Dolphin Rebreather action.

[Chuck_Northrup]

Mark,

I just got back from Cozumel and did a weeks worth of diving there on my Dolphin. I decided to take the Dolphin rather than the Inspiration because I felt it would be easier to find nitrox than it would be to find high pressure O2.

I would have to double check my logbook to be sure but if I remember correctly I did 18 dives and I only used 4 aluminum 80's of nitrox. I brought my tank to tank equilizer with me and cascade filled off of the nitrox tanks. After the first few fills I was only getting about 2200 psi but that was still enough gas for two 1+ hour dives.

If I had one of Gordon Smith's Nano boosters, like John J, I would have been able to get full fills each time and probably would have gotten by with only 2 aluminum 80's. I do not want to start a RB vs. OC thread here, but the net result for my trip was that I only spent $40 on nitrox vs. the $180 I would have spent to dive OC nitrox for the week. Call it $25 worth of chemical used (just to be fair) and it is more like $65 vs $180.

Having been to Cozumel a number of times before (always on OC) I would have to say that I did notice a difference in marine life behavior being on the quieter system. I was able to find Splendid Toad fish by following their grunts, when I was right over them I could feel their grunts vibrating in my breathing hose. It was really loud! One of them actually attacked my macro framer, made for a better story than picture :-\ Sneaking up on Sea Turtles is always fun, they always look surprised when they finally see (not hear) you. The Spotted Drums and Queen Angle fish always seemed to shy away from me and my camera in the OC days. This trip they let me fire a plethora of pictures while completely ignoring me.

I was talking to our divemasters (at Del Mar Aquatics) about rebreathers and if they had seen many RB divers lately. They said they had seen a few but they were pretty rare. Rene was talking about a diver he had seen with "una caja amarilla" which could only be our beloved yellow box. There is one tech shop on the island that may be able to secure hp O2 called the Yellow Rose, but I am not sure about that.

Well, I am starting to digress so I'll end it here. The point is, yes there are other people diving the dolphin and it is a perfectly viable system which unfortunately is often overshadowed by the Inspiration. If you want the benefits of an RB and have no desire to go tech, I think it is the perfect system.

Safe Diving,

Chuck Northrup
Going Under Dive Center