Fear

[Grumpybear]

My boyfriend is at a point in his diving career that he would like to get into rebreathers. Im am not very comfortable with him doing this because of the many horror stories i have herd about them. I would really like to know if there is a web site that anyone knows about that would calm my nerves about him doing this. i have done alot of searches on rebreathers but i seem to only find really bad stories or just descriptions about what they are. I just need to know that they are safe. I know im a paranoid girlfriend. Thanks

 

[Megalodon]

Hello Grumpybear
I'm not to sure how to start. Whatever I tell you is not going to take your fear away but it might make you trust your boyfriends abilitys. I'm not aware of any sites that will tell you that technical diving of any kind is not with certain dangers. Hence the disclaimers when one takes a class. I remember when I started technical diving that one of the forms had a paragraph about the fact that the next of kin should be as informed about the class as the student.
Now when it comes to rebreathers and accident reports in the media, the media is usually fast in blaming a certain unit without having full information about the accident itself. I don't claim to know about all accidents but from what I researched when I got interested in reabreathers is that in most if not all cases it was some kind of user error.
So all I can say about the subject is that my wife wasn't thrilled either when I started to get more involved in technical diving but she has learned to trust my judgement and knows that I'm level headed and not an adrenalin junkie who is looking for his next rush. She also knows that I take my training serious and that I'm anal about my planning and conduct of dives.
My advice for you and your boyfriend is to sit down and talk about it.
My advice for your boyfriend is: find good training, keep the skills sharp and never become complacent about anything in diving. We are no fish.

Megalodon

 

[pwfletcher]

In my humble opinion ... rebreather diving is an inherently dangerous activity. In fact, I believe that it is still VERY dangerous in its present form and present stage of evolution (no pun intended) ... much more so than open circuit. However, it is a calculated risk that some of us are willing and able to take. Of course, there are certain things that we can do to reduce the risk, such as adequate initial and continuing training, obsessive equipment maintenance, diving with a buddy (something that many of us do not always do simply because it is impractical). However, don't fool yourself ... it is still VERY dangerous and the associated risks should be carefully weighed by anyone considering take the bubbleless plunge.

In response, you may ask, why then would anyone want to do it if the risks are so high? Well, it is truly an amazing experience that can greatly surpass the experience available to traditional open circuit divers. In addition, those of us that are "techies" often enjoy being on the cutting edge with new technology and overcoming the challenges that often accompany blazing new trails.

In conclusion, take any advice that tends to be on either of the extreme ends of the "deathbox" vs. "perfectly safe" debate with a grain of salt. With that said, if I were to try to quantify the danger level on a scale of 1 to 10 for you, my opinion would be as follows based solely on my own personal experiences:

DANGER LEVEL

1 - driving to work in LA

3 - open circuit non-technical scuba diving

5 - sky diving

7 - rebreather diving

8 - climbing Mt. Everest

10 - blindfolded chainsaw juggling (OK ... I haven't tried this one)

Hope this helps

 

[Snowbear]

my opinion would be as follows based solely on my own personal experiences:
...
8 - climbing Mt. Everest

I'm envious.
Did you summit?

 

[madmole]

mmmm I've driven in rush hour in LA and I'd take my dodgy old rebreather at 70m anyday

IMHO a RB is no more dangerous than OC if used correctly. Trouble is so many folks dont use them as intended

Grumpybear, can I suggest that you get hold of "Mastering Rebreathers" and do a little research and then you can make a more informed decision. Its required reading anyway if your bf is going to get a breather

Check out the library section of my web site for details of the book and real incident reports Diver Mole Site

 

[Diver0001]

My boyfriend is at a point in his diving career that he would like to get into rebreathers. Im am not very comfortable with him doing this because of the many horror stories i have herd about them. I would really like to know if there is a web site that anyone knows about that would calm my nerves about him doing this. i have done alot of searches on rebreathers but i seem to only find really bad stories or just descriptions about what they are. I just need to know that they are safe. I know im a paranoid girlfriend. Thanks

Well...... the technology is proven but the use of rebreathers is not trivial and the impression I have (I don't dive with one) is that they are as safe as OC scuba (or perhaps even safer in some respects, such as offering larger gas supplies, longer NDL's and shorter deco) when used correctly.

Most of the stories you hear about divers dying or having problems on rebreathers seem to be related to using the system incorrectly (lack of training or lack of proper attitude) or to ignoring basic safe diving protocols like doing buddy checks, proper gear maintenance etc. It's acutally the same story you hear from recreational divers but a rebreather is just a little more unforgiving about stupid mistakes.

I obviously can't advise you about your boyfriend but I'd say in general people who I think make good divers are calm and keep thinking in the presence of Mr. Murphy and dedicated in attidude and approach to proper risk management and dive planning (i.e. plan your dive and dive your plan). Thrill seekers are not good divers and neither are people who feel that the best practices in diving--many of which have been hammered out by analyzing accidents--don't apply to them.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

I'm envious.
Did you summit?

Can you ask that question in public? :11:

 

[pipedope]

Anyone with an interest in rebreathers will probably want to read, "A Learners Guide to Closed-Circuit Rebreather Operations" by Richard L. Pyle.
You can find it at;
http://www.metacut.com/rebreathers/RichPyleArticle_1.htm

Rebreathers are not safe.
Diving is not safe.
Life is not safe.

Each of us has the responsibility to evaluate the risk and the right to choose the acceptable level of risk for ourselves.

BTW With proper training and attitude, rebreather diving is still probably more safe than driving to work in LA or most anywhere else.

 

[glbirch]

pipedope, thanks for that link. That's a good article.

Grumpybear, don't forget that like anything else, rebreathers will only tend to make the news when something goes wrong. You never read that 800,000 drivers arrived safely at work in downtown L.A. this morning. You only read that there were three accidents and one fatality.

Personally, I feel much safer under the water than I do in rush hour traffic almost anywhere.

 

[caveseeker7]

Hi Crumpybear,
a bit of paranoia can go a long way with rebreathers in regards to safety.
Many of the stories out there are pretty bad, don't believe all you read.

Since your boyfriend is intrested in rebreathers he'll likely have Bozanic's book 'Mastering Rebreathers'. If not he should, and you should read some of it, too. It will explain all the pros and cons, the safety issues and just about everything else.

Unless he already did an intro, I highly recommend that he does one. An instructor for whatever RB he's intrested in will explain the unit and he'll dive it in a pool (most likely). When he does, you should seriously consider joyning him. It will give you the same opportunity to get to know the equipment, have the instructor answer any questions you have. It should give you some peace of mind having met both the instructor and the unit. It'll make your boyfriend happy both because you have intrest in his decision and give it a fair chance. And finally, if you're his dive buddy, you really should know some about his rebreather anyway. Many, way to many accidents happened when RB divers were on their own, either diving solo or getting seperated. A good dive buddy can make all the difference in the world.

If you know what unit he decided on or is looking at, I'm sure that plenty of people here will answer any questions you have to just about any specific model out there.

Stefan