Ft. Lauderdale Megalodon Diver

[The Publisher]

I do prefer the Vision electronics, especially the scrubber temp stick. I allows me to get 6-7 hours out of the scrubber when doing recreational profiles.

I have seen the Meg in person repeatedly and the build quality looks really good.

[mempilot]

Becky hit the nail on the head when commenting about pretraining preperation. I read Bozanic's rebreather text book, as well as ANDI's Megalodon Rebreather manual. I had actually started researching CCR about two years prior to actually purchasing a unit. I had several mentors during that time that included Tom Mount, Rob Davies (RIP), and a few other locals who had purchased their units about 6 months ahead of me. The key here is, do your homework and it will go a lot smoother.

I transferred over to CCR after years of diving technical OC, so a lot of the diver fundamentals were already engrained in me. That made the concepts of CCR easier. Other than the rebreather itself, I didn't have to learn new gear or procedures like handling decompression bottles which are now called OC bailout and decompression bottles. If you are already technically inclined, then the biggest thing to get used to with a rebreather is bouyancy. It is completely different on CC vs OC, since you retain gas volume in the loop as well as any other bouyancy device like a wing or drysuit. In OC, your lungs are a variable in bouyancy. In CC, they are a constant, since you just transfer their volume to the counterlungs and back.

As for the training with Jill; it follows the IANTD curriculem and syllibus. I traveled to her, so we did our training in the springs and caverns of North Central Florida. My final few dives were in 40 Fathom Grotto with some light decompression thrown in at instructor's discression. The training for the prepared mind is not really that difficult, but I am used to using checklists and memory item recall during emergencies in my job as a pilot. This more complicated task loading and the bouyancy issue are the two hardest things to master during CC training.

You will run the gammit of rebreather failures and conditions during training:

1. hypoxia/low PO2
2. hyperoxia/high PO2
3. hypercapnia/elevated CO2
4. failed electronics/no PO2 monitoring/SCR
5. failed O2 solenoid/open and closed
6. loop flood
7. OC bailout and OC ascent
8. manually operated CCR/manual gas bypass for DIL and O2
9. removing and passing off bailout bottles
10. dive planning/constant PO2 tables
11. gas extending contingency procedures for failed eCCR/SCR

etc etc etc...

The training, while demanding, is quite enjoyable. Jill is the perfect blend of layed back and tough, and she is a joy to learn from.

Eric Stadtmueller

[Guscabana]

Thanks for all the answers.
I been reading about rebreathers for some time, got the Bozanic manual last year, and Im doing technical diving with doubles, trimix and deco bottles, preparing for the real thing ;-) My tek instructor dive along us in his meg, and ill do a tryout before going to the course in Florida.
Im not a pilot but I allways double check my equipment, Im a professional skydiver, and better be sure of what you you have in your back before going out the door!
Can I download the meg manual somewhere?
Gustavo
Pd. I saw my instructor meg, fell from the back of his truck to the pavement, without a single damage...

[mempilot]

Can I download the meg manual somewhere?

The best manual for the Meg is published by ANDI and can be found here

[Guscabana]

Jill is already booked in the dates I will be in Florida, she suggest me to contact Gregg Stanton from Wakulla Diving center. Now we need 1 to 3 more divers to fill the class, the dates are november 11 to 18, if anybody is interested please contact Gregg at g3stanton@wakulladiving.com

Thanks!
Gustavo

www.guscabana.com

[mempilot]

Jill is already booked in the dates I will be in Florida

We will be completing CCR Cave with Jill the first week of December.