Diving OC

onetime

I dove OC for the first time in a year in October. Can't say it was difficult at all. In fact, I found the lack of clutter, minimal setup, and the "noise" kind of comforting. Almost like putting on an old pair of gloves that were always comfortable but have outlived their usefullness.

The big complaint I had was the dry air! All the years of regular OC dives must have dulled my sensitivity to it but when I went back I kept yearning for the warm moist air of my Rebreather. Of course, I also yearned for the bottom time that would go along with it. It would have been nice to spend more than the bit more than an hour I got from the aluminum 80 in the warm water of Kauai.

nigelh

*sigh*
I did an O/C Red Sea trip in November. It was alright but I know what you mean.

Isn't it scary how the SPG plummets at depth?
These OC divers must be brave...

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nigelh

onetime

LOL, yes it is. Especially if you have to sit on the bottom for a while trying to get a good photo!

Love your last line!

CCR-Wrecker

I'm definitely in the minority. I did my last wreck dive OC, 110'(33m) on air. I had a grand old time. Not that I'm going to switch back, but I have to teach in OC.
Andy

caveseeker7

Don't worry Andy, we're talking about diving.
It's just like sex or pizza.
When it's good, it's really good.
When it's bad, it's still pretty good.

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Cheers
Stefan



"Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority,
and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media,
which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.!"

Mark Chase

No your not.

I got a twin 7s rig for diving 30m or less and to make matters worse i am doing DIRF. I dived it for the first time about 6 weeks ago on a DIR day. It was fantastic. So lite no drag buoyancy was easy you breath to go up you breath out to go down AMAZING

Done about 12 OC dive since. Weighting is funny as the rig goes so light at 50bar and it was bloody cold on Saturday but apart from that it was fun diving something that i had 100% confidence in and that was so easy to use.

People who dive CCR less than 30m for reasons other than the lack of bubbles for photos video etc are quite mad Sorry its the way I feel. Then again people who dive 60m+ on OC are mad so i wont be selling my one any time soon

ATB

Mark Chase

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Is it supposed to make that noise ?

I took my unit to the dive shop and demanded they bolt on every thing that would fit.

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Rich Sawkins

Fair enough, but would you care to enlighten us as to why ?

I dive my CCR always and won't consider using OC unless there is no other option. I've done two dives on OC since I got mine and I really had forgotten how noisy it is and how dry my mouth gets. At the weekend I dived with an OC buddy, even that was noisy !

Mike

Sorry Wizz, wasn't aiming the comment at you - you can take the piss as much as you like, you're doing it from the perspective of diving with a few of the guys with Prisms. We know that you're just joking with us. Baz however could probably do with learning a new joke or two - couldn't we start picking on the O2Pita guys now instead

For people who know that Baz is just fishing, and you and Steve etc. are just taking the piss and happily dive with people on Prisms, it is all just a joke, as it should be. But it would be interesting to see what opinion someone, who isn't familiar with the incestuous little CCR pit in Oz, comes away with. I'd really hate to jump on a boat somewhere and have someone tell me I can't dive becasue they have read somewhere that Prisms break all the time.

Mike

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Open ....... Closed
Mind ........ Loop

silent running

Hello Mark, ever try getting anywhere near a Sea Lion or Dolphin while blowing bubbles? It's not usually a successful endeavor. Surely you don't mean that I have to have a camera with me in order to justify getting close to sea life, do you? Secondarily, excess noise and dry mouth sucks, a lot. Last time I dove OC it was to jump back in the water to show my photog buddy where to find a Lacy Scorpion Fish that I found on CCR. I was the first person to find one, not just because I knew where to look, but also because I had enough wits about me to concentrate on finding the little bugger to begin with. Less discomfort=more brain power to focus on powers of observation. -Andy

Mark Chase

Enlighten?? No definitely not I am not experianced enough on a CCR to enlighten any one about very much of anything. I put a smiley after the comment for good reason. The comment was light hearted.

However My reasions for not diving CCR less than 30m are simple.

Too dangerous. On CCR You have to treat a 10m dive with the same respect you treat a 50m dive. On OC you can just jump in an do it switching the regs on and doing the buckles up on the way down the shot. In the past i have thrown my kit in the water and pretty much done that. The risk benefit analysis doesn't work until you get deep.

On a YBOD too big, too heavy, too much drag, too many restrictions on movement to many visual restrictions. Setting it up takes too long stripping it and cleaning it takes even longer.

Possibility for a canceled dive due to equipment failure is significantly higher than on OC.

Advantage of CR less than 30m.

Its warmer than diving OC so when water temps drop below 9c I would consider using it.

Sneaking up on marine life with UK diving is not an issue for me as I only dive wrecks in the UK but I can see it would be an advantage

Perfect mix for any depth with air dill is handy but on OC id just do everything on 32%

ATB

Mark Chase

__________________
Is it supposed to make that noise ?

I took my unit to the dive shop and demanded they bolt on every thing that would fit.

Join my elite diving teem and get a Tshirt

"Doing It Chasey"Hammerhead Eccr Advanced Diving System