Everyone I meet seems to have an opinion on rebreathers. The opinion seems to be one of two extremes: adoration or loathing. I made a conscious decision to remain neutral before trying one for myself – all too often your “own” opinions are in-fact nothing of the sort. Instead they are the insights’ of others that you come to presume are your own.
Indubitably my genuine opinion was established on account of my instructor. I have been in many diving situations whereupon I have witnessed bored and disintersted instructors; their passion for diving and being underwater has waned. Diving on the sentinel rebreather restored my confidence in diving as a life long career. I witnessed first hand how diving can remain enthralling, rewarding and continuously adventurous, even after decades of diving.
In mid August I had the privilege of meeting and diving with Phil Short. Phil has been diving for years and has an array of dive stories that would eclipse those of the world’s most accomplished divers: being stuck under tonnes of rubble in a cave avalanche; diving the B-29 wreck in Lake Mead; and diving Aquarius on a rebreather is a mere selection. I have never met anyone like Phil. His fervent passion for adventure is enthralling. What is more his ability to thrive in demanding adventurous situations is bordering on super-human. With such an amalgamation of extraordinary experiences to his name I was a little apprehensive of falling under the chore category. After all, I was trying out the sentinel rebreather for the very first time in an inland quarry with the world’s leading expert, who is more akin to penetrating the world’s most alluring caves…
The upshot was three fantastic days being taught by an instructor whose enthusiasm to teach, dive and discover is most definitely still very much thriving. I spent day 1 at the VR Technology factory in Poole, UK. Phil took me thoroughly through the sentinel – stripping off every piece of it that could come off, and then putting it all back together. Every part was explained to me, and every O-ring removed, re-greased and replaced. Being able to appreciate the sentinel and how it works was a crucial step for me – I’m not interested in just jumping in to give it a whirl, I want to understand.
Day 2 and 3 were spent at Vobster Quay inland quarry. I was to complete 4 dives in total. Dive 1 ended up being the typical fear of the unknown: every time I dive a new way or with novel equipment I don’t enjoy it. I don’t enjoy it because I don’t know what is normal: how a normal breath should feel; how the equipment should sit; if that noise is normal?!? Dive 1 with a rebreather was never going to be pleasant then! This is where Phil’s instructing shone through. I couldn’t get enough breath on dive 1 and started to become unnerved. Giving the signal to come up Phil just looked at me and knew exactly what I was experiencing. The diaphragm wasn’t triggering as I wasn’t inhaling strongly enough. He managed to communicate this to me underwater and one strong suck and a lovely reassuring sound of a bag filling with air graced the surrounding water. Easy breath, viola.
The following 3 dives ensued without any hint of panic and I became ever more accustomed to the sentinel. Not only did I learn how to dive with it -remaining relatively neutrally buoyant; checking my PO2 regularly, not using my lungs to control buoyancy – I also learned how to properly prepare and de-kit for every dive. As I said, Phil is thorough, and I was very appreciative for that. I genuinely learned how to dive with a rebreather.
I loved the sensation of being on a rebreather. Most people mention the lack of bubbles and the corresponding silence. I noticed a huge difference in buoyancy. I have no idea what it feels like to walk across the moon – but that slow and methodical jumping you see on films – that’s how it felt. It was smoother, more serene than your average scuba dive.Voster Quay isn’t exactly swarming with life, but of the few fish that were around I did notice a big difference in their proximity and behavior, which was much less skittish. I am keen to get diving on a rebreather in the sea now – I imagine it is something special.
My final night was spent having dinner with Phil and Kevin and Mandy Gurr – founders of VR Technology. Kevin and Mandy are lovely people and super supporters of the scholarship, having hosted many of us over the past few years. I thoroughly enjoyed my evening. I heard many of the incredible, crazy and some plain mental tales of Kevin and Phil’s diving experiences. Explosions seemed to be a recurring theme. I could identify a true passion in both Kevin and Phil for discovery, and breaking the boundaries of diving technology and capabilities. Their passion is ploughed into VR Technology and as such it is a vibrant company, which remains true to the adventurous and side of diving.
