Sentinel – A Caribbean Perspective
by Steve Tippetts, instructor at Divetech, Grand Cayman
My own personal experience on rebreathers started with Inspiration Classic, Evolution, and then followed by KISS. The former was for personal enjoyment which then turned into instructing. Having seen some of the equipment from VR Technology at our events, namely the Ouroboros, I always felt that I would eventually go down this route. However, my diving could not really justify getting the “Boris”….
When Sentinel was released I had a feeling that the rebreather that filled my particular wish-list was now on the market. In January 2009 I undertook my user course with Robin Bashor, with the new unit purchased by Divetech. I loved it. From getting it out of the box I felt that this rebreather would be everything that the Press and Marketing had promised.
The unit is extremely intuitive; if you can understand how a VR menu works, then the controls for the Sentinel are relatively simple to interpret. The manual is enormously detailed, which at first glance makes for concerned reading, due to the complexity of the capabilities on hand. However, when you apply the manual to the physical unit, it is comforting to see that both are well presented and the learning curve is easy to ascend.
The philosophy behind the unit of trying to engineer out the main causes of injury are apparent and I believe are a great leap forward in safety. One should never put complete faith in a unit; that takes away personal responsibility, but to try and load the odds in your favour can be nothing but a distinct advantage.
Assembly and pre-flight are fantastically sequential, and as long as the steps are followed, it is straightforward. In water, the unit trims out perfectly, despite its obvious size in comparison to other units on the market. The work of breathing is sweet, even down to deeper depths of 110m / 350’. But one of the major benefits to me is the simple use of the multi colour HUD to determine any change in status to the unit. It allows for a more detailed but relaxed method of checking overall dive status.
So, after many dives and several hours later, I completed my instructor course under the mentorship of Phil Short and Kevin Gurr. The wealth of knowledge passed on to me was tremendous. The support from VR Technology to their customer / instructor base is extensive, but when you live 4,000 miles away from the factory, it is important to be able to know a little more than the average user, minimizing down time.
This is where another true strength of the unit becomes apparent. Fault finding (as in field repairs) is simple, and the number of changeable components is minimal, compared to other units. And, there is no need for any special tools which is a certain additional benefit. Field repairs are uncomplicated.
Would I change back to any of my previous rebreathers? Not a chance…..
I have been interested in rebreathers and following rebreather design developments ever since I first started diving in the early nineties. I was fortunate to have a part time holiday job at a local commercial divers training centre where I got to see the Cis Lunar Mk5 and Biomarine Mk15.5 and that was me hooked. Unfortunately as a school boy and then school leaver these units where a little out of my budget, but I knew that one day and one day soon I would be diving rebreathers.
