CCR training on a liveaboard ?....

[silent running]

Hello Deano2, as for advice about making the move to CCR, the first thing you should do is to figure out exactly what kind of diving you want to do and why you want a CCR. Are you mostly a recreational diver with some future tech ambitions, like myself, or are you mainly interested in tech diving? Or is there some other reason you are considering CCR? Once you have figured out your objectives, then it would be time to move on to which CCR you might want to buy based the features you would need to do the type of diving you want to do. As I've said before, I'm very glad I moved over to CCR and have no regrets. Even if you are just a recreational diver, it will improve your experience by providing you with more frequent and higher quality interactions with animals. I don't know anybody who changed over to CCR and went back to OC as their primary mode of diving. But it is a comitment and requires dedication, attention to detail and much higher level of independance than standard recreational OC diving. A good place to start gathering information about CCR diving is Jeff Bozanic's Mastering Rebreathers. That's the text book we used for our Prism class. Let us know if you decide to go CCR and I'm sure you'll get more than enough advice about which unit to buy.-Andy

 

[Deano2]

Hi Andy,

I only have the desire to dive with a CCR to get closer to the marine life, enjoy the comfort of warmer diving and have a loooonng dive. I don't really have any tech diving goals per say and therefore going through the tech training just doesn;t have it's appeal. In fact it's a turn off to even trying CCR's.

I'm not even sure why tech diving is a prerequisite since diving with a rebreather will be within recreactional limits and from what i read, the diving is totally different then diving with trimix in a dry suit. No extra equipment is required with a CCR as long as you have a Nitrox computer. Anyone that can shed light on that topic would certianly enlighten me. Why do the certification agencies want deco diving as prereq?

Reading the poll on what's keeping rebreathers back you see there are so many opinions. My travel agent said that IF I was going to give a CCR a try, then onboard the GD with Craig would be the best possible choice as he is a great instructor and the diving conditions good for trying.

I just gotta give it try. I did order Jeff Brozaic's back and it will arrive in Holland in 6 weeks, that's after airmail to the UK and then pony express to the south of Holland.

Best Regards,

Dean

 

[caveseeker7]

Hi Dean,

your question regarding technical prerequisites is justified, as your initial CCR certification will be for no deco diving within recreational depth limits. Taking a WAG it probably has to do with the historical development of CCR diving and the fact that most divers opting for the technology had (and probably still have) extend range diving in mind. Also, technical training places emphasis on skills and planning, something that will come in handy when diving a CCR, even within rec limits.

Nitrox training makes sense as you will be diving with a nitrox mixing machine on your back.
Recreational nitrox certs are usually limited to 40% O2 for safety reasons, with 32% and 36% being standard mixes.
Advanced Nitrox training goes past that limit and you'll learn safety procedures with more volatile mixes.

Not all agencies do require technical training (i.e. deco procedures) for your initial CCR certification.
ANDI's CSU training for example certifies to 50% nitrox and two mixes, teaches the use of a pony/stage bottle, all within recreational depths and NDL. The information and material provided are excellent, and I found it a very good match for RB training.

As for recommendations regarding the environment for your training I would probably heed the advice of experienced CCR instructors and divers rather than your travel agent. Not only do they have the knowledge and experience, they also have no financial stake in your decision.

 

[silent running]

Hi Deano2, firstly I got my Prism CCR certification through Naui. They only require basic nitrox for level 1 air diluent diving. IMHO this is the way it should be for a recreational CCR diver. As long as you stay within no deco limit diving, there are minimal things to worry about. In fact, if you are properly trained, no deco CCR diving is safer than the same OC profile, if for no other reason than that you have so much more time to deal with problems. I'm sorry to hear that you are discouraged by the technical side of dive training. I found that I enjoyed learning the technical/physiological science side of CCR diving much more than I did when I last tackled similar subjects in college. I think taking up CCR diving for purely recreational purposes is great. That was 90% of my reason for making the switch. As I have said elswhere, my interactions with animals were far more numerous and enjoyable as a silent diver. I've never been more satisfied with a big purchase than when I bought my Prism. As for advice on which unit to buy as a purely recreational diver, the obvious factors for you will be size, weight and ease of use. But there are other factors which may not be so obvious at first but will later become very important to your comfort while diving the unit. Like how easy the unit breathes, does it have enough redundancy, how easy is it to set up and maintain and so on. Let me know if you have any specific questions down the line.-Andy

 

[Deano2]

Hi Dean,

your question regarding technical prerequisites is justified, as your initial CCR certification will be for no deco diving within recreational depth limits. Taking a WAG it probably has to do with the historical development of CCR diving and the fact that most divers opting for the technology had (and probably still have) extend range diving in mind. Also, technical training places emphasis on skills and planning, something that will come in handy when diving a CCR, even within rec limits.

Nitrox training makes sense as you will be diving with a nitrox mixing machine on your back.
Recreational nitrox certs are usually limited to 40% O2 for safety reasons, with 32% and 36% being standard mixes.
Advanced Nitrox training goes past that limit and you'll learn safety procedures with more volatile mixes.

Not all agencies do require technical training (i.e. deco procedures) for your initial CCR certification.
ANDI's CSU training for example certifies to 50% nitrox and two mixes, teaches the use of a pony/stage bottle, all within recreational depths and NDL. The information and material provided are excellent, and I found it a very good match for RB training.

As for recommendations regarding the environment for your training I would probably heed the advice of experienced CCR instructors and divers rather than your travel agent. Not only do they have the knowledge and experience, they also have no financial stake in your decision.

Hi Caveseeker,

Thanks for the great advise. I tried the link to ANDI where I checked out the website. I tried the link to ANDI Benelux but seems the site is down. Once I contact ANDI I'll be sure to get in contact with the local folks and have a chat with them.

Be assured that I'm not over confident nor trying to cut coners in my training. It will will probably work out that I wind up going back and doing the deco diving segment anyway, after all it was when I was snorkeling and I saw divers below that I knew I had to go down there. I love the sport, grew up on the ocean in Panama (my old man was an avid fishermen) and want to try diving without bubbles, it's that simple. I'll try it and if I like it, I'll keep going. Hopefully i'll get a chance to try before next year when i have the trip booked that way I won't waste anyone's bubbles (sorry, couldn't resist).

Deano2

 

[Deano2]

Hi Andy,

I've ordered a book and read some thngs on the web, including posts here. I'm definitely giving it a try. Hopefully I'll be able to make time before next year to go and give it a try. If I'm in Florida with a few extra days I'll try to make arrnagements. I'll be in touch and ask you a question from time to time. i think from what i see and read that the KISS revreather has alot to offer the recreational diver. What's with the Inspiration is that a good rebreather?

BTW - Since when are New Yorkers so friendly? Is the post Gulliani NY ?

Keep in touch.

Deano2