CCR 1 (Air Diluent Diver ) Voyager training course, September 2005.

The course, the last of a diluent air series, had as protagonists 3 NAUI Instructors out of 4 participants.

The students already had about 80 diving hours each in SCR (the VOYAGER rebreather can pass from SCR to CCR ). The training course was held during 5 days with several laboratory and theory hours durino which the students learned how to set the rebreather transforming it from SCR (that were used to use since some time) to CCR1 (air diluent). At the end of the academic session, considered the very bad sea conditions, the students decide to finish the course at Garda Lake (province of Verona), where I live and  my training location since lifetime.

Fabio was used to dive in lakes because he lives near another lake, smaller than the Garda one while Fabrizio, Maurizio (the Lawyer) and Andrea were not so prepared to this event  since they live in one of the nicest Italian regions, Liguria and thus are used to dive in seawater.

Particularly, Andrea was very concerned for the visibility and cold conditions.   

The first training day occurs at a maximum depth of 9 meters (30 feet) where the students begin to be familiar with the partial pressures (that were not used to do in SCR) and we begin considering the partial pressures and not the gas fractions anymore. Let’s say that we use the first day to acclimate to the new environment and to the new machine configuration.

The second training day, everybody is at 10 meters (33 feet) and the students simulate the different scenarios of metabolic consumption.  

The test is performed as follows:

the students stop and remain at a constant depth, set the oxygen partial pressure of 1.0 and execute a 5-minute light swim during which they record in their slate their PPO₂ reading every minute; after that, they make another 5-minute swim but this time with a strong pace and record in their slate their PPO₂ readings; as last test, they try to get in distress with a very strong swim always remaining in the same place, pushing a rock as strong as possible; once again, they record in their slate their readings regarding time and  PPO₂. We will then evaluate this data together during the academic session, allowing the students to understand the different mechanisms about each metabolic consumption  and a better calibration of their rebreather.

But you can thing by now, how this Voyager rebreather functions?

In simple words, the Voyager is a rebreather that can be set either in SCR or CCR depending on the diver experience and training level. It is equipped with a mass flow controller which regulates the oxygen mass inside the respiratory loop; in case of the CCR setup, this mass will correspond to the individual metabolic consumption. The Voyager rebreather is manufactured with an assial filter with a radial output which makes it safe and comfortable to breath at the same time. It can be used with cylinders of different capacities, from the 2-lilter up to 5-6 liters since it is not equipped with a cover. The Voyager rebreather is a very simple and versatile machine that allows to dive with an oxygen consumption of about 0.6~1,2 liters per minute (in CCR) at any depth (using rebreathers, the gas consumption does not increase by increasing the depth).

At the last day we simulate all emergency scenarios, including the ascent without line and reference, using each one bailout from a depth of 30 meters (100 feet).

At the end of the training course, all students have successfully achieved their certification and   Andrea, Maurizio and Fabio are now NAUI TEC CCR 1 divers.

A special thank to Fabrizio, valuable assistant in water.

For any information about the Voyager rebreather you can contact me by email r.delaide@libero.it  or visit my webside www.rebreather.it.