Tech diving modified into once what got me started utilizing rebreathers…cave diving in the slack 1980s. However that is not any longer what drives me to make exercise of them now.
Most of my diving is standard “leisure” diving. And I opt up that rebreathers allow me to experience that to a unheard of better stage than I’m succesful of on begin circuit scuba. There are loads of issues I devour about doing non-technical dives on a rebreather: animals, peace, time, and freedom.
Lately, I took my Liberty Light rebreather and flew from California to Florida. I wasn’t there to dive, nonetheless I did arrange to sneak away to Key Largo for a day to play. I dove with Rainbow Reef Dive Heart, jumping on one among their boats and working out for 2-morning dives. I modified into once the suitable rebreather diver on the boat, nonetheless that modified into once no longer an obstacle.
One of many dives modified into once on the ruin of the Benwood. The ruin is situated in 40 feet (12m) depth. It modified into once a shallow dive, without bother accessible, with hundreds folk visiting it on a day to day basis. Why a rebreather, then? On yarn of I earn to survey more. Throughout the dive, I watched a 200-300 pound (90-135 kg) grouper swim the scale of the ruin. Throughout its traverse, it swam out of its manner to preserve a ways off from completely different divers who had been in the water with me. Dodging the final begin circuit diver, it swam help to the ruin, and down the facet straight past the place I modified into once ready. It didn’t swerve nonetheless passed about a foot in entrance of my face. Then it grew to turn out to be 180° and got right here help to me thanks to my dive buddy, who modified into once about 10 feet beyond me. Within the extinguish, it grew to turn out to be off, passing about 20 feet (6m) below one more diver. So discontinuance! So spectacular!
Later in the dive, I discovered a sea turtle, resting in the ribs of the sunken vessel. I got right here up beside it and laid down subsequent to it. No bubbles. No scuba noise. Appropriate the tranquil swish of my air thru the respiratory hoses, and the sounds of the minute crackling around us. The turtle closed its eyes again, ignoring me, and returned to doing the same thing I modified into once doing…having fun with the peace of being underwater.
We furthermore dove the Spiegel Grove, a monumental ruin situated in about 140 feet (42m) of water. There modified into once a moderate recent working, about a half a knot. We might per chance presumably well furthermore swim in opposition to it to the anchor line, nonetheless it surely took some difficulty. Down the anchor line, hand over hand, to the deck at 100 feet (30m). My accomplice and I had been both huffing and puffing barely, nonetheless step by step our respiratory slowed down. We started up the ruin, nonetheless after ideal 15 minutes we had to flip the dive. He had almost exhausted his 100cf (14L) cylinder! I returned with him help to the anchor line and watched him creep away. I stayed, playing and taking pictures photos of completely different divers unless I watched the final one head to the surface. So I adopted. Throughout the 45 minutes on the backside, I had ideal aged 200 psi (15bar) of my 20cf (3L) oxygen cylinder, and modified into once no longer even discontinuance to my decompression limit. The quantity of time I’m succesful of exercise on the backside is nearly unlimited on these kinds of dives, which I devour!
And the dearth of time stress yields one more earnings…a feeling of freedom, of in actuality belonging below the waves. I devour wandering into the water, ready to breeze and experience the tiresome exploration of even my local dive net sites. Imagine being in the mountains, trying to maneuver 30 minutes to a waterfall, nonetheless being restricted in time to ideal an hour. You earn there, and no sooner than you elevate out, you choose up to flip around and creep away again. You are taking into yarn it, nonetheless ideal barely. I aged to feel that manner when exploring underwater utilizing “accepted” scuba. However that has modified. Now, I’m succesful of without bother exercise an hour, two, four, or more! The freedom to drag, to opt up, or pretty to take a seat down down for a prolonged duration and stumble on a fish bear a nest or a shark being cleaned is agreeable.
OK, you choose up read this a ways…I will admit, I lied. Rebreathers ARE for tech divers. However I truly need to claim, they are for leisure divers, too. I truly opt up hundreds enjoyable diving my Liberty rebreather on easy, shallow dives. I’ll per chance presumably well well detest to give that up by ideal utilizing it for my technical diving!
