New RB diver hates it - should I keep diving it?

[Scuba_Bree]

Hi y'all, my first ever post on SB, I've been a lurker for a long time but haven't felt the need to ask any questions before now. I have a bit of a dilemma and was hoping for some opinions/thoughts on the matter.

A friend has lent me a Dolphin rebreather to learn on (he's upgraded to a CCR and isn't using his SCR at the moment), and I've recently qualified as a Dolphin rebreather diver, but I have absolutely no confidence in my skills and am pretty much petrified of my unit.

A bit of history first:
I've been into tech diving for a while now, and a lot of my dive buddies dive rebreathers, but I've always been an OC diver.
I've been talking/thinking about getting a rebreather for a few years now, but never quite had the money, and figured that when the "want" transfigured into a "burning desire/urgent need", I'd get off my butt and do something about it. That "burning desire" still hasn't hit, but I've always wanted to learn.
About 18 months ago, I was on a trip with some friends, one of whom was diving a CCR and he died underwater.
I never felt comfortable afterwards diving with people on RBs, or diving that site. I haven't dived the site again since the accident, I've had ample opportunity, but every time I went to dive it, there has been a RB diver on the boat and as soon as I see them kitting up, I remember the accident, and simply can't do the dive.
I have mentioned this to a couple of close friends/buddies and they've looked at me like I'm crazy... but when it all comes down to it, they weren't there when the accident occurred, so of course they won't understand the sick feeling I get in my stomach whenever I see a RB at that site. Funnily enough, it doesn't seem to bother me at other sites, only that one.

Back to my recent experiences.
I was lent this Dolphin, and I've done 7 dives on it:
The pool session (which I loved).
Then 2 shallow OW dives, where I felt really uncomfortable on it, so my instructor did 2 more dives with me at the same site to get me more comfortable on it - no skills, just simple diving at a familiar site trying to get me more comfortable on it.
Then my final 2 OW dives for my cert. The first of those dives I was fine, felt pretty good about it all. The second of those dives, I was a mess. Just before descending I went to turn on the bottle and a bunch of bubbles exploded from the 1st stage, so I had to get back onto the boat and re-attach the 1st stage properly. This then made me uptight and stressy for the whole dive, I took ages to descend because I was too scared to let go of the descent line, I just wanted to crawl back up it to the surface, and I panicked every time my buddy left my side. It was quite possibly the worst dive of my entire life.

This is a month ago and I've been too scared to dive the unit since. Everyone is questioning me about it when they see me gearing up (e.g. "why aren't you on the Dolphin") and I'm sick of lying to them. I hate being scared of it but I hate the thought of diving it more.

Has anyone on here been through a similar situation with a RB accident and lost confidence? If so, how'd you get it back?
Or has anyone on here been scared of their RB to start with, but eventually got comfortable with it? Is it normal to hate diving it to start with?

I guess I'm wondering if I should just get rid of the damn thing, or if I should keep trying and maybe one day I'll feel comfortable with it? I dive for fun, not to be freaked out, and have no inclination to keep diving something that I hate.

If anyone has comments about becoming comfortable with RB diving, I'd love to hear them.

 

[chrpai]

Well, I'm not an RB diver but it seem to me its a pretty simple question.

Whats requirements drive your motivation to dive an RB? Do those requirements outweigh the cost ( money, training, relearning, safety ) of diving an RB?

I suspect you already know the answer to that. I would only suggest that as in any form of diving, make sure your doing it for the right reasons and don't push yourself somewhere your not comfortable.

If it was me, I'd either face it head on and train until I'm comfortable with it, or I'd toss it aside and freely admit that it isn't for me. There is no shame in knowing your limits.

 

[jepuskar]

I agree with Chris. As you know, RB's can be very unforgiving as you have witnessed first hand. It is bad enough diving on OC and not feeling very comfortable, but on a RB you need to have your mind all there.

Look at why you want to dive a RB. I looked into the Dolphin for about 2 months, but then lost the urge for now based on the type of diving I do and money. You are dealing with your life here. I say scrap the RB for now and come back to it in a few months if at all....

Rebreather technology like most technologies is rapidly improving, while the Dolphin is one of the more simpler units, you never know what is next to drastically improve its safety.

From your post it sounds like you already know what you should do.

Jason

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I've recently qualified as a Dolphin rebreather diver, but I have absolutely no confidence in my skills and am pretty much petrified of my unit.
<lots snipped>
About 18 months ago, I was on a trip with some friends, one of whom was diving a CCR and he died underwater.
I never felt comfortable afterwards diving with people on RBs,
<more snipped>
This then made me uptight and stressy for the whole dive, I took ages to descend because I was too scared to let go of the descent line, I just wanted to crawl back up it to the surface, and I panicked every time my buddy left my side. It was quite possibly the worst dive of my entire life.

This is a month ago and I've been too scared to dive the unit since.

These comments would tell me that you are an accident waiting to happen with the RB. I would NOT dive it anymore. You need to either (a) get rid of the RB, or (b) get over your insecurities and get some confidence with the unit...

 

[TechBlue]

Comfort is everything, losing a friend in any kind of accident is rough to be on a trip and have a friend die hits about as close to home as you can get. A Dolphin can kill you just as easily as any RB. I wouldn't sell it just yet but you should immerse yourself in RB information, read anything you can get your hands on "Mastering Rebreathers" by Jeff Bozanic would be a very good start. It sounds like you have a lot of demons running around inside your head and you need to get rid of them before you go any further. You need to get to know RB's inside out and feel comfortable about how they work, I won't get into all the details of rebreather diving because you need to go there yourself, I can only tell you that I only dive CCR and wouldn't dive any other way but there is a lot of discipline, drills and your skills need to be maintained to the point that they become reflex. Rebreathers can and will kill you but only if you let them.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Your experience with the leak is not uncommon. That nice
rubber ring on the gender-bender-DIN fitting has lots of
friction, and can loosen up while kitting up if you bump
it with your hand or against the boat or whatever. My
procedure is reach back, tighten ring, turn on valve.

It won't loosen up once the gas is on.

You should turn on the gas on the boat. Otherwise you
will get water in the first stage if the ring loosens up.
And if stuff happens as you roll in, you got gas.

However, if the Dolphin terrifies you, either learn and
practice with it, or give it up. The leak was a relatively
minor problem.

A couple more things you won't find in the book:

1. When you assemble the 'breather, listen for the click
as the fittings go home, twist and pull to make sure they
are fully seated, and visually verify that they are fullly
seated.

2. Make sure the DSV is either fully open or fully closed.
It will leak water if it isn't FULLY one way or the other.

 

[hypnodean]

As the resident hypnotist, I'll just put in two cents.

You asked about dealing with the memories, uneasiness and emotional issues around the rebreather and such. I firmly believe that discomfort is a signal that something is "wrong" and should tell you either to stop (for now at least) or to do something different so that you can ease the discomfort.

"Something Different" might be as simple as taking another training class. It might be taking a break. It might be trying a differet RB. It might be deciding that for now RB is not what you are enjoying the most. Diving is a pleasure sport for most of us and I would assume for you as well. As such, it is supposed to be a pleasure.

If you can find someone in your area that does Hypnosis or NLP, the emotional reactive parts of what you are talking about (The memory of the dive buddy who didn't make it) will be relatively easy to neutralize. You won't forget, it will simply take some of the charge away.

In the mean while... do what brings you pleasure... Safely.... and remember you own explanations to NO ONE.

Dean

 

[padiscubapro]

Hi y'all, my first ever post on SB, I've been a lurker for a long time but haven't felt the need to ask any questions before now. I have a bit of a dilemma and was hoping for some opinions/thoughts on the matter.

A friend has lent me a Dolphin rebreather to learn on (he's upgraded to a CCR and isn't using his SCR at the moment), and I've recently qualified as a Dolphin rebreather diver, but I have absolutely no confidence in my skills and am pretty much petrified of my unit.

A bit of history first:
I've been into tech diving for a while now, and a lot of my dive buddies dive rebreathers, but I've always been an OC diver.
I've been talking/thinking about getting a rebreather for a few years now, but never quite had the money, and figured that when the "want" transfigured into a "burning desire/urgent need", I'd get off my butt and do something about it. That "burning desire" still hasn't hit, but I've always wanted to learn.
About 18 months ago, I was on a trip with some friends, one of whom was diving a CCR and he died underwater.
I never felt comfortable afterwards diving with people on RBs, or diving that site. I haven't dived the site again since the accident, I've had ample opportunity, but every time I went to dive it, there has been a RB diver on the boat and as soon as I see them kitting up, I remember the accident, and simply can't do the dive.
I have mentioned this to a couple of close friends/buddies and they've looked at me like I'm crazy... but when it all comes down to it, they weren't there when the accident occurred, so of course they won't understand the sick feeling I get in my stomach whenever I see a RB at that site. Funnily enough, it doesn't seem to bother me at other sites, only that one.

Back to my recent experiences.
I was lent this Dolphin, and I've done 7 dives on it:
The pool session (which I loved).
Then 2 shallow OW dives, where I felt really uncomfortable on it, so my instructor did 2 more dives with me at the same site to get me more comfortable on it - no skills, just simple diving at a familiar site trying to get me more comfortable on it.
Then my final 2 OW dives for my cert. The first of those dives I was fine, felt pretty good about it all. The second of those dives, I was a mess. Just before descending I went to turn on the bottle and a bunch of bubbles exploded from the 1st stage, so I had to get back onto the boat and re-attach the 1st stage properly. This then made me uptight and stressy for the whole dive, I took ages to descend because I was too scared to let go of the descent line, I just wanted to crawl back up it to the surface, and I panicked every time my buddy left my side. It was quite possibly the worst dive of my entire life.

This is a month ago and I've been too scared to dive the unit since. Everyone is questioning me about it when they see me gearing up (e.g. "why aren't you on the Dolphin") and I'm sick of lying to them. I hate being scared of it but I hate the thought of diving it more.

Has anyone on here been through a similar situation with a RB accident and lost confidence? If so, how'd you get it back?
Or has anyone on here been scared of their RB to start with, but eventually got comfortable with it? Is it normal to hate diving it to start with?

I guess I'm wondering if I should just get rid of the damn thing, or if I should keep trying and maybe one day I'll feel comfortable with it? I dive for fun, not to be freaked out, and have no inclination to keep diving something that I hate.

If anyone has comments about becoming comfortable with RB diving, I'd love to hear them.

If you are not absolutely confortable diving the unit you shouldn't be diving it.. A RB can kil but so can open circuit.. I know of many more deaths on conventional scuba than on RBs, some of the deaths probably would have been avoided on a RB the same goes the opposite way some of the RB deaths many not have happened on OC, some would have happened either way.

I personally don't like the dolphin or any CMF SCR, I prefer a CCR.. I wount dive any other way unless I positively have to.. The days of my dive time being limited by available gas are long gone, If I cant do at least 30 or 40 minutes at depth, I feel it wasn't worth my time.. AT the deepr end of the extreme on OC I'd only feel confortable doing 5 or 10 minutes at 100m (330ft) on a CCR I don't have any problems doing 30 minutes (with about 30 minutes of deco for each 5 minutes on bottom)...

ANy experienced RB diver has more options in saving himself than an OC diver but a RB diver without the proper skills can kill him/herself easier than a diver on OC.

It seems like you have alot of mental issues (not a slap in the face) this is not a good thing for any diver, RBs require a bit more attention and you might not be up to the responsibility.. Before you give it up, try working with the instructor on on one with some shallow dives and see if you can get over your issues.. You problem with a specific dive site is going to eat at you.. You have to battle that fear and beat it..

 

[DrySuitDave]

Bree,

Take a look at your list of dive training you have gone through...it is pretty impressive!

As to your friend, your post traumatic stressful reaction is completely understandable and common, and it seems feasible it is manifesting itself through your selection of new equipment because it shares some principles with the victims equipment. Maybe it would be good to take a break from using the Dolphin till you get back to your old self via open circuit....then if you feel the desire, take a follow-up thing with an instructor qualified to teach the Dolphin. Ask for a short refresher and get some pool stuff in that you had a good time doing previously. When you and your instructor think you are ready, do a shallow open water thing in the 20 foot or less range for awhile with the Dolphin if it gives you some sense of security. I would cruise the surface in 5 feet of water to slowly ease you back in. Remember, diving is supposed to be fun, so if you still want to continue with the Dolphin, take it slow, make your dives with it shallow, make your buddy understand that you need him or her to stick to you like glue and only do what is fun. Maybe rig a small pony with a second stage bungeed around your neck hanging right there and practice bailing out to it in the pool and then in open water.....might give you a little self-confidence while open water diving knowing you have a familar backup-a small scuba tank and regulator right where you practiced it to be....

Your actual number of dives on the unit seems very limited to develop a sense of comfort anyway.....I dive with a closed circuit unit now, and my first reaction in open water was, what a alot of crap strapped all over me!- this thing is ungainly and really cluttered... I have straps coming out from God knows where going to who knows what. My first several dive boat trips on the unit I thought, this is really lame-I need someone's help to get into the harness and counterlungs....I hate depending on people after diving solo for decades, and I never needed any help getting into my open circuit stuff.... Now I gear up solo ( I don't dive solo with my CCR) almost as quick as I did open circuit, I just have more things to check/keep track of and do prior to jumping in. I still haven't tried out my Xios Tracker as I am busy getting familar with stuff now and don't want to add task loading from a new toy till I am ready. In the meantime, I am in no rush....

At some point with repeated exposure and use of the same equipment, your confidence in yourself will slowly rebuild, but what is the rush? Forget your friends who razz you about your Dolphin, diving is about enjoyment, not what others think....if I knew of a person on a dive boat that wasn't having fun but was trying to prove a point by diving stressed with uncommon equipment, I would think they had major issues.

Lastly, your dive numbers with an instructor on the Dolphin seem short on its face to expect a whole lot of confidence by then....

Keep us posted not on whether you go back to the Dolphin or open circuit, but how you are doing on getting back to having fun diving, regardless of the equipment you use to do it with.

 

[scuba-sass]

Bree,

(I know nothing about rebreathers, so take this post for what it's worth.) What would you tell a good friend who had decided to try SCUBA for the first time, but struggled with the pool sessions, and was very uncomfortable on the first few dives? Or to narrow it down even further, how would you advise someone who was having trouble mastering a basic skill, such as Mask Clearing? I had trouble with this skill at first. Your advice would probably go something like this:

First - analyze if the activity you are attempting / training for is something that you TRULY want to do. If yes - continue, if no - get out and try something else. In your case - go back to OC. There's certainly nothing wrong with that decision.

Second - any time you have a rough experience, an extra hurdle is placed in your path, slowing progress. You need to back up to a level where you are comfortable. Some of the best advice I've ever read here on SB was regarding Mask Clearing, and the basics apply to learning any new skill. Start from a comfortable place and move forward in "baby steps". Push the comfort envelope slowly.

The only deaths I've ever been close to were not unexpected. I can't begin to imagine what your experience was like, and hope I never have to. Take time to decide if rebreathers are really what you want, and then give yourself whatever time it takes to be comfortable, and well trained.

Good Luck!
Scuba-sass