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> Richard, I am sorry, but I do not think that there will be enough people who > meet the "experience standard" that you have highlighted should be looked for. > Rebreathers WILL be here...SOON!!!! I would rather have a lesser srtingent > standard that involves gaining experience before teaching a higher level than > some of the "off the shelf self taught" standards I have heard are being > proferred to manufacturers & agencies alike. This is NOT the perfect world, and > yes, lesser mortals (no flame intended please) than the "masters" of the systems > will no doubt die & unfotunately take others with them. I realize there must be a balance struck between the real world and the ideal world, and I admit my suggestions were targeted more towards the ideal world. But honestly....after 10 hours on a rebreather, I was still not ready to dive outside of a swimming pool -- and I'm a pretty fast learner. Also, I didn't mean to imply that a diver needs zillions of open-circuit dives before becoming a qualified rebreather diver. In fact, it's almost irrelevant how many OC dives one has done. The point I've been trying to make is that evryone comes down to almost ground-zero when starting out as a rebreather diver. The skills learned from timix diving will not help much for a diver to use a nitrox rebreather at shallow depths. In other words, a PADI AOW diver with 50 logged dives and a good comprehension of diving physics/physiology will not be far behind an average trimix IT with hundreds of 300+ mixed gas dives when both begin their rebreather training. Both of them are gonna need at least 20, preferably 50, ideally 100 hours of rebreather time before they get much deeper than about 15 feet without several trained open-circuit dive tenders. I'm not worried so much about the experience level of the diver prior to becoming a rebreather diver, I'm only concerned about how much time a person spends learning to be a rebreather diver before s/he starts teaching others to become rebreather divers. About the only advantage I see to being an experienced trimix diver first is that such people tend to have a better attitude and higher level of discipline when approaching new diving technologies. As long as such a person treats every single rebreather dive (regardless of depth) with as much caution and concentration and discipline as they would a 300 or 400-foot trimix dive, then they should be O.K. The big problem with being an experienced trimix diver first is that it makes it easier to be over-confident, which can lead to complacency, which can lead to, well....you know. > But matey, each of us is ultimately responsible for our own risk assessment. With this much, we are in TOTAL agreement!!! 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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