Howdy

[Ethyl_MerMan]

Greetings!

Long ago I got certified while in high school, then never followed up an interest that began with Jacques Cousteau's NatGeo specials, the Cat In The Hat book "You Will Live Under The Sea", Irwin Allen's "City Beneath The Sea" and the Aurora SEALAB III model kit.

This spring I read Ben Hellwarth's "SEALAB" and it all came back. Now I look out at the ocean and see a frontier, and I want to light out for the territories. BLUE Ocean Film Fest in September 2012, followed by rebreather training...

 

[Scuba_Noob]

As a child, I was very curious about the world underwater and dreamed of being an oceanographer. However, I was always afraid of drowning badly and it got pushed to the back of my mind. Luckily now I work on an island close to shore (unrelated to oceans, though), and that motivated me to learn to dive. And now I dive every week and have grown a new passion for the ocean.

Congrats on getting back into things. I've heard from some experienced members on the board that you should make sure that you're very proficient and 100% comfortable with diving a normal rig before you even attempt a rebreather, although some rebreather courses only require 30 dives or so. I'd say that to get enough practice, you'd probably need at least 50+ dives to get that proficiency. Plus rebreathers are a huge investment.

 

[stairman]

Welcome! I agree I wouldnt jump into a rebreather for a while. Open circuit is just as good IMO, safer and way cheaper but continuing education to tech will certainly add to the adventure.