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> Rich, I just read your article in Immersed, and I am curious as to > how much training you received specifically on the Cis-Lunar unit? > Was this provided by the manufacturer or by a technical instruction > agency? I spent 10 days doing a crash course from 6am to midnight every day at Bill Stone's house. It was the absolute best way possible for me personally to learn the system. Bill showed us (there were 3 of us) where he keeps all his tools and made us completely strip and rebuilt five units - every nut, bolt, and o-ring. Richard Nordstrom took us on 10 hours of in-water time in various water bodies during this period. All of that just earned me a learner's permit, because when they sent me the units in Hawaii, I was required (by signed contract) to stay shallower than 30 feet for my first 30 hours, then shallower than 60 feet for my next 30 hours. After about 30 hours total I wanted to go deeper, and made a couple of potentially life-threatening mistakes due entirely to complacency (not really life threatening - it's just they could have been life threatening if I didn't catch them in time). This is why I am so adamant that rebreather divers should spend their first 50 or so hours in shallow water just learning the system. It took you a long time to become comfortable enough on SCUBA that responses were automatic and intuitive. A rebreather, especially one that involves multiple gas supplies and electronics, requires more time for an experienced scuba diver to get comfortable with than scuba requires for a non-diver. There's no way the training courses can turn even the best trimix diver into a rebreather diver ready to do 300+ foot dives right out of the course - the best the training can do is teach you how to be able to learn to become a good rebreather diver on your own time, minimizing the chance of getting killed in the process. Aloha, Rich Richard Pyle deepreef@bi*.bi*.ha*.or* ******************************************************************* "WHATEVER happens to you when you willingly go underwater is COMPLETELY and ENTIRELY your own responsibility! If you cannot accept this responsibility, stay out of the water!" *******************************************************************
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