will find large open areas in the superstructure. A popular penetration route through the vessel starts on the forward side near the center of the vessel, where the interior decks are loaded with marine life seeking a respite from the swift currents. A typical dive profile of 20 minutes in these compartments can be followed by a slow ascent up the vessel's rigging structures (actual bottom time of 30 minutes), and will result in about 32 minutes of decompression time. Or use 27 percent nitrox and cut the deco time to 26 minutes.

Mount Olympus, Grand Bahama Island

Depth: 110-plus feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression and advanced nitrox.

Accessible by live-aboard, this remote mountain of living coral is shot through with caves and swim-throughs that start in 80 feet of water. Descend through a living kaleidoscope of color and you'll exit at depths at 100 feet or more. To explore this amazing seascape fully, you'll need more bottom time than is allowed by traditional sport diving limits. Use 32 percent nitrox for dives up to 40 minutes in duration with only 15 minutes of deco, and you'll still be making new discoveries while your deco-challenged buddies are sitting on the boat.

U-352, Coastal North Carolina

Depth: 115 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression and advanced nitrox.

No trip to the wrecks of the North Carolina coast would be complete without a visit to the U-352. This German wreck lies in 115 feet of water and is accessible to recreational divers, but a simple, beginner-friendly deco profile can dramatically extend your bottom time.

This U-boat was sent to her grave by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus in 1942. She went down with loss of life and remains today as evidence of a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. This wreck is a war grave and out of respect, penetration is strongly discouraged. Additionally, these World War II-era diesel-powered subs are quite confined inside and penetration is, at best, a hazardous endeavor.

Papoose, Coastal North Carolina

Depth: 130 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression and advanced nitrox.

You don't have to travel all the way to the Pacific to see sharks. The Papoose is a casualty of World War II lying in 130 feet of water off the North Carolina coast. This wreck is shallow enough to be accessed for very limited duration dives by advanced recreational divers; however, if you're trained and equipped for basic deco diving, this wreck still yields a few artifacts and during mid- to late summer, it is teeming with sand tiger sharks. While the traditional recreational diver will have to call it quits after only 13 minutes on the bottom, the deco diver can more than double his bottom time--racking up 30 minutes with only a 14-minute stop. If you're a penetration diver, beware the heavy oil sludge that still coats portions of the interior.

Nippo Maru, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

Depth: 100 to 165 feet.

Recommended training: Full decompression, advanced nitrox and wreck penetration.

Tech divers who appreciate World War II relics in the Atlantic will also be moved by Truk Lagoon's relics from the war in the Pacific. Truk features many excellent dive sites, but the Nippo Maru is one of the best for beginning tech divers.

As you descend to the wreck's main deck at 130 feet, the most prominent feature is a Japanese battle tank poised as though it were still ready for battle and clearly identifying this ship's deadly intent as she sailed from Japan. The engine room telegraph still stands ready for action on the bridge, providing an excellent photo opportunity.

Like all the wrecks in Truk, this one is loaded with both prolific marine life and historical artifacts that add to the surreal feeling as you swim across her decks and inside her structure. This site provides penetration potential and a wealth of photo/video opportunities.

San Diego's Wreck Alley

Depth: 80 to 100 feet.

Recommended training: Decompression procedures and wreck penetration.

When divers think tech diving, they usually think deep. However, the sites of Wreck Alley provide an excellent example of great shallow dives made better when you can extend bottom times and use penetration skills that allow for more complete exploration.

In only 80 feet of water, the El Rey is a prime example and a beautiful spot for macro photography. A decade on the sea floor has left this artificial reef covered with strawberry-colored anemones, gorgonians, bryozoans and several species of starfish. However, her most striking feature is the covering of orange, brown and green cup corals that carpet sections of the wreck. Take advantage of extended bottom times with nitrox gases or staged decompression to get the best photo for your collection.

If wreck penetration is your interest, dive the 366-foot Yukon. A more recent artificial reef, this Canadian destroyer escort lies on her port side in 100 feet of water, but the size of the wreck and numerous man-made access holes make her an excellent penetration dive.

The Bottom Line

The technical profiles outlined here all require--at minimum--certification in decompression procedures. They should not be attempted without proper training and equipment.

Clearly, this level of diving is not for everyone, but isn't that the point? In every sport there is a cutting edge that requires an adventurous spirit. If you are possessed of that spirit, the adventure of technical diving is well within your reach.

Get With the Program: Tech Training Explained

Full Decompression. These courses have several names, including Decompression Procedures and Deep Air, and generally allow dives to a maximum depth of 150 feet. Deco profiles in this depth range can usually be completed in single tank dive gear with an extra stage cylinder of 30 to 40 cubic feet.

Advanced Nitrox. Basic nitrox courses train divers to use nitrox mixes of up to 40 percent oxygen. Advanced Nitrox courses expand this to include up to 100 percent oxygen. These mixes, commonly referred to as hot mixes or hyperoxic mixes, are used to extend bottom times at traditional depths (for example, a 60-foot dive on EAN50 for 150 minutes without deco stops) or to accelerate or improve the efficiency of decompression stops. Advanced Nitrox courses require divers to have an oxygen-clean cylinder and regulator.

Extended Range. These courses expand upon the skills listed above to take divers to a maximum depth of around 180 feet on air using separate tanks of hyperoxic mixes for decompression. Courses generally require twin cylinders or a high-capacity single (98 cubic feet or larger) with H-valves and an oxygen-clean stage bottle.

Limited Penetration Wreck Diving. Recreational courses that train divers to do simple swim-throughs, usually in open holds or superstructure areas, only. These courses are available from most traditional recreational agencies and can be completed in recreational gear with a few added accessories.

Full Penetration Wreck Diving. Offered by tech training agencies, these courses train divers to penetrate any portion of a shipwreck. Sometimes called Advanced Wreck and Technical Wreck, they require twin cylinders, a primary reel, a safety reel, a primary light and two backup lights. Depending on the agency or the wreck, you may also need stage bottles and other accessories.