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At the age of six I designed and built an underwater habitat in my pool, sure it was just a bunch of tubs and chests held to the floor with rocks, and my older brothers’ weight equipment, but to me it was as relevant as the Aquarius Project. I consequently discovered the dangers of hypercapnia and when I recovered from that, and the beating my brother gave me for rusting up his weights, I knew what I wanted to do with my life—Closed Circuit Rebreathers! My name is Jeff Gourley and I am the force behind VR Technology’s new marketing strategy. I learned to SCUBA dive in 1985 and moved directly to CCR diving and have never left. I am a CCR Trimix Instructor Trainer—IANTD ITT #403, I also hold several dive related medical ratings; DMT— Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Chamber Operator – International Board of Undersea Medicine, IEMT—National Registry. |
I have spent a lifetime in the ocean, dived nearly every rebreather out there, and spent years as a marketing professional. In other words I am pretty serious diver and I am guessing, since you’re reading this, so are you. Recently I received testimonials from students who just completed Kevin’s Sentinel Instructor class. (See the one from Jill Heinerth below) After reading them, it occurred to me that even the most seasoned CCR divers were unaware of the differences between a Sentinel LSS and a run-of -the-mill rebreather. I always assumed that most top level CCR divers understood the shortcomings of other rebreathers and just ignored them. It is now clear that many may not understand what makes a Sentinel better. So what does make a Sentinel LSS better? Kevin Gurr is a British engineer and designer and therefore inclined to simply state, from a technical standpoint, what makes the Sentinel LSS better.Typically I would take what Kevin has written down on a napkin, or rambled on about during a Skype conversation and mold it into a PR work of art. However, this time I have to agree with Kevin—The facts are all that matter. So let’s dive a Sentinel and see what actually makes it better. Right off the bat you will find that the Sentinel is quick and easy to setup and dive. It is a simple back mounted (everything in the case) system that is streamlined in the water and allows your chest to be free from clutter. (over-the-shoulder counter-lungs restrict view and create drag) The components are manufactured from top quality materials by VR Technology using ISO 9001:2008 standards and the Sentinel is an independently tested, CE approved, life-support system. (LSS) If you don’t think being an ISO 9000 company and getting your LSS CE approved is a big deal ask around. VR Technology has 15 years experience in designing life support equipment, they know what works underwater! One of the single most important procedures to execute before conducting a CCR dive is the pre-dive check. For years we CCR divers have used lists, mnemonics, and even little songs, to help us remember our pre-dive checks. These techniques are not enough, humans are flawed and, given the chance, will make errors and omit important tests (divers are really flawed). The Sentinel is the only rebreather to have an automated, interactive pre-dive check sequence; however in any event, the Sentinel detects breathing and will automatically turn on. As you run through your check you will notice he Sentinel has large-screen color displays and a heads-up display. These displays provide all the necessary information critical to your dive including an on-board decompression monitor in both closed and open circuit modes. This onboard decompression computer can run the optional VGM algorithm, the only one capable of mimicking all commercially available algorithms as well as allowing for custom user configuration. The life blood of any closed circuit system is its ability to remove CO2 from the loop. The Sentinel LSS has the most efficient absorbent usage of any available rebreather. Period. The Sentinel also has an absorbent duration monitoring system and an optional gaseous CO2 sensor--these keep you well informed of you actual C02 status. If you do have a problem and need to bailout the Sentinel comes with a bailout valve as standard. After you get out of the water you can charge the redundant rechargeable batteries using an optional solar charger. The Sentinel also has on-board data logging with an available PC interface so you can download your dives to your computer. If you are just taking a bit of a surface interval there will be no need to remove or recalibrate sensors as the Sentinel is very moisture tolerant and does not require recalibration before every dive.
Testimonial from Jill Heinerth - Heinerth Productions Inc.
The rebreather market has finally hit a critical mass. In the early days, a few brave manufacturers put everything on the line and with current knowledge, put the best product out there that they possibly could. When I began instructing CCR, well over a decade ago, we also did the best we could with current knowledge. Thanks to a lot of hard-fought information, the rebreather market has grown and flourished to the point that it is now a financially viable enterprise. With that viability, comes a new future for divers. We now have enough purchasing power to demand the products and features that we want to see. A responsive manufacturer will try to meet those demands. In the early days of CCR diving, we were test-diving, but today we have sophisticated standards and data that prove the efficiency and safety of commercial products. In the past we have chalked up accidents to so called, “human error.” But, in our human-ness, are we not allowed to make mistakes? Is human-error, better thought of as human nature? The tragic loss of many good instructors, qualified divers and experienced professionals attests to the fact that, on a bad day, we get distracted. We make mistakes. With a growing marketplace, it then seems reasonable that we should ask for more. More safety. More proof. Published data. Proper testing. We can demand that simple diver mistakes should be engineered-out of a life support device. That device should support life on a good day, a bad day and when we are a little out of practice. I’m not advocating irresponsibility on the part of a diver. I am instead suggesting that the diver and manufacturer create a partnership that delivers safer equipment and more incident-free dives. With this in mind, I recently took a Sentinel rebreather class from Kevin Gurr and was impressed beyond my wildest imagination. I found him to not only be an excellent and responsive instructor but also a brilliant engineer that was truly concerned about making rebreather diving safer. I have learned to be a better diver through his instruction. I have learned to be a better instructor through his mentoring and I have embraced the Sentinel rebreather as my tool for the future. As a creative professional that takes rebreathers to some very hairy places, I found this unit to offer significantly more safety features, but still present an easy user interface. I feel a lot safer shooting pictures and making movies with the Sentinel. Jill Heinerth Heinerth Productions Inc.
For details on how to upgrade your existing Sentinel, please check out Sentinel Upgrades
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