So why use closed circuit, it simple why waste it? Yes why waste such a large part of the gas you breathe in each time by breathing it back out into the atmosphere. The Inspiration, as with all closed circuit systems, simply takes your exhaled breath, retains it in a closed loop, filters it refreshes it and delivers it back to you for you to breathe again. So what does that give you in real terms, well firstly massive gains in air consumption, because the system offers you the same gas equivalency at 40m as 20 x 12L cylinders, secondly massively reduced or even eliminated decompression stops and thirdly for any budding naturalists and underwater photographers; no bubbles, making it great for getting up close and personal to all that amazing fish life down there.
 

These are your benefits, but we guess if you are already reading this section, you probably already know the benefits its just a case of getting your unit and getting your training. At this level of technical diver training you of course must again be prepared to offer your new equipment and training the utmost levels of respect. You are in actual fact almost going back to school, back to when you first started, yes this is so drastically different to your open circuit diving over the past few years, you really do need to become as humble as possible and start again.

We run this programme over two weekends, generally residential, and normally in or around Stoney Cove. All our Inspiration courses are taught by IANTD's own Phil Short, one of the worlds most renowned and experienced technical divers, who no doubt needs no introduction. To give you a full idea of what is entailed, we have included a sample schedule for you:

IANTD Inspiration Course Sample Schedule

Session 1 - Introduction Friday 19:00 - 22:00 Theory / Unit Familiarisation
Session 2 - Open Water Dives / Skill Development Saturday 07:00 - 21 :00 Theory / Lecture Sessions
Session 3 - Open Water Dives / Skill Development Sunday 07:00 - 16:00
Session 4 - Open Water Dives / Skill Development Saturday 07:00 - 16:00
Session 5 - Open Water Dives / Skill Development Sunday 07:00 - 14:00

As you can see this is one incredibly intense and demanding programme, where you will have your eyes fully opened to the benefits of using the Inspiration or other CCR (Closed Circuit Rebreathers) on all your dives, regardless of type or level. As you progress through the theory portion of your course you will gain the knowledge required to fully maintain, strip, clean and prepare your unit, plan and conduct dives and discover the full theory and knowledge of how your unit operates.

Once you hit the water, the work will really start, as you are going to complete a mind blowing 500 minutes of in water dive time. As you clock up your dive time you will be tasked and challenged by your instructor to complete a wide range of new skills from simple pre-dive checks and descents to more taxing manual monitoring and operation, but by far the most difficult thing to get used to will be your initial loss of your normal buoyancy control.

Ok that's it, there are simply no down-sides, grab your sense of adventure get enrolled and lets get going.