THIS WEEK IN TEC…. Ever wonder how rebreather rescue works? Our technical diving instructors Sandy and Hiro Yoshida spent many days this past week training all the local dive guides on Bunaken how to rescue rebreather divers from underwater. All of the staff participated in bailing out a rebreather diver who is breathing a bad mixture and also surfacing an unconscious rebreather diver. We had fantastic fun with our rebreather rescue training even though it’s a very serious topic, and we’re now ready to assist all our technical divers who come to us for diving!
Not only did our local guides practice rebreather rescue but they also got to learn sidemount rescue. We covered everything from bringing up an unconscious sidemount diver to removing all their equipment at the surface. The equipment is very different at first, but with a bit of practice our guides were easily unclipping all the tanks and inflator hoses in a timely fashion.
Rescue skills and training are essential for any diver to learn and it is especially important for the technical diver. Rebreather rescue and sidemount rescue are part of the basic level courses so that divers feel more confident of handling emergency situations underwater. If you want to learn how to assist technical divers don’t be shy to ask!