The Rough Guide to Florida. Part 1 – Filling the Tank

The lengths some people will go to, to attend Rebreather Forum 3 (www.rf30.org)  The following is taken from a blog written by Sport Diver UK writer, Martin Sampson.

Got out of the airport on Sunday and picked up the hire care. First time in a left hand drive car on the wrong side of the road for over 25 years so with some trepidation I ventured onto the highway, well turnpike actually. No I’ll stick with highway because I still haven’t got a clue what turnpike means. The first task was to get some fuel. The first gas station was a matter of yards away so I pulled onto the forecourt and read the sign on the pump saying ‘please pre-pay’. I put my credit card into the slot but the pump couldn’t recognise my post code. Remove card, walk into shop, and say to the girl on the counter “please can I get some fuel?”
“How much would you like” she asked. Cue confused tourist expression.

“I don’t know” I replied, “I want to fill up so I don’t know how much it will take”.

“Well you can leave your card, fill up and then pay” she said helpfully, oblivious to the fact that she was helping a simple process get complicated.

I walk out to the pump, lift the nozzle and waited. Nothing. After two mins I walk back into the shop. “What am I doing wrong?” I asked.

“Are you waiting for gas?” she asked still sounding delightfully helpful.

“Er… yes”.

She pressed a button on the touch screen in front of her, “Ok the pump’s on now”.

Back out to the pump and ‘Hey Presto’ I fill the tank up. Back to the shop again to pay.  She hands me back my card which I dutifully slide into the card reader.
“Mileage please”, she asks.

“Eh?” Looking down at the card reader the word ‘odometer’ was displayed. Why did the credit card company need to know the mileage? Was it that, by some conspiracy, that the car rental company had informed Google, who had informed Mastercard that I was on the road?

“I’ll be back in a moment”, I shot out of the shop, ran to the car and opened the door. The steering wheel had been stolen – er no, wrong bloody side. Run round to other side. Look at the odometer which is digital. The ignition needed to be on. Where are the keys? In the shop. Bugger!  Back to shop looking flustered. Grab keys, run to car, get mileage, run back. The transaction had timed out and my card was lying on the counter and another guy was now paying for fuel, coffee, muffins, and who knows what else.

“45657, 45657, 45657,” I started muttering to myself, willing myself not to forget the number. By now the bloke with the muffins thinks I’m cracked.  At last! Card in slot, mileage?………….45657……..YeeeeeSS!

“Driver number”.

Driver number? What the f… is a driver number?

The girl shrugged her shoulders.

“Can you tell I’ve only just arrived in the USA?” Rough translation: “please help me out here because I haven’t got a clue what’s going on”.

“I don’t know” said the girl doing her level best to be nauseatingly helpful.

“Well I’ll just make one up shall I?”

“Ok”

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll just try my pin number”

I type in four numbers and……..the transaction goes through.

Back to the car, and I sit in the drivers seat…….exhausted.

“Where’s the bloody steering wheel?”
Oh no not again.

Finally, sat in the right seat I gave the gas station a cheery wave goodbye. I didn’t actually want to do that but my right hand was flapping around trying to find the seat belt. That’s on the left stupid. Meanwhile, my left leg was in spasm trying to find the clutch. Oh didn’t I say? They drive automatics out here.

Rebreather Forum 3 Speakers

Rebreather Forum 3 Speakers – Friday 18th May 2012
Caribbean Ballroom III, Caribe Royale Convention Center

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Drew Richardson

07:30 Rebreather Forum 3 Welcome
15:00 Rebreather Forum 3 Orientation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Menduno

15:15 Lessons Learned from Rebreather Forum 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris

16:30 Rebreathers – Overcoming Obstacles in Exploration

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Robson

17:20 CCR Communities

A Tri-partisan look at the state of Rebreathers by ANDI, TDI and IANTD @ RF3

One week today CCR Pioneer’s ANDI, IANTD and TDI will release historical training data at Rebreather Forum 3.  The three agencies have worked together and will announce the total number of divers certified on rebreathers.  This has not been done before, and it will give the Industry some idea of just how big the CCR (Closed Circuit Rebreather) market is.

“There has been a lot of speculation out there about just how many people lean to dive on CCR’s”, stated TDI’s President Brian Carney.  “I am really glad to participate with Ed Betts of ANDI and Joe Dituri of IANTD and release our certification numbers”.

“The rebreather industry is fickle and I laud the other big rebreather certification agencies getting together and setting the record straight,” stated IANTD’s Vice President Joe Dituri.  “I have never been more excited to be part of this growing culture.  Our cooperation is a win for the diving public”.

“Our corroboration will hopefully provide some clarity and result in a stronger, safer industry for all of us”, said Ed Betts, President of ANDI.  “Rebreather Forum 3 should be about improving safety and understanding.  Safety should not be a competitive issue”.

Due to the fact that ANDI, IANTD and TDI have slightly different ways of classifying rebreather certifications the numbers will be broken down as ‘Basic’, ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Advanced’ certifications by year.  Basic qualifications will include any entry level program to SCR’s (Semi-Closed Rebreather) and CCR’s.  Intermediate qualifications will include any training that includes minimal decompression.  Whilst Advanced qualifications will include Trimix and exploratory qualifications.  The companies will also be showing the difference between SCR and CCR certifications.

This information will be released post RF3 for anyone not able to attend this event and will be included in the published Conference Proceedings.

“20 Years of CCR Training Data from ANDI, IANTD and TDI” will be presented on Friday 18th May 2012 at 11:30 in Boca Room IV, Caribe Royale by Ed Betts, Brian Carney and Joe Dituri

 

“RF3 is the premier worldwide CCR event” states Tony Davis

Tony Davis, CEO of Aqua Tech Australia & CCR Technologies is flying in from down under to attend RF3.  We asked him why.

“When I read the agenda I knew I had to attend.  RF3 is the premier worldwide CCR event, and I want to learn more about the CCR’s I distribute in Australia, whilst making business contacts to grow the CCR component of my company. I also want to learn more about CCR specific physiology, and the business of CCR’s in recreational diving.”

The three day programme is divided into sessions to cover different aspects of rebreathers.   Topics up for discussion include;

- Hazard Analysis and Human Factors
- CO2 Scrubber Technology
- CO2 Sensors
- O2 Sensors and O2 Control
- Pre-Market Testing
- Post-Market Monitoring
- Post-Incident Testing
- Semi-Closed Systems
- Operations and Training

If you want to join Tony, book your tickets now by logging onto www.rf30.org and be part of this key rebreather event.

 

Duke Research Team wins NASA Award; Preventing DCS in Astronauts

A research team at the Duke University Hyperbaric Centre, (North Carolina, USA) has won a Johnson Space Center (JSC) Group Achievement Award from NASA. The Durham based team comprising Dr Neal Pollock, Dr. Richard Vann, Mike Natoli and Dr Richard Moon. Dr Neal W. Pollock and Dr Richard D. Vann developed an in-suit light exercise pre-breathe regime to prevent decompression sickness developing in astronauts.

Dr Neal W Pollock and Dr Richard D Vann

Although it might not seem immediately obvious, there is a strong link between astronauts, rebreathers, diving physiology and physics. A space suit is effectively an oxygen rebreather with the contents of the suit recirculated through a CO2 scubber. However the helmet doesn’t suffer the same CO2 retention problems that some diving helmets can, mainly because the gas is far less dense, therefore it circulates easily around the system.

“When an astronaut transitions from Space Station pressure (1 bar) and dons a space suit (0.29 bar), the pressure on them drops by 0.71 bar”, stated Neal Pollock. “It’s the same effect as instantly going from ground level to a thousand feet above Everest. Consequently one of the dangers of space walking is that decompression sickness will result if there is no intervention or treatment. Although the astronaut hasn’t been diving, he does have nitrogen in his tissues – in equilibrium with the content at ground level pressure. With an immediate drop in pressure the gas comes out of solution forming bubbles and possibly symptoms of decompression sickness, just like diver experience. We needed to wash out nitrogen from the astronauts’ tissues by having them breathe pure oxygen; an old trick used since World War II by bomber and fighter crew.”

The full story can be found here, see page 6 of X-Ray Magazine, May Issue, # 48

Dr Neal W Pollock and Dr Richard V Vann also work at DAN Headquarters in Durham, respectively as Research Director and Consultant.  They are two members of the team behind Rebreather Forum 3.

2012 is ‘The Year Of The Rebreather’

Christian Heylen, General Manager of PURE Red Sea (Professional Underwater Rebreather Explorers) will be exhibiting at Rebreather Forum 3.  We asked him why he’s taking part in this event.

“2012 is definitely the year of the rebreather revolution and RF3 is the rebreather event to be at in 2012.  There’s no way I’m missing this!  Divers are coming to the Orlando conference from every corner of the world, to listen to the latest developments and most up to date information on rebreather diving.  As the specialized rebreather operator in the Red Sea, there is no better opportunity for us to present our services to those divers looking for dedicated and exclusive rebreather diving in one of the best diving spots of the world.

Why do I consider 2012 to be ‘the year of the rebreather’?  Until recently rebreathers were considered a piece of technical equipment for experienced divers.  Today rebreather technology has developed to a level where new divers can now dive safely on a rebreather, ie the Poseidon Discovery MK-VI.

Before manufactures were trying to make their units as advanced as possible for deep trimix and cave diving.  Now they are looking to make their units as simple, foolproof and safe as possible.  This will mean there will be big changes in the rebreather world and this is probably the reason that 2012 is the year of RF3 too!  We are in for a very exciting time.

I’m looking forward to the networking, seeing good friends and making new business contacts.  However being a passionate rebreather diver I’m also hoping to find new opportunities to explore new places around the world with my rebreather.

I also want to know everything the manufactures are planning and the new stuff coming out.  That promises to be very exciting.  And personally as a rebreather diver I want to learn about all the latest upgrades I can put onto my rebreather for my own deep diving and expeditions.  RF3 is going to be an excellent place to source new places, centres, boats and destinations to dive.

With rebreather diving becomes more mainstream, more dive centres, instructors and professionals are going to be involved with this aspect of diving.  It will all make it far easier to take your breather on holiday with you.  The logistics will be sorted and there will be breather friendly facilities in far-flung places with sorb, cylinders and oxygen fills etc. 

With so many topics being presented by many renowned experts in their fields I know this is going to be something special.  There are going to be great presentations by DAN, (Thermal Physiology, OC and CCR Fatalities, and Coastguard Investigations).  And I’m also looking forward to the Rebreathing Testing, Scrubber Technology and CO2 monitoring talks.”

If you want to join Christian Heylen at Rebreather Forum 3, it’s time to book your ticket for Rebreather Forum 3.  Log onto www.rf30.org for full details.

What’s Rebreather Forum 3 all about? Neal W Pollock explains

“The main aim of RF3 is to evaluate the state of the art”, stated Dr Neal W Pollock, DAN’s Research Director and one of the organisers behind RF3.  “In a nutshell the theme of RF3 is to improve understanding, which we hope will translate to improved safety across the board.  We can always do things better.  So it is a rationality check to see if we can make things safer.

We’re therefore going to assess the current situation re manufacturing, testing, training and diving protocols to check that we are doing this as safely as we can, and highlight areas that need improving so that we can move forward.  Hence we’ve convened this Conference to put a lot of opinions into the room, rather than relying on a set of interpretations from one particular organization or company.  Doing it this way allows us to pull together all the different views and we then analyse the results through one lens.

The training agencies all say we are doing it right, so therefore why do we still have a number of fatalities every year?  At RF3 we intend to be as honest as we can about issues and address every one of them.  This may sound to some divers that we are suggesting current standards are dangerous.  We are not.  Our ethos is more along the lines of ‘how can we do it better and safer’?

So why will RF3 be useful to the Industry?  When you understand where something is failing; be it manufacturing, training or diving protocols, then everyone benefits from knowing how failures can occur.  Then we can see and evaluate how to successfully improve performance.”

You can be part of this important peer review, just log onto www.rf30.org, check out the agenda and book your tickets to the most significant rebreather conference this decade; Rebreather Forum 3.  You’ll kick yourself if you miss it!

Going underground at TEKCamp 2012

With preparations for TEKCamp 2012 moving ahead at full speed, details are leaking out about what promises to be a bigger and better event than ever before!

Kicking off on the 9th July, TEKCamp 2012 will see attendees getting involved in a range of exciting activities and talks. The highlight of the event promises to be an exclusive ‘out of hours’ field trip to the amazing show caves at Wookey Hole with CDG cave diver, Dr Duncan Price. Duncan will be taking TEKCamp attendees on a fascinating history of cave diving in Wookey as they explore these world-class show caves for themselves. Prepare to be gob-smacked by the breath-taking beauty of these amazing caves – but watch out for the Wookey witch!

TEKCamp 2012 is a unique opportunity to ‘speed date’ ten of the UK’s foremost technical diving instructors at Vobster Quay in Somerset. Over five solid days, attendees will participate in a series of in-water skills development and coaching sessions, lectures and talks – all designed to give divers a unique opportunity to develop and improve their diving skills and knowledge under the guidance and coaching of some of the UK’s foremost technical instructors. Some of the biggest names in technical diving will be giving attendees the benefit of their considerable knowledge – names already committed to the event include Martin Robson, Phil Short, Paul Toomer, Rich Walker and Mark Powell.

For recreational and budding technical divers alike, TEKCamp 2012 offers a unique opportunity to improve your skills and increase your diving confidence under the direct guidance of some of the UK’s foremost technical instructors. Buoyancy control need work? Finning technique less than efficient? Wish you could pop up a DSMB mid-water without losing control? TEKCamp 2012 will fine tune these skills and more…

Attendees can look forward to a packed schedule of talks throughout the week covering a broad range of diving subjects. The talks schedule is still being finalised but attendees can already look forward to…

• MONDAY 9TH – Acclaimed cave diver John Volanthen will be presenting a fascinating talk on the expedition to dive the cave system at Pozo Azul in Spain. John and other team members managed to set a new record for the worlds longest cave diving penetration, covering a distance of over 9 km!

• TUESDAY 10TH – Ever-popular rebreather cave expert Phil Short will be headlining Tuesday evening. Phil will be giving a talk entitled ’20 Years in Diving: The good, the bad and the ugly’. If Phil’s previous talks are anything to go by, this one is sure to be packed with seat-of-your-pants anecdotes and humour!

• WEDNESDAY 11TH – Fancy a field trip? On Wednesday night, TEKCamp attendees will be heading down to Wookey Hole for a guided tour of the stunning show caves lead by none other than CDG explorer, Dr Duncan Price. This promises to be the highlight of the week so don’t miss out!

• THURSDAY 12TH – Pioneering technical diver and rebreather guru Kevin Gurr will be returning to TEKCamp 2012 to give another fabulous talk. Marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Kevin will be taking attendees on a journey to the world’s most famous wreck. Recounting his own dive to the RMS Titanic onboard the MIR submersible, wreck dives don’t get much bigger than this!

• FRIDAY 13TH – Friday night is party night at TEKCamp 2012 will a celebratory hog roast to mark the end of another very successful event. The instructing team will be in attendance, giving attendees the opportunity to rub shoulders and chat with some of the biggest names in diving. We’ll also be running our raffle with prizes galore up for grabs!

Tickets for TEKCamp 2012 are selling fast with over 80% already snapped up but there’s still time to get yours. Two ticket options are available offering either five or nine training sessions over the course of five days. For more information on booking options, visit www.tekcamp.co.uk

Are we there yet? Rebreather technology for recreational divers by Dr Petar Denoble

“In the future, you’ll simply jump into your car, turn on the Internet, turn on a movie and sit back and relax and turn on the automatic pilot, and the car will drive itself,” says Michiko Kaku in his book Physics of the Future. “Unlike a human driver, it doesn’t get drunk, it doesn’t get distracted and certainly does not have road rage.”

Even though driverless cars are not yet commercially available, driving a car is a simple process with all of the complex technology hidden from the user. Today’s rebreather technology is a few steps behind, but it may be catching up.

Sixteen years ago diving scientists, manufacturers, divers, training agencies and regulators met for three days at Rebreather Forum 2.0 (RF2.0), in Redondo Beach, Calif., to discuss the future of “sport rebreather diving.” At the time, at least one dozen rebreather models had appeared on the market, some of which were there to stay. The market was minuscule, and training opportunities were practically nonexistent. The consumer base consisted of about 100 brave, knowledgeable divers who recognized they could achieve more in their respective fields using rebreathers but at the cost of more work, money and risk than average divers were ready to commit.

RF2.0 reviewed the physiology of rebreather diving and the enabling technology, including the risks and needed enhancements if sport rebreather diving became popular. The findings and recommendations of RF2.0 emphasized the complexity of closed-circuit rebreathers (CCR), a need for technical support and better control of insidious risks including hypoxia, hyperoxia and hypercapnia. Additional safety issues were also noted such as a “caustic cocktail,” an unanticipated variation in the partial pressure of nitrogen, thermal considerations and mechanical or electronic failures. Some technological advances were explicitly required, like full-face masks to prevent drowning in case of unconsciousness and an on-board carbon dioxide monitor to prevent carbon dioxide poisoning. Third party pre-marketing testing was advised, but standards were not proposed.

When compared to open-circuit scuba, rebreathers required significant ongoing maintenance and support to function properly; the consensus among the forum attendees was that rebreathers were suited for the technically savvy rather than the average diver. Military divers have successfully managed the risks of using rebreathers with resources not available in sport diving, including the use of a large supporting infrastructure, a high degree of discipline and extensive formal training.

Changing Tides: RF2.0 to RF3

Dr. Richard Pyle describes the experience of a self-taught rebreather diver best: “After my first 10 hours on a rebreather, I was a real expert. Another 40 hours of dive time later, I considered myself a novice. When I had completed about 100 hours of rebreather diving, I realized I was only just a beginner.”

He did, however, provide a few survival tips for new rebreather divers:

1. Know your partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) at all times; do not trust “fail-safe electronics.”
2. Learn, in depth, diving physics and physiology.
3. Training should emphasize failure detection, manual control and bailout procedures.
4. Cover your ass (have a back-up).

The experiences and tips of Dr. Pyle and his peers became the basis for development of formal training for technical rebreather divers.

But there were additional challenges for the trainers. According to Karl Shreeves, technical development executive for PADI worldwide, before the training agency could consider the instructional system, it was necessary to determine who the customers would be and how they would use rebreathers. PADI considered rebreather diving a niche not of interest to mainstream recreational divers at the time, but recognized the trend could change at any point. Indeed, a lot has changed; rebreather technology has improved, some training agencies have started offering instruction and the number of users has increased from hundreds to tens of thousands.

The fatalities have also risen accordingly to more than 20 per year, or more than 190 in the sixteen years since RF2.0. Not all of these fatalities were rebreather-specific, but all analyses indicate operator-machine interaction played a major role in it. It’s an interaction that must be acknowledged, understood and made as safe as possible. Dietmar Luchtenberg of Europe’s Rebreather Advisory Board said, “We can’t get rid of safety issues in rebreather diving by [only] increasing technology standards.” He emphasized the need and challenge of eliminating the factor of human error to enhance diver safety. After RF2.0, there was also a consensus about the significance of the human factor in the safety of rebreathers; the suggested approach seemed to be to develop a reasonably safe device and shift the residual risk to the users.

The full article is available here at AlertDiverOnline, the magazine for Divers Alert Network

Peter Sieniewicz to join IMCA

One of the Health and Safety Executives Principal Diving Inspector’s Peter Sieniewicz (Southern Region) announced he is resigning from the HSE’s Diving Inspectorate.  ”After 14 years with the HSE I’m looking for new challenges.  I will be taking up the role of a Diving Technical Advisor at the International Marine Contractors Association and will be joining the company in April”.  In his new role he will still be involved in furthering safety in the diving industry.

IMCA (www.imca-int.com) in an international association representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies.  They work through and on behalf of its members world-wide promoting offshore safety, addressing technical matters and on a variety of other issues.