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Dennis - Sorry to come in late on this, I've been up in Northern California diving for large edible slugs for the past week. We didn't use rebreathers, in fact we didn't use anything (o.k. I used a snorkle, so sue me). While I was down there this past week I realized there's a scale we can use to put things in perspective. At the bottom of the scale is what I was doing; you sit on the surface on top of an old truck inner tube staring into the pea green water until your forhead gets so cold you think you're going to die, then you hyperventilate like crazy, roll off the inner tube and hope you find an abalone soon after you find the bottom. This is level one; primitive diving. Thank god the state of California has preserved it by law. Level two involves breathing compressed gas from a big cylinder on your back (a Transportable Pressure Receptical). This works much better, but adds all sorts of risks due to the increased complexity of the breathing apparatus, and the fact that if you're caught doing it while diving for edible slugs the State will gleefully fine you $50,000 US and throw you in prison for 3 years. Level three involves using one of these darned rebreather thingamabobs. They're great because you can get really close to the slugs without alerting them to your presence, but again the State frowns on their use (in this particular application) and will confiscate your rebreather unless you also own a Mercedes. The point here is that diving as we know it *is* technical. There is only one kind of *non* technical diving that I know of, and it involves using a snorkel. Been there, do that. What I learned at the forum is that there's a new technology emerging. It's as revolutionary as SCUBA was in the 40's. It's as *dangerous* as SCUBA was too. The challenge we face today is to take this technology forward without losing all of the advances we've made in safety with SCUBA during the past 50 years. This is no small challenge, but the rewards could be great. The key issue appears to be training. Where can we find people who understand this technology well enough to shepard us through the transition? In my mind, we'd be fools to ignore the lessons that were bought and payed for with the lives of US Navy divers. Given that, I believe the choice is simple-- Buy BioMarine. Regards, Scott. At 8:20 AM 10/1/96, Dennis Pierce wrote: >Peter, > >thanks for your post on the forum, i couldn't wait to hear what went on.. > >anyone else out there with comments? rich, what do you think? anyone >else?
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