A KISS in Paradise (4)

A Tale of a Newly Certified, Classic Kiss Rebreather Diver's Travels
Part 4 SOLOMON ISLANDS, September 2005
By Jeff Giddins


During the return flight from Bikini Atoll, I decided that I would only stay another week in the Solomons if I could not use my closed circuit KISS rebreather.


It was a late steamy Friday afternoon landing in Honiara, when I farewelled my travelling Bikini companions on the tarmac, they were flying onwards to Brisbane, homeward bound.


This time, I made my way quickly through Immigration after two officials eyeballed my papers and agreed that I was indeed, not suspect! I think they are getting used to my ugly mug by now. My good mate Yolande was waiting at the airport to greet me and take me back to her home at White River on the outskirts of Honiara, to stay there overnight. Unpacking some of my luggage later that evening, a wave of joy crept over me (dancing a little jig) when I discovered a part I thought left behind on Bikini. It was the Fisher connector, from the broken VR3 cable that I had tried unsuccessfully to repair, stored in the computer box so I wouldn't lose it!


All I had to do now was find a suitable replacement cable in town, on a Saturday morning, before leaving in the afternoon, bound for the outer island of Tulagi. Flicking through the phone book and finding all the electrical suppliers in town, an offer to use the car was gratefully accepted to speed the procedure. I tried and exhausted all the suppliers bar one, an Aussie ex-pat recommended to be the only likely source initially, who found me waiting on his doorstep for the shop to open. On producing the old cable and Fisher connector and then explaining what it was used for, we eventually found that a microphone cable was the ideal substitute. He was an ex scuba diver keen on hearing all about the breather as he worked away soldering up the components while I supervised the correct assembly. When the job was finished I requested another two metres of cable to be kept as spares then asked for the bill, to which he surprised me with a reply of “Thirty bucks Aussie” so I slipped him fifty instead and thanked him profusely upon my exit. I was as happy as a pig in err… mud.


Back at the Tulagi dive workshop to assemble all the breather components I found I now had two PO2 displays tracking my breathing gas to make it acceptable to dive & dive & dive for the next four weeks in paradise. All good things must come to an end, especially when my last KISS O2 display flooded and without a spare for replacement, I booked my ticket home to face reality after three months overseas.

Jeff Giddins

Part 1 - Vanuata HERE
Part 2 - Solomon Islands HERE
Part 3 - Bikini Atoll HERE

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