Peering Through the Looking Glass

No one can walk backward into the future.’

J. Hergesheimer, 1917

 And so passed the last day of the final year of the millennia and with it a generation of diving technology and ideology so dynamic that it changed face of scuba diving but not without creating controversy. The single high-pressure hose, the j-valve, the buoyancy control device, the dive computer, Nitrox, and Rebreathers; all have been met with resistance as traditionalists maintained that the old way of doing things should not be messed with – especially if it worked. Those who dared to venture beyond conventional practices were labelled as cowboys taking on unnecessary risk or using things ‘they don’t need’. Yet time passed and most of us eventually accepted the change (some earlier than others) and evolution continued to keep the world spinning. Ironically the dive technology that ushered in the new millennium included mechanisms (like Nitrox and Rebreathers) that had been around for over a century and were the birthing parents of the very same activity of sport diving we do today. I am often asked what I foresee in the future for diving technology. We saw the future 20 years ago yet I believe many continue to resist on what I once thought should have evolved into a standard setting practice for underwater exploration – and this includes Nitrox and Rebreathers.

Some people peered through the looking glass and saw a future with unlimited boundaries; a part of the underwater world that could be safely explored using modern diving technology. This was a world that included caves, deep walls, extended bottom times and shorter decompression requirements with far less equipment than is still commonly used today. They understand the human desire to explore, grow and change. Those who chose to evolve embrace the new era with open arms.

Others continue to stare through the looking glass and only see their reflection. It is a comforting familiar image and therefore they are content with what they have. Unfortunately, the world around them is quickly changing. For them Nitrox, Rebreathers, DPV (diver propulsion vehicles), communications and multi-functional computers are nothing more than novelties, fads and not where diving is going. Those who only see the present lose because diving is evolving, with or without them. They are history.

Twenty-five years ago when people asked me where I thought diving innovation was going I described the future diver as follows;

“An average individual with a small, light compact unit that delivers an optimal gas mixture containing oxygen, helium and maybe nitrogen for the depth he is diving at. Despite the small and weightless features of the unit the gas supply will be 5-10 times that of a standard 80 cuft-aluminum tank. This diver will have the capability of diving deeper and longer than the presently prescribed recreational limits of 100-130fsw (30-40msw). A small computer that not only tracked their depth, time and decompression requirements but the fraction and partial pressure of the oxygen that they would be inhaling. It would also continually monitor their dive statistics. As their allowable bottom time increased exponentially the equipment they will use would provide them enough redundancy that they would be totally self-sufficient dramatically decreasing the level of risk for both he and his buddy.”

Yes and how many thousands of dollars does all this cost? Consumers have a tolerance to what they will pay. Value, need and want all contribute to a complex relationship that is recognized by manufacturers and retailers. The future I saw was for the most part, already available to divers but as the demand increased so did the production numbers.

My first Rebreather course was with iconic pioneer Tom Mount and started in his back yard pool. The training was quite intensive and focused on six different SCR/CCR models including the Cis-Lunar, Halcyon RB80 and Inspiration.

Tom warned us that we would be regarded as ‘cowboys’ yet believed Rebreathers would eventually become the norm. Thirty years later there are more than a hundred different models on the market.

My future did not predict anything new in diving technology – just a take-over of the market. People are explorers by nature – which is why they took up diving in the first place. When people discover what new worlds can be safely reached with stuff like Nitrox, Rebreathers, and DPV’s they need to understand the value in investing in this new technology. Technical diving is no longer be seen as a remote and shadowy arm of the sport.

There are still dive shops that do not have Nitrox available. And there are still a lot of instructors who cannot teach Nitrox or Rebreathers. They are staring at their reflection. The rebuttal; ‘Oh I don’t see a demand or a market for it.’ Too bad; for you are walking into the new millennium with your back to the future – and while your back is turned you may lose your clients. Why? They see the future is already here, the millennium is ‘a comin’ and they want to see what kind of exploration the new technology brings. Dive shops: if your customers and instructors don’t see it, they will not ask you for it, they will go somewhere else and you will never see their business.

People are explorers by nature - which is why they took up diving in the first place.

I have often been asked when I believed the technological revolution for scuba diving started, and I have to say it began sometime between 1985 and 1995. Stand today’s diver side by side with the diver of tomorrow I described earlier and you can quickly see the greater potential to explore the new technology offers. How long do you think it will be before today’s diver will change their traditional approach to diving? I don’t see too many old double-hose regulators around anymore.

~Safe Diving