RAID filled the missing piece of its revamped CCR programs by launching the Hypoxic Trimix Rebreather Diver program. This course has been reconfigured to conform to the new rebreather guidelines launched by ISO and RSTC last year, and like all of RAID‘s undated CCR courses, Hypoxic Trimix CCR is unit specific, and certifies rebreather divers to a maximum depth of either 80m/260ft or 100m/330ft.
This new program is specifically for experienced CCR divers to use diluent gas containing 18% oxygen or less, and of course it builds on previous training. It covers the detailed planning and safety protocols that deep hypoxic rebreather diving demands, and students will be required to refine skills they have developed during prerequisite RAID CCR programs. Dive at this level must be conducted according to plan because a few extra minutes at depth will result in much longer ascent times. Therefore, students at this level are expected to have excellent skills and a solid grasp of the potential risks associated with deep diving, and a complex kit configuration.
While RAID‘s focus in 2023 will be on launching more programs aimed at the broader recreational market, many in the technical community were anxious for us to add Hypoxic Trimix CCR to our curriculum, and we are pleased to accommodate that need.
The full standards follow this introduction to the new course but its key points are: a minimum of seven in-water sessions with a minimum in-water time of 420 minutes. At least one dive must be done in confined water or in open water to a maximum depth of 40m/130ft as a skills refresher and skills update dive. When the student is ready to move on, a minimum of six open water dives with at least 340 minutes of underwater training will complete the course standards.
