Rebreathers in Oahu

Hi all,

Well, I have recently finished my rebreather training and started taking my camera out with it. First of, the thing out of the water is a major PITA, it is heavy and bulky, but underwater it is awesome, it really makes you feel like you belong down there. It is true, you can get closer to everything!

Here is me going through my pre-dive check list:

And some photos of my buddies during the dive:

Amazingly, there is a tourist submarine that goes around this particular shipwreck here in Oahu, so for $120 you can dive here without getting wet:

And here is what came to us during the ascent:

Hope you like it!

Luiz

ooh.....looks like someone was diving the YO....bet the tourist got a kick out of not seeing bubbles coming from you......

but wow, their prices have gone up?....I though it was closer to the 80 range, but I have never paid more than 20-something thanks to government discounts....their dinner criuses are outstanding as well....

nice pix of the Honu....looks like the smaller ones were resting when you were down......either way it is always nice to see them.....

Ha...love that sub shot especially the guy taking your photo! So how long can you stay down with a rebreather? I've seen people stay down for over 2 hours. That alone makes me want to upgrade.

hi luiz,

i also finsihed my RB training 2 months ago and i am diving now frequently with the Draeger Dolphin which we have in our dicing center ... only semiclosed, but still lots of fun. which one are you diving closed circuit or semiclosed?

(and yes, they are very heavy and bulky)

greetsw, serge

I am also thinking of "upgrading" to a rebreather. Closed circuit is the way to go. The evolution or inspiration have the best electronics package. Big advantage is that you can vary the Oxygen mix while you are underwater, increasing oxygen concentration as you decompress. Most of my friends use heliox mixes, less fatigue and deco problems than nitrogen mixes. Biggest problem is availability of scrubber material and gas mixes (oxygen concentrator, helium) at dive sites that you may visit. You may have to preship the stuff there. rigs are heavier and more problems when traveling by air. 40-50 pounds average weight. You also need a bailout bottle and regulator. All said, I think that this is the future of sport diving.

Thanks for the comments everyone...

ooh.....looks like someone was diving the YO....bet the tourist got a kick out of not seeing bubbles coming from you......

but wow, their prices have gone up?....I though it was closer to the 80 range.

You may be right, I am not sure how much is it, but I think it did go up and is now over 100. Locals pay a lot less though.

Ha...love that sub shot especially the guy taking your photo! So how long can you stay down with a rebreather? I've seen people stay down for over 2 hours. That alone makes me want to upgrade.

How long? My longest dive was 2 hours and 45 minutes, but I could have stayed at least another hour if I wasn't so cold!

hi luiz,

 

i also finsihed my RB training 2 months ago and i am diving now frequently with the Draeger Dolphin which we have in our dicing center ... only semiclosed, but still lots of fun. which one are you diving closed circuit or semiclosed?

 

(and yes, they are very heavy and bulky)

 

greetsw, serge

The one I'm diving is the Inspiration, closed circuit. It is built like a tank and relatively easy to operate (but I must confess I haven't used any other brand).

I will try to post some more photos later today.

Luiz

Luiz:

Congratulations on your move to the "dark side" of diving with closed circuit rebreathers. I've been diving and photographing with them for years and absolutely love it. I started with semi-closed units (Dolphin and then the Azimuth) and then a few years ago moved up to the KISS CCR. For my traveling the Sport Kiss works well as I can put the entire unit with cylinders into a Storm Case and make the 50lb weight limit.

For those of you who might be interested in CCR but think they are only for technical diving, I wrote an article in last month's Underwater Journal about Recreational Diving with CCRs. Check it out at www.underwaterjournal.com. It's in issue number 3.

Walt Stearns has organized a CCR-only Goliath Grouper trip this Saturday as they are spawning right now. We have hopes of seeing large numbers of these large animals. Hopefully he or I will be posting some nice shots Sunday!

Doug