Rebreather Pro

Aussie Girls Podcast

Jill Heinerth has a conversation with Linda Claridge and Lorraine Hardman, two of Australia's top female technical divers. (Men are welcome to listen-but warned that you will learn more about women divers than you ever wanted to know!) Click the player for the podcast, and subscribe by email in the sidebar for more.

Just For Girls

Jill reports from Mt. Gambier in South Australia:

I had a wonderful opportunity to dive and speak with two exceptional women in Australia, Linda Claridge and Lorraine Hardman. Both, veteran cave instructors openly shared some of their thoughts about women and technical diving. Tune in to our podcast to learn about the things that are rarely discussed in our community: "She Peeing" and unique issues about woman and decompression illlness.  Learn more about cave diving and the wonderful tech diving community in Australia at: http://www.cavedivers.com.au/ 

Photo: Instructors John Vanderleest and Linda Claridge in Tank Cave, Mount Gambier.

Still Down Under

We are still in Australia and are heading to Mt. Gambier for some cave diving.  This is an amazing country with some of the most beautiful landscape imaginable.  We've been driving from Sydney down to Melbourne the past few days and enjoying the small coastal towns as we go along.  They play an interesting form of football here: a combination of rugby, soccer and organized bar fight, which they call the AFL.  Makes American football look like a child's game.  Off to dive--more later.  Jill and Robert

OzTek Dive Conference Report

The Biennial Oztek Dive Show has come to an end, and I finally have an opportunity to report on one of the finest organized diving events I have ever attended. The Gala Dinner last night overlooked the bustling Darling Harbour, and we all enjoyed a gourmet meal with plenty of local beverages. Highlights of last night included a hilarious short film by Leigh Bishop and Carl Spencer who assembled the “Lost episode of Deep Sea Detectives” which was immediately answered with Richie Kohler’s own “Brokeback Divers.” If these ever end up on YouTube you owe yourself the time to sit back and laugh until you pee.

But, beyond the entertainment, the speakers and presentations were stellar and so numerous that it was a challenge to attend them all. Since my own presentations conflicted with others, I had to send Robert to quietly record a few talks for me. Sorry I can’t share those with you as a courtesy to the presenters!

Luminaries like Leigh Bishop (UK), Dr. Andrew Fock (Aus), Grant Graves (US), Kevin Gurr (UK), Dr. Richard Harris (Aus), Trevor Jackson (Aus), Richie Kohler (US), , Dr. Simon Mitchell (NZ), Martin Parker (UK), Carl Spencer (UK), Rick Stanton (UK) and others spoke on topics as varied as micro-rebreathers, PFOs and exploration. It is hard to imagine a more diverse and comprehensive group of tech experts ever assembled.

Leigh Bishop, Carl Spencer and others spoke about tremendous wreck explorations beyond 500 feet. Kevin Gurr charmed crowds with a talk about how to build your own life-support rebreather. Rick Stanton revealed some of his secrets to deep cave penetrations below 500 feet and Drs. Simon Mitchell and Andrew Fock packed rooms with information on the physiology of deep diving.

I spoke with organizer David Strike (Strikey) this afternoon to express my congratulations for producing such an incredible show. Although he claims he may have gotten a “bad ice cube” at the Gala last night (much of the crowd may have!), he was jubilant and ready to prepare another show for 2011. If you ever wanted to visit Australia, mark that on your calendar for the time to visit.

We’re off to Mount Gambier for cave diving while others are headed to push exploration in the Nullabour Plain this week.

PHOTO: Australian rebreather pioneer, Dr. Errol Harding

OzTek in Sydney Australia

We are posting via email from the Oztek technical diving show and
conference in Sydney, Australia. So far, this is a wonderful show
that is well-organized and first class all the way. There were some
great presentations today from Dr. Simon Mitchell on DCS and the ever-
popular subject of PFO's. Richie Kohler gave a stirring multi-media
feature on the wreck of a US submarine in the Thailand sea and how his
exploration of the wreck has affected generations of families. Rick
Stanton recounted his recent extreme cave dives in Europe, and Leigh
Bishop presented an edgy film on the infamous UK based Dark Star wreck
diving team. We are having some issues with our blogging software, and
will post in greater detail with pictures and links as we can. More
tomorrow--Jill and Robert

Hyperoxic Myopia

This affliction is also known as Lenticular Oxygen Toxicity. Although little understood, it has been widely documented in patients undergoing lengthy hyperbaric therapy. Consequentially, some rebreather divers on long projects have noted a similar effect. It seems that when partial pressures over 1.0 are experienced for more than 40 hours over a couple of weeks of diving, then divers have reported a loss of distance vision.  In most cases, vision returns to normal after a similar length break from diving. Howard Hall and his crew reported this condition as a result of working on a long IMAX feature utilizing CCRs. He reported stumbling through an airport at the end of filming while having great difficulty reading the overhead signs. Fearful of the loss of vision, he consulted a physician.  As promised, everything returned to normal after a period equal to the length of the project.

Rebreather Divers' Code of Conduct

As prudent divers, we have responsibilities to our loved ones and ourselves.

1. You must accept personal responsibility for your actions and carefully manage your own risk assessment.
2. You must dive within the limits of your training and experience.
3. You must be aware that complacency creeps in to the practices of experienced divers and should be vigilant with check lists and pre- and post-dive safety procedures.
4. Recognizing that rebreather diving requires alertness, you should carefully assess dive conditions and your own physical and mental preparedness prior to every dive.
5. You must be familiar with your equipment and safe operating procedures and recognize the need for well-practiced and current skills.
6. You should recognize your part in an evolving sport, by keeping current with developments and emerging knowledge within the industry.
7. You should personally analyze your own gas as well as personally prepare your own rebreather, recognizing your responsibility for its safe operation.
8. You should carry adequate bailout gas to allow you to recover from a catastrophic loop failure.
9. You should maintain adequate health and specialty diving accident insurance, such as DAN Insurance.
10. You should share your motivations for rebreather diving with your family and have frank discussions about risk versus rewards, allowing them to participate in sensible family planning.

Favorite Features Part Seven: Constant Calibration

Constant Calibration
I think it is a stroke of genius that Dr. Bill Stone has managed to create a unit that constantly calibrates during the dive, while correcting for variables such as moisture on oxygen sensor faces. The Poseidon MK6 Discovery control system is quite unique. In addition to continuous calibration of sensors, the resource management system measures gas consumption through the dive. The electronics package is encased in oil to ensure maximum protection. The control system measures battery capacity, tank pressures, PO2 and depth. With all this power, the rig is only designed for recreational diving right now. Technical divers will have to hang tight to await his next generation rig!  Jill Heinerth