http://www.rebreather-training.com/index.htmlArticles and blogs to do with rebreather training, courses and support in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia plus local dive destinations.eninfo@borneodream.comCopyright 2010 Borneo Dream Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd.2010-12-13T11:00:14+08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:15:39 +0800info@borneodream.comTechnical2010-12-13T11:00:14+08:00http://www.rebreather-training.com/blog-articles_files/how-does-a-ccr-work.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.rebreather-training.com/blog-articles_files/how-does-a-ccr-work.html#unique-entry-id-2silence except for the crackling from corals.

Borneo Dream is the only provider of rebreather training in Sabah, Borneo – we run a range of semi closed and closed circuit rebreather courses from Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah – so we know a thing or two about rebreathers.

Rebreathers are a great option for experienced recreational divers looking to take their diving further. One of the first questions we often get asked by our diving customers when they see a rebreather on our boat is “How does it work?”. The rest of this blog provides a simple overview of the workings of the Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR), with a focus on the APD (or Ambient Pressure Diving Limited) Evolution and Inspiration models. It gets a little technical (as a closed circuit rebreather is more technical than diving on open circuit) – but o

nce you’ve learned how to dive on a rebreather you’ll have the knowledge to prepare and dive safely on a rebreather and enjoy many long dives

So, how does a Closed Circuit Rebreather work?
The CCR has several key elements. The diver puts the mouth piece of the breathing loop into his/her mouth. The diver breaths out and the expelled air leaves the

breathing loop and enters the exhale counter lung which is located on the right shoulder. Any moisture or water droplets are removed by a baffle plate fitted into the entrance of the exhale counter lung. The air now passes from the exhale counter lung to the base of the scrubber unit which is contained in the back mounted case. As is passes through the scrubber the CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is removed / converted into heat and moisture. The cleaned air passes in front of three oxygen cells. These cells measure the level of oxygen in the gas compared with the amount of oxygen that should be there according to the integrated computer (see below). An oxygen solenoid adds a precise amount of oxygen according to the computers requirements and the gas passes to the inhale counter lung, mounted on the left shoulder. The diver breaths in and draws fresh air from the inhale counter lung via the mouth piece and breathing loop. The idea is to have either one lung full in you or one lung full in the unit, never both. This is called loop volume management.

Diving on a Rebreather
Managing buoyancy when diving on a Closed Circuit Rebreather – With conventional scuba you breath in and go upwards, breath out and go downwards. However, with a CCR it has the correct amount of loop volume and the integrated BCD set to suit the current depth. Then, it will not matter how fast or slow the diver breaths he/she will stay still.

Diving on a Rebreather. CCR’s work on fixed Set Points or Partial Pressures of Oxygen (PPO2). The two standard Set Points on the APD units is 0.70 and 1.30 however they can be fully adjusted above or below the surface. A Set Point of 0.70 means that at the surface (Sea Level) the diver would be breathing the equivalent of 70% Oxygen. If the dive was at 10 metres he would be breathing 35% Oxygen because at 10 metres there are 2 Atmosphere (ATA) of pressure (0.70 / 2 = 0.35). So at 60 metres there is 7 ATA the diver would be breathing 10% Oxygen – not good, this will not support life but you get the idea.

This is why we have two Set Points. On a typical 40 metres dive the Diver travels down to 40 metres on a 0.70 Set Point. Change to 1.30 at depth and continue all the way to his/her Safety Stop at 6 metres. Then they would change back to 0.70 prior to leaving the Safety Stop. However, this all changes when doing decompression diving.

Normally, for dives to a maximum depth of say 45 metres they would have two cylinders fitted into their rebreather. One of pure 100% Medical Grade Oxygen and one of Air or 21% Oxygen. This cylinder is referred to as the Diluent, so this set-up would be an Air Diluent CCR. For deeper dives the Air Diluent would swapped out for different mixtures of Trimix (Helium, Nitrogen and Oxygen). Cylinders for the APD Evolution and Inspiration are either 2 or 3 Litre in capacity filled to 200 Bar.

Longer dives on a CCR – Depending upon depths and the particular user the units are capable of diving to 150 metres (corr

ect training required) for durations of 2 to 6 hours.

These are amazing pieces of equipment and great to use for scuba diving.
Borneo Dream is the only provider of TDI Closed Circuit Rebreather courses in Borneo (based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah). If you want to find out more about learning to dive on a closed circuit rebreather (CCR) then contact the Dream Team. We’ll put you in touch with Billy, our experienced Rebreather Instructor, who loves scuba diving on his rebreather in the tropical waters of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The ‘Dark Side’ awaits you!
]]>info@borneodream.comDiving Destinations2010-09-10T10:40:10+08:00http://www.rebreather-training.com/blog-articles_files/wreck-diving-in-sabah-malaysia.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.rebreather-training.com/blog-articles_files/wreck-diving-in-sabah-malaysia.html#unique-entry-id-1(WW2) wrecks offering some memorable diving experiences along the west coast of Sabah. And all are accessible via diving day trips from Kota Kinabalu (the capital city of Sabah).

Whilst there are believed to be many wrecks in the South China Sea (from World War 2), there are currently four WW2 wrecks identified off the west coast of Sabah which are also suitable for scuba diving. All of the wrecks are Japanese cargo ships – meaning they are large (~150m – 200m) and have historic ‘treasures’ that were being transported at the time they went down. Due to the length of time they have been sunk (~65 years) they are all c

overed in stunning soft coral gardens, hard corals, teeming with fish life and home to an amazing range of tropical water marine life. Find schooling Barracuda, Nurse Sharks, large Groupers and large shoals of Yellow Snappers and Fusiliers.

Three of the wrecks are located in Usukan Bay (Rice Bowl Wreck, Upside-Down Wreck and the Usukan Wreck) which is located 30 nautical miles north west from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The fourth wreck, the Gaya Wreck, is located ~ 20 minutes west of Pulau Gaya (outside Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park near Kota Kinabalu, Sabah). The wrecks offer both non-penetration diving (i.e. swimming over and around the wreck) and limited penetration diving, within the "light zone". The rest of this article provides an overview of the wrecks to be dived along the west coast of Sabah.

The Rice Bowl Wreck - So-called because a cache of rice bowls was found in the bow when it was first dived, this is a relatively long vessel (~150m) lying in a North Easterly direction in 40m at its deepest and 26m at its shallowest. The depth of this wreck makes it suitable for minimum PADI Advanced Open Water Divers and is best dived recreationally using nitrox (EANx30). The superstructure is punctured in many places, making some exploration

possible and interesting, and the metalwork is robust. The soft coral garden is memorable. During the ‘Dry Season’ you can often enjoy stunning visibility on the wreck of 30m+.

The Upside-Down Wreck - The name gives away the orientation of this ship, which lies in the same direction and at similar depth to the Rice Bowl wreck. This wreck has good swim-throughs, though a torch is essential and is good for exploring as well as a training ground for Wreck Diver specialty.

The Usukan Wreck - This is the deepest of the three Usukan Bay wrecks at 35m – 45m and consequently only available to technical divers (divers certified for decompression diving). It is a good wreck for diving on rebreathers or diving twin-tanks / Trimix. The wreck is interesting and has a spectacular whip coral coverage that can give it a frosted appearance in a certain light.

You can watch a video of rebreather divers on the Rice Bowl Wreck, as part of a scuba diving trip with Borneo Dream from Kota Kinabalu, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkmcjc7G9BQ

The Gaya Wreck - The large Gaya wreck is a deep wreck and sits upright in 36m - 50m of water. The wreck is generally intact and there are lots of interesting exploration and wreck penetration opportunities for technical divers with suitable experience and training (rebreather divers of twin-tank divers). Whilst the identify of the wreck has not been confirmed, it is believed to be the Nittetsu Maru. On October 14th 1944, Submarine Dace (SS-247) sank two Japanese merchant tankers, the Eikyo Maru and Nittetsu Maru, and damaged merchant ore carrier Taizen Maru off North Borneo, 06°05'N, 115°55'E". The description of this wreck matches that of the Nittetsu Maru. Post action reports state the Dace sunk the Nittetsu Maru (a cargo ship of 5,993 tons), the Eikyo Maru (an oil tanker of 6,948 tons) and heavily damages the cargo ship Taizen Maru (5,396 tons).

Wreck diving is a popular form of scuba diving amongst leisure divers. Diving along, or inside, a shipwreck is attractive to divers for several reasons. Shipwrecks have a history to them which provides a different perspective when diving along one. Wrecks also quickly become an artificial reef, which creates a habitat for many types of marine life – they are normally surrounded by fish and home to critters. Scuba diving along a wreck also presents new skill challenges for scuba divers.

Borneo Dream are the only Dive Operator along the west coast of Sabah providing wreck diving, scuba diving day trips to all four of these WW2 wrecks from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. We also provide wreck diving courses with PADI and SDI. We can support recreational divers (minimum PADI Advanced Open Water Divers), rebreather divers and twin tank divers joining our wreck diving day trips. Wanting to know more about wreck diving from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo then just get in touch with the Borneo Dream Team at www.borneodream.com
]]>info@borneodream.comDiving Destinations2010-03-01T09:33:25+08:00http://www.rebreather-training.com/blog-articles_files/top-10-dive-sites-kota-kinabalu.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.rebreather-training.com/blog-articles_files/top-10-dive-sites-kota-kinabalu.html#unique-entry-id-0Both sites are located with Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park –

the most popular diving location from Kota Kinabalu. We visit > 20 dive sites in TARP and these are our favourites. Find gently sloping coral reefs from 8m – 25m, a riot of colours from a range of hard corals, soft corals, sponges and anemones and a surprisingly wide range of marine life so close to city life.

3. Edgell Patches
Dive around large coral covered boulders in the shallows which then give way to a sloping reef down to 35m. Full of fish life as well as a good variety of nudibranches and other critters.

4 & 5. The Pinnacle & Barracuda Point - Pulau Tiga
Pulau Tiga is located 30nm south of Kota Kinabalu. We visit 8 dive sites near Pulau Tiga and these our are two favourites. Dive by large coral covered pinnacles, coral bombies and busy cleaning stations.

The hard and soft corals are breath taking, including large cascades of barrel sponges and Gorgonian fans. Teeming with fish life, home to critters and the occasional mating cuttle fish. Enjoy being the only divers in the water.

6. Mayne Rock
Go diving a unique underwater landscape with large white boulders raising 7m - 25m, surrounded by shoals of fish and adorned in hard and soft corals. Then dive along a pristine undulating coral reef home to juvenile Sharks.

7. WW2 Rice Bowl Wreck
So-called because a cache of rice bowls was found in the bow when it was first dived. The wreck is ~150m and lies between 26m – 40m. Home to Barracuda, Yellow Snapper, Fusiliers and Nurse Sharks.

8. WW2 Upside-Down Wreck
A large WW2 wreck lying in an upside down position. This wreck lies slightly deeper to the Rice Bowl wreck. This wreck has good swim-throughs and is good for exploring.

9. WW2 Usukan Wreck
This is the deepest of the three at 35m - 45m and consequently only available to technical divers. The wreck is interesting and has a spectacular whip coral coverage that can give it a frosted appearance in a certain light.

10. Pulau Mantanani (Mantanani Island)
Mantanani is a tropical island located ~ 45nm north west of Kota Kinabalu, The shallow coral reefs surrounding the islands have plenty to offer and have wonderful visibility. Home to juvenile Turtles and some interesting muck diving.
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