Tech Transition

nigelh

Ditto except it was five years ago I was turned to the yellow side.
It has taken over all my diving, except shallow warm water stuff where shipping the kit is just too much agro.

CCR is a different mentality. I don't dive enough to stay really on top of the game on both OC and CCR so any serious dive is done closed. I don't change my procedures for shallow no-stop stuff aside from not festooning myself with bailout. I would not go back to OC for anything complex. It doesn't feel safe anymore. Bailout is not a plan based on what I have for the dive, it is a complete separate system. My OC 'mix training would throw its hands up in horror at that and the big skill of holding exact stops, the must have of mix diving, is just so different on CCR.

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nigelh

decoweenie

Nigel,

Could you explain that ?

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nigelh

[quote=decoweenie] I'm not sure I can.
It's a feeling not a reasoned position.

I've had an OC reg seize up on me once and it does leave a bad taste that you exhale, go to inhale and get nothing but if a T-piece came off and I got a big hit of seawater it would be as bad. Watching the SPGs plummet didn't help. I always felt that my tech diving was on a tight time budget while closed, provided I didn't do anything silly, I can fix it.

My attitude to deco has changed too. I use to draw a plot on the computer dump that was virtually the plan plus or minus a few seconds but now I plan without much conservatism and just take more time in the water, lethargic ascents followed by a chill-out attitude to 6 meters. The fact that my gas budget is only for bailout is something I like.

Now I'm an inveterate clock watcher so, just as I know my speed in a car because I looked at the speedometer within the last 20 seconds, I know my ppO2. It's not that I trust the thing but that I am confident that I can fix or bypass any fault it will throw at me. I do my drills. Manual control and switches.

I'm not sure why I feel safer but I do. I've had faults. I had a big CO2 hit, which was my fault, but I got out of it. Perhaps it's that most of the safety drills are problem fixes not desperate holding positions. If you shut down a twinset you are in the poo - the gas sums might not add up now. If I flood the loop and trash my whole rebreather I am on my bailout. It's going to be expensive but I'm going to get home without a trip on Coastguard Airways.

Alternatively... Maybe I'm getting complacent.

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nigelh

Deepwreck

I would have to agree. I went strait to CCR and never looked back. The CCR gives you so many options for bailout that diving OC isn't the same level of comfort. I have bailed out from 180' on training, and that only served to strengthen my resolve to stay CCR. I like the fact that I can do a dive to some wreck and when ever I get board or to cold I leave and start my deco. Keep in mind that I plan for a variety deco obligations, and bailout too. OC just doesn't give you that same options or Time. You have to be on a schedule or you'll run out of gas. Trimix diving on OC, in my opinion isn't nessesary if your plan is to go to CCR. Your deco bailout is slightly different, but not so different that you cant or wont learn the proceedurs in training.

schford

Another vote for going straight to OC from me!

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TordoffR

Stuart????

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Rich
"It's better to burn out, than to fade away."

schford

lol stupid me - I meant CC! God only knows what happened there, total disconnect between brain and typing.

My thoughts are why waste time and money training up on OC when there are so many new skills to learn on CC.

The only plus point to doing OC trimix first is you get a bit more experience if you ever have to bail out - but you cover that in your CCR courses plus you can practise it.

Stuart

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vidodivr

Hey Otter & Rebreather World,
I'm Deep Air and switching CCR, (and in SoCal Otter)
I still got the TDI OC manuals for Adv. Nitrox and Blender from my buddy and have read them as reference. I know it's hard to get the manuals without taking the class for students, but if you can....I am hoping to still check out the OC Trimix manuals and a couple of the ANDI manuals, when I get to that point down the road. There is so much algebra, calculations, and now Metric (for me anyway) and since Bailout is on OC, I don't think you can be over studied. Nitrox(SafeAir) is Nitrox(SafeAir) and Trimix is Trimix, it's just how you use them is differn't, NO?

Thanks in advance for your comments,
Rob

jont

Well whatever decision you make, Its something you must be comfortable with. The single most important thing when it comes to diving is your comfort level in the water. This is a combination of predisposition, training and EXPERIENCE. One thing I can tell you for sure is that there have been FAR to many "diving Accidents" that were totally unnecessary. I cant tell you how many people have been hurt or killed because they put themselfs on the "fast Track". Ive seen people go from single tanks, then 3 years later dive to 250' on Mix. It is my humble opinion that no matter how much you dive that progression is just to fast.

So I guess I would take the course that feels good. Time on OC helps build compotence and comfort in the water which helps you however you choose to enter the water (oc vs.cc).

Diving is like flying a plane, it requires constant education and practice to get really good.


Good Luck

hchoat

This is an extrmely good answer. More knowledge is never a bad thing- so don't feel as if you might be "wasting" your time on OC training. I have been diving OC and teaching OC trimix and the like for many years. I recently made the jump to CC. With less than 10 hours on CCR, I can tell you that the training has been fantastic. It has also been a lot to absorb in a relatively short period of time. I'm not sure that I would have gotten as much out of it were I learning "basic" diving and watermanship skills at the same time. My first dive on the Rebreather was less than graceful in my opinion. I was extremely uncomfortable (for a number of reasons), however, my comfort in the water and previous experience stood me in good stead. In fact, in discussing the dive afterward, my instructor told me I didn't appear to be nearly as uncomfortable as I felt. I'm not sure that would have been the case without the benefit of my previous experience.

I don't have an answer (or even a recommendation) as to whether you should go OC first, or just start with CCR, but perhaps my experience and comments will give you something to further to consider. Good luck either way!

Heather

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