Trusting Rebreather Diving Technology

CCRs are getting more reliable and feature-rich. Fewer equipment failures have resulted in more trusted acceptance of this type of technical diving. However, I am grateful to have learned in the era of “breakage.” For my first years of CCR diving, it was rare that we had dives that went off without a hitch. As a result, I grew with the notion that my technology could fail me at any moment. That made me conservative with bailout and meticulous about preparation and safety. To this day, I still run a full check the night before my dive. I get up in the morning and do it again in the garage. Then, if I am on a boat, I check it prior to leaving the dock and again with my pre-breathe sequence prior to diving. Sounds excessive? Its not really onerous at all, just part of my routine that allows me to jump in the water relaxed and prepared.

Recently, a friend of mine had a very lucky day. He came home. In critiquing the incident I asked, “why didn’t you bail out?” He replied, “I screwed up. I was so confident with the gear, that I knew it wasn’t the rebreather.” Before he knew it, he was impaired and barely able to make a switch to open circuit. Not recalling the end of his dive, he surfaced on sheer fortune. He was “fuzzy” for hours. An experienced rebreather diver, but one without any incidents in the last many years, he had become over confident. Be careful out there and retain a healthy amount of fear in your diving.