Solo cert when already tech certified

[Marie13]

@SlugLife

No kidding the class costs money.

The OP has three choices: Either get the solo cert, dive OC, or don’t do the dives.

Simple as that.

 

[tomfcrist]

But

@SlugLife

No kidding the class costs money.

The OP has three choices: Either get the solo cert, dive OC, or don’t do the dives.

Simple as that.

he isn’t going to dive solo…he says he will have an OC buddy.

 

[Degenerate]

But

he isn’t going to dive solo…he says he will have an OC buddy.

He also said the dive op wants him to have a solo cert in order to dive his CCR.

Honestly I would not give that dive op my money as they sound absolutely clueless.

 

[Angelo Farina]

All CCR divers should be self sufficient in terms of kit and basic training. You have the bailout and backup kit -- mask, spare SMBs (which double redundant buoyancy for the purposes of flying solo), reelS/spoolS, kniveS, computerS, bailout cylinders, etc.

I am a recreational CCR (ARO) certified diver. Not tech.
When using the CCR in the sea, we never used any bailout tanks. If a problem occurs, you still have some breathable gas in the bag, and considering the very limited depth you can easily ascend.
Bailout is mandatory for tech diving, of course, as in this case a simple ascent to surface is not a viable option.
A CCR diver with no bailout could have some serious problems if he needs to provide breathable gas to a buddy.
Still I am certified only for buddy diving with the CCR. And we were trained to share gas from a single CCR: My wife has the same certification, and we actually tested the gas sharing procedure also in the sea. Not trivial as providing an octo to your buddy, both divers must be calm and conscious, but is is possible to share a single CCR among two divers.

 

[OTF]

I'm not planning on diving solo, he wants me to have the cert just because I'm on a CCR.

Oh, my misunderstanding.

Diving CCR with buddies who aren't trained in CCR really is almost the same as solo diving. The chances that they will be able to recognize or properly react to CCR issues is slim. There are several interesting threads with a range of perspectives on this. My take is don't dive CCR with non-CCR-trained buddies unless they are trusted friends and you take the time to familiarize them with your unit, potential issues, and practice at least a few basic rescues. As in - they should know how to check your handset, flip your BOV, etc.

What failure modes do you mean?

On OC the big problems are generally very obvious, think freeflowing regulator. On CCR you have all those issues, plus the potential for the more insidious hypoxia and CO2 breakthrough which can creep up on you and slowly reduce your cognitive ability to detect and solve problems. In the unlikely event that one of those issues isn't caught in time your only hope is a buddy dragging you up.

 

[SlugLife]

I'm new to CCR and want to master it. It's harder to do that if I flip back and forth to OC. This year will be all CCR diving.

The dives would be in the 40 to 60 foot range. Any deeper than that I would go with people I know and trust and plan out a deco dive.

I can understand wanting to practice. I've been the same way with SideMount since I started over 1-year ago. Sometimes, the only way to ensure you move forward is to metaphorically burn that bridge behind you.

 

[Boarderguy]

I can understand wanting to practice. I've been the same way with SideMount since I started over 1-year ago. Sometimes, the only way to ensure you move forward is to metaphorically burn that bridge behind you.

I agree with this. I'll help you by providing a nice home for all my new gear.

 

[Wibble]

When using the CCR in the sea, we never used any bailout tanks. If a problem occurs, you still have some breathable gas in the bag, and considering the very limited depth you can easily ascend.

OMG!

Astonished at that. What do you do if… the unit floods; a CO2 hit; a caustic cocktail?

Every CCR diver I know and all the course material I’ve seen always has bailout gas and a way of breathing it not from the loop.

Would be interested in the limitations of that CCR certification.

Even the SCR "recreational" rebreathers (Mares and Hollis) use bailout valves connected to the nitrox supply.

 

[formernuke]

I wasn't going to mention the no bailout thing as.its going a little to far off topic, but I agree...... WTF, no bailout seems very dangerous to me.

 

[OTF]

I believe Angelo is diving very very shallow on pure O2 rebreathers - different usecase than most tech ccr dives these days.