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Alan asks who taught my trimix course, how much it cost, and whether it was a good value. I am taking the course from Randy Bohrer of Pepperell, MA. Randy is known for doing custom tables (he did the ones that Brett Gilliam used for his record 452 fsw air dive) and for O2 cleaning and O2 clean equipment (he wrote the chapter in Mount's Mixed Gas bbok on oxygen cleaning). Randy was also a support diver for Sheck Exley's record 880 ffw cave dive in Mante. The price for the course was $350 for instruction. This price is completely a la carte - I had to buy all my own gear, gas, boat charters, manuals, etc. The course has effectively been tutorial, since I am the only one taking it from Randy at the moment. The total cost, not counting gear that I bought, is probably on the order of $750. I probably spent another $700 on random gear that I might have bought anyway, such as O2 clean stages bottles and regs, an argon pony bottle, and an O2 analyzer. Course evaluation: Randy is very strong on theory. Randy understands decompression, physiological issues, gas management, and equipment as well as anybody, and better than most. This is good, because diving under less-than-ideal conditions may require diverging from the dive plan, and Randy understands where you can fudge. He is also pretty handy with equipment, and his engineering background is obvious in some clever things with his gear. His approach emphasizes do-it-yourself, which is consistent with the way things are done here in New England, since there are are few if any boats or dive operations which cater specifically to technical divers. I can compare his course with that of Billy Deans at Key West Diver, from whom I took Tech Nitrox. Deans has a smooth and tightly run operation, with a custom mix panel, dive boats fitted out for technical diving, support divers, permanent moorings on deep wrecks like the Wilkes Barre (250 fsw), and nearly ideal diving conditions. Diving with Deans was much easier, since you knew the boat would be running, the captain would find and hook the wreck, and conditions would be good. Deans runs an excellent and very safe operation, and I learned a lot from watching him run it. On the other hand, doing gas dives under local conditions, which are less than ideal, seemed like better training to me. Deans' course is more expensive - well over $1000 - but he does include things like doubles with manifolds, stage tanks, and stage regulators as part of the course so that you don't have to lug them to Florida. Both Billy Deans' technical nitrox and Randy Bohrer's courses were, in my judgement, worthwhile: Deans' to see how a high-tech operation ought to be run under ideal conditions where cost is not much of an object, and Randy's to learn technical skills under realistic, less-than-ideal local conditions. Some others on this list have also taken Randy's course, and may be able to offer their opinions. John
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