Technical Scuba Diving
Background I recently read the release notes for the latest Shearwater software release (v91) and was excited -- yes, I know, no comments from the peanut gallery. One of the standard information fields on a Shearwater computer (all dive computers really) is the NDL or No Decompression Limit field. This is the amount of time [...]
Background This article is about a "feature" in the Shearwater diver computer that I believe most people are unaware of and that is not really documented in the user manual. It is about the "Dive Plan" feature which divers probably most often use to plan a dive before they enter the water; however, it is [...]
The rEvo rebreather has a nice "bar" across the top to facilitate carrying the unit and securing it to the boat. I've seen people use all kinds of different methods to secure their rEvo to the boat. They include bungees around the 3L tanks that stick up (which doesn't seem all that secure to me), [...]
Background I thought I had posted about this modification a long time ago but was recently made aware that I had not. This post is about how I have configured the rEvo to use Air Integration pressure sensors instead of traditional Submersible Pressure Gauge (SPG) for the Diluent and Oxygen tanks. I'm not the first [...]
Diving on deep wrecks can be very rewarding, but it can also very boring during deco. Sometimes you can do your decompression on a wall or reef that is nearby but that is not very often. Most often, you are just hanging around a down line or anchor line "watching the blue go by." For [...]
Given the storms this week, I figured there was no way I was going to get into a drysuit anytime soon. But then I got a call from central dispatch (aka the wife) about a search and recovery mission! The conditions at the San Pedro Buoy are pretty grim right now and calling for 11 [...]
Background There are two types of technical divers. Those who "tinker" with gear constantly and those that ... WELL, NEVER MIND, there is only one kind of technical diver.... This post will mainly be gear related, but don't worry, there will be some pretty pictures with fish at the end! I had a business / [...]
Diving and taking photos at the bell on the Typo wreck 180' deep in 40F water (Photo Credit: Mel Clark) Background Quite a few people have asked about the equipment needed to safely dive and photograph wrecks that are 200 feet deep in 38-40F water at the bottom and with reasonably long (75-90 minute) decompression [...]
(NB: experienced technical rebreather divers might find this post "boring" while beginning technical divers might find it interesting and provide you something possibly new to think about and non-divers will probably just frown and wonder what am I talking about). 🙂 I don't really know any technical divers who aren't also "gear hounds." I've lost [...]
Tyler recently "re-identified" the Corsair that we dove last October. While we cannot be 100% sure, we are pretty sure based on accident reports that the original team mis-identified it (newer accident reports were released in 2012). In the search for more clues, Tyler started reviewing the photos I had taken. The "version" of the [...]
Wrecked in my rEvo 