Teaching Open Water Students while on a CCR?

[atechdiver]

I don't think any of this is offtopic. Maybe the question should really be, should any CCR diver teach OC divers on different gear configurations? I think your point, Rick Inman, about the CCR diver then being on a solo dive is probably one that the instructor was maybe too macho to think about in the first place? As I understand rebreather incidents, it seems that a high number of fatalitites on rebreathers are from people solo diving. If the instructor is on a rebreather and the student is on open circuit, then who would rescue the instructor if there was a problem. Wouldn't some open circuit rescue techniques either kill, or make it extremely difficult to rescue the rebreather diver? Not to mention that being rescued by a student doesn't look so good.

 

[elmer fudd]

Somewhat off topic, but, a rescue certified diver not familiar with a rebreather is going to get a surprise if they attempt to lift to the surface and control the buoyancy of an unconscious RB diver using standard agency techniques as the RB counter lungs expand on ascent...

Probably all the more reason that they should be exposed to them at least a little. Since the average rescue diver student is someone who is fairly serious about diving and rebreather users, statistically at least, seem to be involved in diving accidents at a fairly high rate. To me it doesn't sound far fetched at all that a RD might be involved in the rescue of a rebreather diver some day. I'm not a rebreather diver, but I'd imagine there are probably some hazards involved with rebreathers that should be treated differently as well. Caustic cocktails for example. I never heard a word about anything like that in my rescue class.

It's not like rebreathers are going to go away. As they get more refined and people get better at diving them they'll almost certainly become a bigger segment of the diving market.

Although I like the idea of exposing Rescue students to multiple gear configurations, it is not the instructor who should be wearing this alternative gear but rather an assistant or "victim".

That seems reasonable enough.