Who would have thought I'd come this far? Not me, that's to say for sure! I still remember saying to myself that I would never dive CCR because of the price for an unit. At that time, however, I was a full-time dive instructor in Asia who just bought a motorbike ;-)

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Fast forward past covid and a few years of getting back on my feet, I found the chance to make it all happen in the early spring of 2024 in Hemmoor, Germany. Yes, that meant it was going to be cold. We had the weather on our side and had the sun during the day and heating in the little house we rented at night. Andy, from Tauchsportcentrum Niederheinn, drove over to supervise the course and made remarks were necessary. 

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We did a trial dive together a few weeks prior to this course, just so he knew what he was dealing with. And also for me, since I wasn't sure what he expected of me. Previously, I always had instructors I knew before from my own user levels, but this time I needed to reach out to a new instructor, specifically for the German ScubaForce 2 CCR. These courses are unit-specific and you just can't train on whatever unit you please.

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A small chat at the BOOT show with the owners of the brand and a visit to the factory later was a good part of the agreement to be allowed to teach on the machine.

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I want to thank Steve, who has been a long-time student of mine and was willing to endure me during this course. I found it hard to teach since it's a course where the student is broken down and rebuilt since another body of gas is added for the diver. Previously, in open circuit, when you'd sink, you would take a slightly larger breath and could compensate for the negative buoyancy. This trained reaction no longer works while diving on a rebreather. And can be frustrating at first, having to learn your buoyancy all over again.

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I enjoy teaching new levels more than I expected and will continue this adventure. My next student is already waiting for me and I'm eager to see what awaits in the future!