Who would have thought five years ago when we were talking to Nancy about getting Buzz Aldren to come to Grand Cayman for an even sixty that we termed a dive into Inner Space, would still be a successful event going into its fifth year. Even though Buzz Aldren was unable to make it to the first event, Inner Space has blossomed into the premier rebreather event in the world, hosting as many as rebreather divers from open water to trimix.
There were about eight of us from that original event still coming to it every year. We have come from being CCR open water divers to CCR trimix divers and CCR trimix instructors. Looking at the participant guide for the first year, most of he people were recreational divers limited to 130 feet. At this years event, most of the people were Trimix certified limited to 330 feet. Imagine 2 boats full of Trimix divers all in one place.
During this year’s event, Jess Stark, and Harvy Sisco came down to work on their Normoxic Trimix ratings. Dave Snyder also joined me to finish getting his hours so he can get his Meg Instructor rating.
Our primary destinations were the beautiful walls on the North side of Grand Cayman. The visibility was down probably due to the early arrival of the summer algae bloom. This also accounted for a great deal of algae on the walls. Of course, the reduced visibility made Ghost Mountain more of a mysterious dive because you could not see the pinnacle until you swam towards it suddenly emerging from the mist.
On two separate occasions, the hot weather was abated by Robert Hew who brought his favorite treat – Italian Gelato and cookies. You simply can’t imagine how refreshing cold ice cream is after a long dive. No wonder Susan always seems to work on the boat Robert is assigned to.
Inner Space is a fun event for rebreather divers of all levels. As Nancy says…Inner Space, deep down you want to be here.
