Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Mount

otterinaround · 15th April 2008, 12:20

Your ill mannered idiot author has begun the road to salvation. Ok so maybe it isn't that evangelical but something divine had better intervene!
I mean arriving in Miami after a total 18 hour trip was a story in and of itself. Ok so I was flying business on British from Lebanon...but screaming kids, the beginnings of a cold and the lack of water only begun what appeared to be the road to deliverance. But delivered to what?
I and "the chief" arrived at the Best Western with its nonfunctional internet, scratchy phone, and interesting clientele the night before class began. Sleep had left us in the lurch. In Lebanon the time was 0700 not the 0000 in Miami

After sleeping until 500 (I think it was the excitement and the jetlag working in synergy) I woke up and prepped for our trip to castle Mount. We met Patti on the lawn and were notified about a new book coming out that needs "tons of work" after a publishing snafu.

We were greeted by 3 MASSIVE ROTTWEILERS (who are absolute dears) and "the man" TOM MOUNT. Wow!

Class began in a pleasantly informal style with introductions and histories all around.
We jumped in to the history of rebreathers in the first section of the lecture . Which is about as far as we got in the slide show. In our discussions we covered issues of oxygen toxicity, myopia, errors divers had made and things to keep an eye on.

Lamar Hires showed up which meant a break and... CHRISTMAS. There she was.. My O2PTIMA.. in her big black carry case. The Hires had outfitted us with the Nomad and transpacs for the kit.
Building the Rebreathers filled the rest of the day.
I screwed up and had to unbolt and rebolt the system several times. I hope it all finally sinks in...

I began by proudly hooking up the regs to the bottles and hoses to the counter lungs...
Um, your bottles are in the wrong place...
Strip the unit and start over

Oops what about the sensors... GULP undo EVERYTHING and start again!

The first issue at hand was finding the tools to strip the unit. FOR THOSE GOING INTO THIS BRING YOUR TOOLS... One Phillips head, a pair of needle nose pliers, scissors, and TWO adjustable crescent wrenches!!!

Hooking up the solenoid takes some doing as the rubber caps must fit tightly on the connectors and there is very little clearance to plug the sensor cable into the housing.

The routing of the hoses through the back of the O2ptima was my next mistake. I had to strip the bottles off and shove the hoses through the gap in the top. With the accompanying.. STRIP THE UNIT APART AND START OVER

Then came the you forgot the installation of an O2 cutoff for the solenoid resulted in....and yes you got it.. back to square one with the unit.

Ok FINALLY GOOD TO GO?

WRONG

What about the BC?
Of course STRIP THE UNIT and START OVER!

Time was up and we were told to take the units home to play and figure then out.

Me being a constant tinkerer... I decided to try out the position and routing of the cables..
This meant..
I changed the side of the HUD so that the cable wouldn't have to run too far... The connection is far too loose for the HUD and I was hoping someone would help me figure out how to bolt it down a bit better to the mouthpiece.
Trying to grab a little idea of how the thing worked with gas flowing through it. Trying to play with the idea of shutting off the bottles and individual outputs of the first stage. And breathing on a missing canister. WEIRD FEELING I MUST TELL YOU! I figured it was time to stop that little exercise when my Irises blew up to epic proportions!

Review the manual came next. The pictures are FAR TOO DARK to pick out much and really need a bit better background.. Maybe blue or green like they use for medical shots.

Expect many edits as I update this day to day.

scubagrunt · 15th April 2008, 13:00

great write up!! enjoy, and i will see you in sept
mel

**sfldiver** · 15th April 2008, 13:46

Merry Christmas and congratulations on the new Optima!

I too have rigged mine with the Dive Rite Nomad Wing and the Transpac Harness with the bungee and buttplate system for side mounting my bailout/deco bottles - You'll love it! You may want to consider the Dive Rite Offset D-Ring, as it really makes clipping the bungees, and whatever else you want to clip on, a snap, because the counterlungs can sometimes get in the way of a simple task:

SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Offset D-Ring

Rebreather Odds and Ends

I am a bit jealous, because I have yet to purchase the new travel case - I saw one at the shop the other day and it looks perfect for traveling with the Optima.

Question: Are you currently taking the class at this time with Tom or are you just writing up your experiences after already completing all the training and returning home? If you're here now, I think Tom was scheduled to dive the Doc De Milly with a group on the 18th, so if you're on that trip, you will love it, as it's a great wreck! Definitely look out for the school of HUGE Eagle Rays that always used to hover above the wreck.

Looking forward to hearing all about the rest of your training!

Adrian

**Monkey** · 15th April 2008, 19:39

Ah...... Shane, Ariel, and Shogun.... big puppies!

wait till you get in the pool with them.....

The house and the pool belong to the puppies, Tom and Patti are only guests there.

otterinaround · 26th April 2008, 00:22

Notes and replies first...
I beg and beseech my loyal, albeit few in number, audience for forgiveness. My busy training schedule has RUN ME RAGGED.

On the case... Dive rite just came out with a WONDERFUL carry on case that I saw at Tom Mount's house on April 21st. It fits EVERYTHING minus the Tanks. It's BEAUTIFUL!

Things I'm thinking of doing to the unit ( ok other than lighting it on fire and dancing around it in war paint and a feather)...
Drilling through for the 4th cell.

Bending a steel panel to cover the canister and provide that 6lbs weight I need over the can.
Insulating the can. (hotter cans mean better reaction and WARMTH)
Insulating hoses. Ok so I'm worried about getting them ripped.
Bungie cable for the mouthpiece. Day two...
After taking another crack at toying with the unit I found that I couldn't try out any of the things described in the Jergensen manual... Enter USERND... yup, like the VR3, this puppy HAS CODES.
Yup, predive checks...
I've read thousands of reports on Rebreather world about the "forgetting checklists an screwing up a dive... ending lives...taking hits..."
After finally running through one... I can see why.
I get this creeping feeling that, basically, I'd have better luck surviving by strapping the electric chair on my back charging her up and jumping in.

SCARY STUFF TROOPS!

Of course, there was the negative and positive tests, which we did for 5 minutes a piece. The check for flow, ADV, Manual addition, solenoids and “breathability” proceeded a discussion of some incident where someone didn’t exactly do just that. We would have gotten through in 15 minutes but with every check we got a story as to who did what to end up dead or nearly dead... it took several hours. I’m glad we spent such time as it gave great value to each step in the list. We diligently checked our units, and probably will for the rest of our lives.

Next came the ride to fill express and the pool. This ride is extremely long for anyone not used to the drag of not having onsite filling or an onsite pool. Add to it my jetlag and I must have been a real “joy” to be around.
It was cold in Miami even with a heated pool the wind was clipping along fast enough to make the family jewels make a run for your skull to hide in a "warm spot." Being a spoiled brat I took my 7mm. The pool session began. On the loop, off the loop, ADV on, ADV off, manual dil and the killer BUOYANCY!

I shot up and down in life but managing this is more like trying out for the plate spinner at the circus. THEY ALL MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY. I barely grasped the buoyancy relying on the automatic system, switching became a nightmare. It's amazing how stressful those 1/2 meter (2 foot) rise exercises can be!

We bumped into a couple meg divers. Tom who was testing a new mCCR observed as we made complete a$$es out of ourselves. Ego, has nothing to do with it, but… I feel truly idiotic on this Rebreather thing. The rushing to the surface, crashing to the floor, happened far too many times. I'd FAIL ME on BUOYANCY! Day Three… WINDS WERE HIGH… seas ended up at 8-12 feet with 30 knot winds. I think that translates to God saying “you’re trying to dive in the PERFECT STORM” with these Rebreather thingies take a peek at what happened to those poor dears in Sodom and Gomorrah. Buyers remorse, as someone on this board put it, DOESN’T COME CLOSE! Buying a Rebreather was starting to feel more like waking up in bed in a *****house with the BIG FAT bouncer instead of the hot blonde you thought you were with the night at the bar. With the dive called, we did class time. The horrors of hypercapnia, hyperoxyia, hypoxyia floated to the surface again. I’m driving a death box around UNDERWATER. Each explanation of a given condition brought up KNOW YOUR PPO2. We walked through the unit again and sent our bottles away for filling. WEIRD THINGS THESE AMERICANS… Not that we aren’t safety conscious back in Lebanon (ok just our club in particular) but these LAWYERS have gone OVERBOARD!!! I think these guys that have absolutely no life want the same for everyone else. I couldn’t count how many silly release forms there were to sign.

These things are useless in my humble opinion. Each individual decides of his or her own free will to dive a death box. Their family isn’t held accountable for their criminal record, why should they have anything to do with that individual’s dive record/decisions? The answer is because LAWYERS being trouble makers and general low lives… NEED TO MAKE MONEY THAT WAY. SAD very SAD!
Now thinking this through I may get frozen when we hit the open water. The wind was picking up this morning as I rode to the boat ride. We were heading out of one of the oldest dive shops in Miami to a wreck that sunk for a film. What follows next is a harrowing account of silliness followed by your wonderful author making an ass of himself. We dove down after a briefing on the wreck and a S-drill check. My buddy and HEAD of NISD Lebanon then spoke those fateful words... "Smeagle.. DON'T SCREW UP" WHO? ME? SCREW UP???

Heading down the wreck, I faced what was one of the most serious currents I have felt in some time, actually more like ever. That day I had decided to take a more aggressive approach in training and flew the unit manual, I dipped and spiked my ppO2 something fierce but came out feeling rather proud of myself for trying hard but unhappy with all the other important details. This dive felt like a BIG MISTAKE!

I forgot to look at my dive buddy, I forgot to keep an eye on Tom, buoyancy was its usual abysmal state of affairs. I ran through gas as if it was a bad habit. The ADV and solenoids were far too much in their addition cycles. I therefore decided to fly manual. The current was hammering and I kept being blown around, bumping into the floor and then fighting the current. Some spots on the wreck were fine but our first open water session and already doing loop flushes was a tall order. Rising up, off of the wreck I merely followed my leader’s ascent, no idea of deco on the machine, no idea of my bottom time, no idea of my runtime. I was lucky to be strapped to my unit for what my brain felt like handling.

Not having fun or even doing well on the first open water dive, I called my second. I wasn’t going to get beaten up in current and have something go wrong with a bit of kit I wasn’t comfortable with. Yes Tom Mount is there but the state of frustration I found myself in after that first dive was UNHEALTHY to say the least.

I skipped the dive on the tanks and barges that followed. I heard from the group that there were similar skills practiced but the current and activities on the bottom were difficult. Up on shore things kicked into evaluation. I received some well deserved bad grades. We decided to skip on Dinner to wash off and clean the kit. These rebreathers are QUITE labor intensive. On OC you had the spritz with water and you were ready to go. Rebreathers require tube cleanings, lung cleanings, cartridge cleanings and HEAVY LIFTING.

Whoever said they were easier to lift than doubles was forgetting all the other “required gear” that has to go with them! Think full canister and reels.

The next day began with a spinning head. I wasn’t well through the night and woke up groggy. There were dives planned, but me laying on Tom’s garage floor and not wanting to get up signaled the end of any dives to occur that day. Back at the hotel Vomiting ensued and bed rest with the shaking shivers. I HATE BEING SICK!!! Especially with such a font of information for a dive instructor. God Bless TOM! Day um I lost track….

We headed out to the speigel grove. This ship located off Key Largo is in a preserve meaning don’t do a damn thing but float. With the exercises and issues of the past to consider I was hoping to get back in gear and “get ‘er done”. Fate seemed to want otherwise. Tom’s Inspo.. decided schizophrenic behavior was the way to go so he was stuck scratching his head and trying to figure out why the yellow box was not happy with the usual voodoo offerings.

We dove in with another instructor on a meg. I meandered around the dive site getting tailed by a giant Jewfish. It’s pretty startling coming from Lebanon and all, (the fish there get speared so they fear anything resembling a human). We skirted up around the loading end of the wreck, off of the ramp and then in a walkway near the rear of the decks. That’s when I did it…

I tailed a similar looking Meg diver right into the wreck over the table in the room and up through a hole in the ceiling. I had just figured it was like Tom testing us for buoyancy. I got a hoot from my dive buddies just as I stuck my head up and through to witness… No instructor, and no group… UH OH I’d made an a$$ out of myself again. Heading back down I was lucky enough to smack right into the instructor hovering over the fence. Yup this was almost loony toons. Right at that instant, bathed in light and headed back to my group… my mouthpiece slipped. First, just the front of it leaving a gaping hole for water to pour in, THEN remembering the caustic cocktail lectures and posts on Rebreather world I kicked it out… WITHOUT SWITCHING THE DSV… DOH!!!

Ok Captain Stooopid you’ve just flooded your unit and after all the scary caustic talk you dare not put that thing in your mouth… Gotta go onto the Bailout. Crank open the bailout and… the entire bottle starts fizzing. I had gotten a bit overzealous and opened the DIN on the first stage. The Instructor swung over and handed me his bailout, clamped off the gas, and got be back on mine.

Drat this was bad!! Ok call the dive. We headed up the rope completing deco on the VR3 and HammerHead and then surfaced. Thanks to everyone who was there on the way up! We floated back to the boat with me getting a wonderful big ribbing for “canceling our dive.” The boys hopped back in for a double dip. Me, I sat it out.

So with the next day’s boat canceled due to motor issues and a session in the pool I was awarded the open water cert. Rash of bad luck, lack of practice and no time on the unit…Barely any rest… This hurt the wallet in a BIG way. The EGO even more so.

I haven't completed my dives or time (thanks to a puke fest in the room at hotel of doom). SO as things went these are the current updates. I must admit Tom did all he could but it wasn’t enough to get the full cert. safely. I need time on the unit and hate that it’s going to be out in the Wilds of Lebanon. Hopefully I can catch up with this particular unit and skill set and fly through the Normoxic course… But this isn’t skin diving… so I can’t hold my breath.

diveladydive · 27th April 2008, 00:21

You did great with setup, breakdown, & poolwork. I wish I could have joined the dives... The other instructor (on the meg) is George Gawinowski.

Believe me, we ALL feel like idiots when we start, & the bouyancy factor, plus skills, plus trim, plus lectures, etc. etc. is a hell of a lot to take in.

Enjoy your 'breather, & yes, Lamar, & his wife LeeAnn are sweethearts-

...& Shane, the "baby" rott is mischief in a 100+ lb package :-)

Put hours on the unit- & more hours- & more hours.. & practice those skills! Remember 1, 2, 3, & 4? <grin!>

Dive safe, wish I could join the Lebanese trip!

-Peri

edasque · 27th April 2008, 16:14

so wait, did you get your IANTD CCR Rebreather diver / MOD1 cert ?

diveladydive · 27th April 2008, 19:14

Quote: (Originally Posted by edasque)

so wait, did you get your IANTD CCR Rebreather diver / MOD1 cert ?

mods aren't given any more
In tech:

CCR Diver (specific to unit)
Normoxic CCR Diver (specific to unit)
Trimix CCR Diver (same)
Wreck CCR Diver (same)
Cave CCR Diver (same)
Crossovers to other units

& more, but no mods. Sorry

otterinaround · 27th April 2008, 23:38

Actually there is ONE MORE CERT... Right above whale p00p and below leech... It's what I got.... OPEN WATER CCR diver... Translation.. Brown stuff hits whirley thing and... I HAVE TO BAIL OUT rather than fix the loop.
It's because of not having time on the unit and screwing up so magnificently!

otterinaround · 28th April 2008, 00:17

Having read through the harrowing account I realized I missed one dive.. During this particular dive... Your intrepid author decided the best approach to enjoying a wreck off of the coast of Miami... was to get entangled in Fishing line. This dive I had actually behaved myself a bit better with bouyancy and piloting the unit. I had even managed to fly both the Hammerhead algorithm and VR3 protocol to completion. True, I burned up the Diluent and Oxygen. True, I had to get CUT out of the line that I couldn't see. And also True there is no need to do areal acrobatics to flush the loop, but this dive I was actually partway pleased with. So for you newbies on the O2ptima. You merely squeeze the lungs in a crossed armed hugging motion rather than sitting up, looking up and hammering down on the straps, lungs, hoses, and t valves like it was a bad habit.
Best wishes all catch you in the water around Lebanon if you come, when you come.

15th April 2008, 12:20	#1 (permalink)
otterinaround Smeagle-the dive carnival Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 63	Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Mount Your ill mannered idiot author has begun the road to salvation. Ok so maybe it isn't that evangelical but something divine had better intervene! I mean arriving in Miami after a total 18 hour trip was a story in and of itself. Ok so I was flying business on British from Lebanon...but screaming kids, the beginnings of a cold and the lack of water only begun what appeared to be the road to deliverance. But delivered to what? I and "the chief" arrived at the Best Western with its nonfunctional internet, scratchy phone, and interesting clientele the night before class began. Sleep had left us in the lurch. In Lebanon the time was 0700 not the 0000 in Miami After sleeping until 500 (I think it was the excitement and the jetlag working in synergy) I woke up and prepped for our trip to castle Mount. We met Patti on the lawn and were notified about a new book coming out that needs "tons of work" after a publishing snafu. We were greeted by 3 MASSIVE ROTTWEILERS (who are absolute dears) and "the man" TOM MOUNT. Wow! Class began in a pleasantly informal style with introductions and histories all around. We jumped in to the history of rebreathers in the first section of the lecture . Which is about as far as we got in the slide show. In our discussions we covered issues of oxygen toxicity, myopia, errors divers had made and things to keep an eye on. Lamar Hires showed up which meant a break and... CHRISTMAS. There she was.. My O2PTIMA.. in her big black carry case. The Hires had outfitted us with the Nomad and transpacs for the kit. Building the Rebreathers filled the rest of the day. I screwed up and had to unbolt and rebolt the system several times. I hope it all finally sinks in... I began by proudly hooking up the regs to the bottles and hoses to the counter lungs... Um, your bottles are in the wrong place... Strip the unit and start over Oops what about the sensors... GULP undo EVERYTHING and start again! The first issue at hand was finding the tools to strip the unit. FOR THOSE GOING INTO THIS BRING YOUR TOOLS... One Phillips head, a pair of needle nose pliers, scissors, and TWO adjustable crescent wrenches!!! Hooking up the solenoid takes some doing as the rubber caps must fit tightly on the connectors and there is very little clearance to plug the sensor cable into the housing. The routing of the hoses through the back of the O2ptima was my next mistake. I had to strip the bottles off and shove the hoses through the gap in the top. With the accompanying.. STRIP THE UNIT APART AND START OVER Then came the you forgot the installation of an O2 cutoff for the solenoid resulted in....and yes you got it.. back to square one with the unit. Ok FINALLY GOOD TO GO? WRONG What about the BC? Of course STRIP THE UNIT and START OVER! Time was up and we were told to take the units home to play and figure then out. Me being a constant tinkerer... I decided to try out the position and routing of the cables.. This meant.. I changed the side of the HUD so that the cable wouldn't have to run too far... The connection is far too loose for the HUD and I was hoping someone would help me figure out how to bolt it down a bit better to the mouthpiece. Trying to grab a little idea of how the thing worked with gas flowing through it. Trying to play with the idea of shutting off the bottles and individual outputs of the first stage. And breathing on a missing canister. WEIRD FEELING I MUST TELL YOU! I figured it was time to stop that little exercise when my Irises blew up to epic proportions! Review the manual came next. The pictures are FAR TOO DARK to pick out much and really need a bit better background.. Maybe blue or green like they use for medical shots. Expect many edits as I update this day to day. __________________ Started as a free diver .Moved on to scuba and advanced at Penn State Uni. 1998. Took up Nitrox while I got evacuated from the War in Beirut Summer of 2005. Began training in tech, advanced Nitrox and Trimix/HELIOX summer 2007... Starting Rebreathing on an Optima....Ouroboros...whenever I find someone to buy my other kidney.
(Offline)

15th April 2008, 13:00	#2 (permalink)
scubagrunt CCR Diva Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Megalodon Classic Kiss Optima rEvo Other CCR Other SCR Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Inspiration Vision Evolution Megalodon Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Optima rEvo Other CCR Other SCR Join Date: May 2005 Location: Washington Posts: 398	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun great write up!! enjoy, and i will see you in sept mel __________________ "No good deed goes unpunished!" www.silentscuba.com
(Offline)

15th April 2008, 13:46	#3 (permalink)
sfldiver Team Optima Diver Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 639	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun Merry Christmas and congratulations on the new Optima! I too have rigged mine with the Dive Rite Nomad Wing and the Transpac Harness with the bungee and buttplate system for side mounting my bailout/deco bottles - You'll love it! You may want to consider the Dive Rite Offset D-Ring, as it really makes clipping the bungees, and whatever else you want to clip on, a snap, because the counterlungs can sometimes get in the way of a simple task: SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Offset D-Ring Rebreather Odds and Ends I am a bit jealous, because I have yet to purchase the new travel case - I saw one at the shop the other day and it looks perfect for traveling with the Optima. Question: Are you currently taking the class at this time with Tom or are you just writing up your experiences after already completing all the training and returning home? If you're here now, I think Tom was scheduled to dive the Doc De Milly with a group on the 18th, so if you're on that trip, you will love it, as it's a great wreck! Definitely look out for the school of HUGE Eagle Rays that always used to hover above the wreck. Looking forward to hearing all about the rest of your training! Adrian __________________ *Currently piloting & shooting...* Dive Rite O2ptima FX Rigged w/ a Dsix Custom Aluminum Frame, Nomad Wing, Transpac Harness and VR3 Computer w/ VPM-B/E & a 4th Cell Sensor Link.* Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera Rigged in a Patima-PDCH 2008 G9 Aluminum Housing w/ an Inon UWL-100 Achromat Wide Conversion Lens, 2 Inon UCL-165M67 Close-Up Lenses and 2 Inon Z-240 Strobes. Last edited by sfldiver : 15th April 2008 at 13:49.*
(Offline)

15th April 2008, 19:39	#4 (permalink)
Monkey Supporting Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lauderdale By The Sea Florida Posts: 327	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun Ah...... Shane, Ariel, and Shogun.... big puppies! wait till you get in the pool with them..... The house and the pool belong to the puppies, Tom and Patti are only guests there.
(Offline)

26th April 2008, 00:22	#5 (permalink)
otterinaround Smeagle-the dive carnival Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 63	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun Notes and replies first... I beg and beseech my loyal, albeit few in number, audience for forgiveness. My busy training schedule has RUN ME RAGGED. On the case... Dive rite just came out with a WONDERFUL carry on case that I saw at Tom Mount's house on April 21st. It fits EVERYTHING minus the Tanks. It's BEAUTIFUL! Things I'm thinking of doing to the unit ( ok other than lighting it on fire and dancing around it in war paint and a feather)... Drilling through for the 4th cell. Bending a steel panel to cover the canister and provide that 6lbs weight I need over the can. Insulating the can. (hotter cans mean better reaction and WARMTH) Insulating hoses. Ok so I'm worried about getting them ripped. Bungie cable for the mouthpiece. Day two... After taking another crack at toying with the unit I found that I couldn't try out any of the things described in the Jergensen manual... Enter USERND... yup, like the VR3, this puppy HAS CODES. Yup, predive checks... I've read thousands of reports on Rebreather world about the "forgetting checklists an screwing up a dive... ending lives...taking hits..." After finally running through one... I can see why. I get this creeping feeling that, basically, I'd have better luck surviving by strapping the electric chair on my back charging her up and jumping in. SCARY STUFF TROOPS! Of course, there was the negative and positive tests, which we did for 5 minutes a piece. The check for flow, ADV, Manual addition, solenoids and “breathability” proceeded a discussion of some incident where someone didn’t exactly do just that. We would have gotten through in 15 minutes but with every check we got a story as to who did what to end up dead or nearly dead... it took several hours. I’m glad we spent such time as it gave great value to each step in the list. We diligently checked our units, and probably will for the rest of our lives. Next came the ride to fill express and the pool. This ride is extremely long for anyone not used to the drag of not having onsite filling or an onsite pool. Add to it my jetlag and I must have been a real “joy” to be around. It was cold in Miami even with a heated pool the wind was clipping along fast enough to make the family jewels make a run for your skull to hide in a "warm spot." Being a spoiled brat I took my 7mm. The pool session began. On the loop, off the loop, ADV on, ADV off, manual dil and the killer BUOYANCY! I shot up and down in life but managing this is more like trying out for the plate spinner at the circus. THEY ALL MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY. I barely grasped the buoyancy relying on the automatic system, switching became a nightmare. It's amazing how stressful those 1/2 meter (2 foot) rise exercises can be! We bumped into a couple meg divers. Tom who was testing a new mCCR observed as we made complete a$$es out of ourselves. Ego, has nothing to do with it, but… I feel truly idiotic on this Rebreather thing. The rushing to the surface, crashing to the floor, happened far too many times. I'd FAIL ME on BUOYANCY! Day Three… WINDS WERE HIGH… seas ended up at 8-12 feet with 30 knot winds. I think that translates to God saying “you’re trying to dive in the PERFECT STORM” with these Rebreather thingies take a peek at what happened to those poor dears in Sodom and Gomorrah. Buyers remorse, as someone on this board put it, DOESN’T COME CLOSE! Buying a Rebreather was starting to feel more like waking up in bed in a ****house with the BIG FAT bouncer instead of the hot blonde you thought you were with the night at the bar. With the dive called, we did class time. The horrors of hypercapnia, hyperoxyia, hypoxyia floated to the surface again. I’m driving a death box around UNDERWATER. Each explanation of a given condition brought up KNOW YOUR PPO2. We walked through the unit again and sent our bottles away for filling. WEIRD THINGS THESE AMERICANS… Not that we aren’t safety conscious back in Lebanon (ok just our club in particular) but these LAWYERS have gone OVERBOARD!!! I think these guys that have absolutely no life want the same for everyone else. I couldn’t count how many silly release forms there were to sign. These things are useless in my humble opinion. Each individual decides of his or her own free will to dive a death box. Their family isn’t held accountable for their criminal record, why should they have anything to do with that individual’s dive record/decisions? The answer is because LAWYERS being trouble makers and general low lives… NEED TO MAKE MONEY THAT WAY. SAD very SAD! Now thinking this through I may get frozen when we hit the open water. The wind was picking up this morning as I rode to the boat ride. We were heading out of one of the oldest dive shops in Miami to a wreck that sunk for a film. What follows next is a harrowing account of silliness followed by your wonderful author making an ass of himself. We dove down after a briefing on the wreck and a S-drill check. My buddy and HEAD of NISD Lebanon then spoke those fateful words... "Smeagle.. DON'T SCREW UP" WHO? ME? SCREW UP??? Heading down the wreck, I faced what was one of the most serious currents I have felt in some time, actually more like ever. That day I had decided to take a more aggressive approach in training and flew the unit manual, I dipped and spiked my ppO2 something fierce but came out feeling rather proud of myself for trying hard but unhappy with all the other important details. This dive felt like a BIG MISTAKE! I forgot to look at my dive buddy, I forgot to keep an eye on Tom, buoyancy was its usual abysmal state of affairs. I ran through gas as if it was a bad habit. The ADV and solenoids were far too much in their addition cycles. I therefore decided to fly manual. The current was hammering and I kept being blown around, bumping into the floor and then fighting the current. Some spots on the wreck were fine but our first open water session and already doing loop flushes was a tall order. Rising up, off of the wreck I merely followed my leader’s ascent, no idea of deco on the machine, no idea of my bottom time, no idea of my runtime. I was lucky to be strapped to my unit for what my brain felt like handling. Not having fun or even doing well on the first open water dive, I called my second. I wasn’t going to get beaten up in current and have something go wrong with a bit of kit I wasn’t comfortable with. Yes Tom Mount is there but the state of frustration I found myself in after that first dive was UNHEALTHY to say the least. I skipped the dive on the tanks and barges that followed. I heard from the group that there were similar skills practiced but the current and activities on the bottom were difficult. Up on shore things kicked into evaluation. I received some well deserved bad grades. We decided to skip on Dinner to wash off and clean the kit. These rebreathers are QUITE labor intensive. On OC you had the spritz with water and you were ready to go. Rebreathers require tube cleanings, lung cleanings, cartridge cleanings and HEAVY LIFTING. Whoever said they were easier to lift than doubles was forgetting all the other “required gear” that has to go with them! Think full canister and reels. The next day began with a spinning head. I wasn’t well through the night and woke up groggy. There were dives planned, but me laying on Tom’s garage floor and not wanting to get up signaled the end of any dives to occur that day. Back at the hotel Vomiting ensued and bed rest with the shaking shivers. I HATE BEING SICK!!! Especially with such a font of information for a dive instructor. God Bless TOM! Day um I lost track…. We headed out to the speigel grove. This ship located off Key Largo is in a preserve meaning don’t do a damn thing but float. With the exercises and issues of the past to consider I was hoping to get back in gear and “get ‘er done”. Fate seemed to want otherwise. Tom’s Inspo.. decided schizophrenic behavior was the way to go so he was stuck scratching his head and trying to figure out why the yellow box was not happy with the usual voodoo offerings. We dove in with another instructor on a meg. I meandered around the dive site getting tailed by a giant Jewfish. It’s pretty startling coming from Lebanon and all, (the fish there get speared so they fear anything resembling a human). We skirted up around the loading end of the wreck, off of the ramp and then in a walkway near the rear of the decks. That’s when I did it… I tailed a similar looking Meg diver right into the wreck over the table in the room and up through a hole in the ceiling. I had just figured it was like Tom testing us for buoyancy. I got a hoot from my dive buddies just as I stuck my head up and through to witness… No instructor, and no group… UH OH I’d made an a$$ out of myself again. Heading back down I was lucky enough to smack right into the instructor hovering over the fence. Yup this was almost loony toons. Right at that instant, bathed in light and headed back to my group… my mouthpiece slipped. First, just the front of it leaving a gaping hole for water to pour in, THEN remembering the caustic cocktail lectures and posts on Rebreather world I kicked it out… WITHOUT SWITCHING THE DSV… DOH!!! Ok Captain Stooopid you’ve just flooded your unit and after all the scary caustic talk you dare not put that thing in your mouth… Gotta go onto the Bailout. Crank open the bailout and… the entire bottle starts fizzing. I had gotten a bit overzealous and opened the DIN on the first stage. The Instructor swung over and handed me his bailout, clamped off the gas, and got be back on mine. Drat this was bad!! Ok call the dive. We headed up the rope completing deco on the VR3 and HammerHead and then surfaced. Thanks to everyone who was there on the way up! We floated back to the boat with me getting a wonderful big ribbing for “canceling our dive.” The boys hopped back in for a double dip. Me, I sat it out. So with the next day’s boat canceled due to motor issues and a session in the pool I was awarded the open water cert. Rash of bad luck, lack of practice and no time on the unit…Barely any rest… This hurt the wallet in a BIG way. The EGO even more so. I haven't completed my dives or time (thanks to a puke fest in the room at hotel of doom). SO as things went these are the current updates. I must admit Tom did all he could but it wasn’t enough to get the full cert. safely. I need time on the unit and hate that it’s going to be out in the Wilds of Lebanon. Hopefully I can catch up with this particular unit and skill set and fly through the Normoxic course… But this isn’t skin diving… so I can’t hold my breath. __________________ Started as a free diver .Moved on to scuba* and advanced at Penn State Uni. 1998. Took up Nitrox while I got evacuated from the War in Beirut Summer of 2005. Began training in tech, advanced Nitrox and Trimix/HELIOX summer 2007... Starting Rebreathing on an Optima....Ouroboros...whenever I find someone to buy my other kidney.
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27th April 2008, 00:21	#6 (permalink)
diveladydive New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Pelagian Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Optima Titan Pelagian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southeastern Florida Posts: 44	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun You did great with setup, breakdown, & poolwork. I wish I could have joined the dives... The other instructor (on the meg) is George Gawinowski. Believe me, we ALL feel like idiots when we start, & the bouyancy factor, plus skills, plus trim, plus lectures, etc. etc. is a hell of a lot to take in. Enjoy your 'breather, & yes, Lamar, & his wife LeeAnn are sweethearts- ...& Shane, the "baby" rott is mischief in a 100+ lb package :-) Put hours on the unit- & more hours- & more hours.. & practice those skills! Remember 1, 2, 3, & 4? <grin!> Dive safe, wish I could join the Lebanese trip! -Peri __________________ *Complacency: Self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by ignorance of actual dangers or deficiencies.* *Success: A journey in which the improbable becomes possible, leading to surprising levels of achievement.* *Dr. Peri M. Blum* *Normoxic CCR Instructor, IANTD* *Optima Instructor, IANTD* *Member, Board of Advisors, IANTD* *www.supremedivers.com* *561-901-9715* The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and the author’s alone. Last edited by diveladydive : 27th April 2008 at 19:17. Reason: too long
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27th April 2008, 16:14	#7 (permalink)
edasque Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 208	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun so wait, did you get your IANTD CCR Rebreather diver / MOD1 cert ? Last edited by edasque : 27th April 2008 at 16:17.
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27th April 2008, 19:14	#8 (permalink)
diveladydive New Member Current Rebreather/s: Optima Pelagian Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Optima Titan Pelagian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southeastern Florida Posts: 44	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun Quote: (Originally Posted by edasque) so wait, did you get your IANTD CCR Rebreather diver / MOD1 cert ? mods aren't given any more In tech: CCR Diver (specific to unit) Normoxic CCR Diver (specific to unit) Trimix CCR Diver (same) Wreck CCR Diver (same) Cave CCR Diver (same) Crossovers to other units & more, but no mods. Sorry __________________ *Complacency: Self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by ignorance of actual dangers or deficiencies.* *Success: A journey in which the improbable becomes possible, leading to surprising levels of achievement.* *Dr. Peri M. Blum* *Normoxic CCR Instructor, IANTD* *Optima Instructor, IANTD* *Member, Board of Advisors, IANTD* *www.supremedivers.com* *561-901-9715* The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and the author’s alone.
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27th April 2008, 23:38	#9 (permalink)
otterinaround Smeagle-the dive carnival Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 63	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun Actually there is ONE MORE CERT... Right above whale p00p and below leech... It's what I got.... OPEN WATER CCR diver... Translation.. Brown stuff hits whirley thing and... I HAVE TO BAIL OUT rather than fix the loop. It's because of not having time on the unit and screwing up so magnificently! __________________ Started as a free diver .Moved on to scuba and advanced at Penn State Uni. 1998. Took up Nitrox while I got evacuated from the War in Beirut Summer of 2005. Began training in tech, advanced Nitrox and Trimix/HELIOX summer 2007... Starting Rebreathing on an Optima....Ouroboros...whenever I find someone to buy my other kidney.
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28th April 2008, 00:17	#10 (permalink)
otterinaround Smeagle-the dive carnival Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 63	Re: Training under TOM... REVELATIONS...UPDATES...and the O2ptima Class with Tom Moun Having read through the harrowing account I realized I missed one dive.. During this particular dive... Your intrepid author decided the best approach to enjoying a wreck off of the coast of Miami... was to get entangled in Fishing line. This dive I had actually behaved myself a bit better with bouyancy and piloting the unit. I had even managed to fly both the Hammerhead algorithm and VR3 protocol to completion. True, I burned up the Diluent and Oxygen. True, I had to get CUT out of the line that I couldn't see. And also True there is no need to do areal acrobatics to flush the loop, but this dive I was actually partway pleased with. So for you newbies on the O2ptima. You merely squeeze the lungs in a crossed armed hugging motion rather than sitting up, looking up and hammering down on the straps, lungs, hoses, and t valves like it was a bad habit. Best wishes all catch you in the water around Lebanon if you come, when you come. __________________ Started as a free diver .Moved on to scuba and advanced at Penn State Uni. 1998. Took up Nitrox while I got evacuated from the War in Beirut Summer of 2005. Began training in tech, advanced Nitrox and Trimix/HELIOX summer 2007... Starting Rebreathing on an Optima....Ouroboros...whenever I find someone to buy my other kidney.
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