Photos from this weekend's "Rebreather Experience"

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:01 pm

Those of you that didn't sign up for Mel and Curt's "Rebreather Experience" this weekend missed a REALLY good time! Participants were able to try out most of the the closed-circuit rebreathers available in the North American market and everyone had a BLAST!

I would have preferred to have been there on both Saturday and Sunday, but my Grandson's 2nd birthday party trumped watching other divers in a pool! I spent Saturday over in Yakima and was only able to attend the Sunday session.

Here's a few photos of NWDC members that were at the Sunday session:

This first shot is of Mel Clark (Scubagrunt here on NWDC) beginning her presentation on closed-circuit rebreathers and how they function.

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This next shot is again of Mel as she is describing some of the differences and features of each of the units. CCRs that were available were the Innerspace Technologies' Megalodon and COPIS Megalodon, the Silent Diving Systems' Inspiration, the Dive-Rite Optima, and the Jetsam Technologies' Classic KISS and Sport KISS.

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Bruce and Lynn Partridge of Shearwater Dive Computers drove down from British Columbia. Here's a shot of Bruce giving a presentation on his computers....along with monkeys....urinals.....flies.....and anything ELSE that came to mind! Bruce is a really entertaining speaker!

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Then came what everyone had been waiting for....the pool sessions with the rebreathers. Here's a shot of host Curt McNamee (Right) along with NWDC members Calvin (Left) and Ken G (Center):

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Plenty of other NWDC members were there trying out the various units. Here's a shot of our own jackieg all decked out in a stunning red Optima:

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Nailer99 dressed up in his best duds because he knew it was being held over yonder-way at the Country Club! Here he is after emerging from his "dive" with a Classic KISS rebreather:

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Grinning from ear to ear, here's a shot of thelawgoddess getting ready to try out an Inspiration:

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Here's a shot of Ken G getting a hands-on briefing on the Classic KISS rebreather and a Shearwater dive computer:

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Another shot of Calvin getting reading to test dive the Inspiration:

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Here's Nailer99 with a Megalodon CCR being (ahem) "assisted" by Mel in adjusting his crotch strap. I'll leave the cause of the fiendish grin on his face to your imagination.....

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And finally, a shot of Ken G and Calvin ready to drop down with a pair of Classic KISS CCRs.....

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As I said above....it was a GREAT day! If Mel and Curt ever decide to host one of these again I hope that any of you that are interested in rebreathers are able to take advantage of the opportunity!

- John

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:33 pm

Ha! Cool shots, John, thanks for posting them here! A great time was had by all- pretty amazing opportunity, to be able to test dive a bunch of super expensive gear like that. I guess most people just buy the one they think they want, and hope for the best. It is a little bit like test driving a Ferrarri in the parking lot of the dealership, but still- I got a feel for what the different units breathe like, how they fit, and so on. Sitting down in the deep end listening to the lack of bubbles was pretty exciting for me! I've been moonlighting every weekend for a while now, and have a fair little chunk of money set aside for my Meg

.....but it's gonna take a while.

Many thanks to Curt and Mel, and all the other people who helped out....

Maverick · Post by **Maverick** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:40 pm

I missed out, but hink i am with howard i am an OC guy for now. but if i went CCR it would be a kiss, or copis. I like the manual CCR.

jackieg · Post by **jackieg** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:00 pm

Thanks to Mel and Curt and all the "silent scuba" elves - this was amazing. And I hope Valerie will forgive me for trying out a unit in "her" colors....but doesn't red go with everything????

Jackie

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:49 pm

Thanks to Mel, Curt and all the others who made this possible.

Awesome photos John, I think I have a new avatar that actually has me in it. $\:D/$

The ones of Nailer are priceless!

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:45 am

I knew I shoulda come... ](*,)

Oh well, I just would have found a bunch of other cool toys that I can't afford!

Soiunds like a fun and educational time!

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:22 am

Tom Nic wrote:I knew I shoulda come... ](*,)

You're right.....you shoulda!!!!!

There were all kinds of reasons to attend, over and above wanting to buy a CCR. My primary dive buddy, John "Sparky" Campbell, has no intention whatsoever of getting a CCR. He came just so that he could better understand rebreathers since I frequently dive my KISS Classic with him and he wants to understand what's going on. He also wanted to try out the KISS Classic, again just so that he would be more familiar with the equipment that I use. I don't think that he even tried out any of the other units that were there.

Did any NWDC members attend Saturday's session?

- John

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:50 am

John Rawlings wrote:
Did any NWDC members attend Saturday's session?

- John

Burntchef was there Saturday.

Burntchef · Post by **Burntchef** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:10 pm

Nailer99 wrote:
John Rawlings wrote:
Did any NWDC members attend Saturday's session?

- John
Burntchef was there Saturday.

we had way better vis on saturday

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:24 pm

Burntchef wrote: we had way better vis on saturday

Well, we TRIED to keep Nailer from peeing in the pool....but you know how THAT goes!

Curt McNamee · Post by **Curt McNamee** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:02 pm

I was wondering why we were charged extra to have the pool water chemically adjusted back to the normal range

. They said it was fine before we got started. Ahhhhhhhhhhh just kidding.

We had a great time with everyone that attended and I want to thank all of you that showed up, even John Rawlings

thanks for the help.

Now that alot of you are all excited about rebreathers, it's time for you to come over to the dark side and ditch the OC gear.

Thanks again and we hope to have another one next year.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:51 pm

John Rawlings wrote:
Burntchef wrote: we had way better vis on saturday
Well, we TRIED to keep Nailer from peeing in the pool....but you know how THAT goes!

NOBODY tells me where I can and can't pee!

Ken G · Post by **Ken G** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:22 am

Curt and Mel thank you for the experience. It opened my eyes to the future of diving. I cant seem to stop thinking (dreaming) of CCR's since I left. John it was nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again. Love the photos by the way.

Time to start saving.

Ken

Aquanautchuck · Post by **Aquanautchuck** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:24 pm

Nailer99 wrote:
John Rawlings wrote:
Burntchef wrote: we had way better vis on saturday
Well, we TRIED to keep Nailer from peeing in the pool....but you know how THAT goes!
NOBODY tells me where I can and can't pee!

I have seen that grin on wet suit divers while diving but never in a pool. Dang Nailer, you could of waited until Mel was finished adjusting your crotch strap.

Looks like you guys had more fun than I did at Cove 2. But I got wet and had a blast.

Charles

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:38 pm

Nailer99 wrote:It is a little bit like test driving a Ferrarri in the parking lot of the dealership, but still- I got a feel for what the different units breathe like, how they fit, and so on.

lol; i agree ... except - a rebreather is way cheaper and you can't drive a ferrari underwater!

those are great photos, john - it was great to finally get to meet you and mel and curt. the day was a very cool experience indeed!

Gill Envy · Post by **Gill Envy** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:01 pm

Just thought I'd chime in here and say that my wife and I have had quite a bit of instruction with Curt and Mel and I can only say good things about the quality of their teaching. They are top notch.

In this day and age and specifically with rebreathers it's hard to find an instructor or destributor who will put their own self interest and profit motive aside and just tell you what they think would really best fit your needs... that's Mel and Curt, they'll give you the streight scoop!

Thanks guys for helping us navigate through the maze!

L.A. · Post by **L.A.** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:25 pm

Looks like a great time. Too bad I joined the forum too late to hear of this event. Does anyone know if a future RB experience is in the works?

Curt McNamee · Post by **Curt McNamee** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:47 am

L.A. wrote:Looks like a great time. Too bad I joined the forum too late to hear of this event. Does anyone know if a future RB experience is in the works?

We have another "Rebreather Experience" Scheduled Sunday Aug 26th in Vancouver BC. If you are interested, just let me know.

L.A. · Post by **L.A.** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:38 pm

Curt McNamee wrote:
L.A. wrote:Looks like a great time. Too bad I joined the forum too late to hear of this event. Does anyone know if a future RB experience is in the works?
We have another "Rebreather Experience" Scheduled Sunday Aug 26th in Vancouver BC. If you are interested, just let me know.

Thanks for the reply, Curt. I can't make it that weekend, but will keep an eye out for the next local event.

decodiver25 · Post by **decodiver25** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:47 pm

wow this looks like a great time...i don't know if id ever get one but i sometimes dive with john rawlings and he dives a ccr and i would love to just learn more about them to understand his gear and divng situation a little better...

Northwest Dive Club

Photos from this weekend's "Rebreather Experience"

Photos from this weekend's "Rebreather Experience"

Pool