KISS Classic in Bonaire

darthmuhl

I just returned from a week’s diving in Bonaire. 18 out of 22 dives were on my KISS Classic, now equipped with a Shearwater Pursuit and HUD plugged into the loop. I did a few dives with students for which I switched to outdated 20th century technology.
When I first told people about my plans to bring the rebreather to Bonaire, many asked why bother. Most of the diving is recreational depth, reef diving. This was a shop sponsored, group trip and our diving was confined to recreational dives, but in the two years I’ve been diving the KISS I’ve come to greatly prefer diving closed circuit whenever possible.
I don’t have a great deal of tropical diving experience, but the reefs in Bonaire were stunning- the best I’ve ever seen. It only took me a dive or two to be convinced that the rebreather was the way to dive here. In the warm, clear waters, most days I did 4 dives averaging an hour long on two 13 cu ft tanks and a single scrubber load. My deepest dive was a brief excursion to 140 ft followed by a leisurely return at shallower depths. It was a cheap thrill to venture down into the darker depths and occasionally glance up at my OC buddies cruising in the shallows to make the most of their gas supplies. At the end of the dive I still had plenty of NDL time left after an hour in the water.
Compared to my previous diving with just PPO2 monitoring and an external computer, the Shearwater Pursuit made diving very easy. It removed any concerns about strictly trying to maintain a constant PPO2. As long as I kept the loop O2 at reasonable levels and watched the NDL limits, everything was fine. The HUD gave me a reliable backup on the PPO2 monitoring and my OC Vytec computer could be tricked into providing backup.
It was a bit of a hassle taking the unit apart in the evenings and putting it back together in the mornings, but this was more than compensated for by not having to swap tanks during the day and for the freedom to dive without having to worry about gas supply during dives.
I’d like to thank Kim Smith and Jetsam for making a beautiful product and Bruce Partridge and Curt McNamee of Shearwater for a computer and electronics that make diving the KISS even better. On Bonaire, Emile von Aesch runs a great rebreather friendly dive operation in Toucan Diving and hooked me up with Walt Stark of Rec Tek Scuba who provided me with scrubber and daily refills on those cute little dil and O2 tanks.



Carl
Scuba Diving for Middle Aged Woodworkers

PaulTG2

Hello,

Thank you for the great dive report. I just got a CK and certification and can't wait to have a trip like that!

When I was diving my Meg I found going back to OC took some getting used to. The bubbles seemed to rattle my entire head for the first dive and 45 minutes to dry moutyh. Quite and moist is the way to go!

-p

__________________
Paul's first law states that the safety of an activity is determined by how forgiving of mistakes the activity is.

Paul's second law states that the difference between an adventurer and an explorer is whether the doing or the learning comes first.

wearypanda

Thanks for a great report. I am going out to Bonaire with my family in October. I am now convinced that taking my Pelagian is a good idea.

From hat I can make out Walt does not hiew 3ltr Inspo tanks, just 4 litre ones. Is that your understaning too?

obakesan82

Great trip, I took my CK last fall to Bonaire for a week and had a blast albiet with one old style display flooding . Walt is the man for sorb and fills in Bonaire and has hooked me up for a couple of years down there.

I think you are referring to the 2l and 3l cylinders? If so, I only remember seeing the 3l cylinders on his unit but I'm sure he will answer directly. I'm looking forward to going again this year with my rEvo!

Regards,

Ed

__________________
"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."

obakesan82

Here is Walt's site: Rec Tek Scuba Bonaire - We do it silent. We do it deep. Techincal diving.

__________________
"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."

darthmuhl

One day I switched from CC to OC after two 1 hour dives. I had students doing AOW dives. The OC was all you describe and at the end of the last dive I found myself shivering in a 3m suit in 81 deg F water.
Yes, I'm a wimp.
I have to confess that it's still easier to slap together an OC setup for a quick dive, but I don't enjoy the diving as much.

Carl

mempilot

Nice report! I'm headed to Bonaire for a week in September, and like you, I'm going with a group of OC recreational divers. After hearing these posts from you and Netmage, I'm defineatly going to take my Meg.

Just a few questions if you don't mind?

1. Any problems with travel in and out with the Rebreather?
2. I'm assuming you rented tanks and purchased sorb there?
3. Anything to understand with security of the unit?
4. What would you do different, if anything, the next time you go with your Rebreather to Bonaire?

Thanks in advance. This really helps others do it right the first time!

__________________
Eric Stadtmueller, otherwise known as, MEM "Da Pilot"

darthmuhl

1) No problems. I stripped it down to the case, head and scrubber canister and packed that and a wing into a Storm Case that weighed <50lbs.
I put a note in the case for TSA describing what it was and thanking them for doing their job. I left the case unlocked, and got a note indicating that they had inspected the case.
I had a second checked suitcase with most of my other diving stuff in it and some clothing. I used a small Oxycheq travel back plate for both OC and CC diving.Also <50lbs.
I had a small suitcase for carry-on and a reg bag as my "personal item".
These I stuffed with the heavier stuff: 4 regs, hoses, computers, lights.
On the return, TSA got mildly excited about my canister HID light in the carry-on suitcase.

2) Sorb, rebreather tanks, and fills were supplied by Walt Stark of Rec Tek Scuba. For a week this cost around $275.
I rented a 40 cu ft bailout tank from Toucan Diving, but I'm sure Walt had these as well.

3) I'm not sure what you mean by this. Much of the expensive stuff was in my carry-on. I watched the checked bags as much as I could, but didn't lock the storm case. Next time I might. The Bonaire airport is a little bit disorganized, but they didn't really search anything that I could see. Leave plenty of time on departure.

4) I actually had enough clothes this time. Maybe next time, I'll just take a loin cloth and sandals.
I neglected to check my save-a-dive O ring kit, and missed one boat dive when a #12 O ring blew on a pressure gauge hose. So I missed dive and spent the time chatting with the young, Dutch DM/Instructor wearing a rather small bikini who was minding the boat. Life can be cruel if you're unprepared.

BTW, a lot of people questioned why we wanted to do boat dives on Bonaire. We did two boat dives in the morning and shore dives in the afternoon. It was very convenient diving off a boat and we got to dive sites in the north of the island and on Klein Bonaire that were difficult or impossible to reach by car.

Carl

mempilot

Carl,

Perfect! Thanks!

Eric

__________________
Eric Stadtmueller, otherwise known as, MEM "Da Pilot"

Art Greenberg

This is very similar to the strategy we employed going to Grand Cayman in April. Two checked pieces, one a fish tote with the rebreather and the other a piece of ordinary luggage. Both under 50 pounds. Lots of light stuff in the tote (clothing) as padding, and light stuff in the suitcase. Heaviest things (including steel backplate) in the carry-on, which came to almost 50 pounds as well.

There were three of us pretty much packed the same way. Backplate in the carry-on attracted attention in both directions in my case. One of the others in our party had absolutely zero issues. Guess I picked the wrong line.

Of course, if you lock any checked pieces, use TSA approved locks. That at least will give you the illusion of security.

Please don't do this on any trip when I'm along. My sensibilities are easily offended. 8-)