Tech and Training

Rebreather Forum 4 was held on Malta on 20-22 April 2023 in University of Malta's old campus in downtown Valletta. The event was attended by prominent dive industry entrepreneurs and manufacturers and hyperbaric researchers, many of which presented the latest findings in their fields.

If you have ever wondered how dark the earth was before humans discovered fire, then spend some time in the forest. The night arrives shortly after 6 p.m. and the sun rises around 5 a.m. In this period of time, you may feel enveloped by the darkness in this part of South Africa. Andrea Murdock Alpini shares his adventure diving the Komati Springs.

“Rebreather Friendly” dive centres—what exactly does this mean? With emerging technologies becoming more mainstream in the diving world these days, more and more people are making investments in rebreathers. Everyone knows the advantages of these pieces of kit—extended dive time capabilities, reduced gas usage, quieter and less obtrusive to the aquatic world, etc. But are dive operators thinking along the same lines?

Say you are in some far-flung location where it will take quite some time to get to any recompression chamber. What do you do if you get decompression sickness? Get back in the water and recompress?

How much weight should a diver use? How much is too much or too little to maintain proper posture, balance and air consumption? How do you adjust for a new wetsuit? Simon Pridmore discusses weight issues and offers tips and advice.

Diving is not without risk—there is always a chance of death. There is always a latent or potential lethality within the “system”—where system is defined as the equipment, people and the physical, social or cultural environment. We cannot make diving 100 percent safe despite what anyone tells you. We can make things safer, but we cannot make diving safe.