Review Blue Label Diving from Gareth Ingham
“When you undertake any new diving activity, it has been my experience that it is worth seeking out the best people from which to learn. When it comes to CCR diving in Asia Pacific, Ben Reymenants from Blue Label Diving was a name which got suggested by trusted friends. The aspect which most resounded with me about his BIO was the exploration of deep caves and ocean on the units he teaches. It has always been my view that you can only learn so much in theory, some things need on the ground experience. You could see that he had done “the dives” and had practical experience from which to draw.
Coming from a GUE Cave and Tech background I wanted to understand if CCR diving was for me; the failures modes, risks, preparation time and associated upside for diving a unit. Ben offered this to me in spades and gave very impartial advice around the various pro’s and con’s of this type of diving. A great example was around the Bailout requirements on a CCR following a C02 hit. Previously there was little formal standards, rather than accepting best guess numbers he did pro-active human based testing in a controlled environment to develop baselines, these baselines have then been incorporated in the formal training standards he teaches.
His training and background in hyperbaric treatment offers an incredible wealth of knowledge to draw upon. Underwater he was always controlled, measured and led by example with each of the exercises. Standards are one thing, but he also spent the time teaching skills which he knew could come of value in real life. The location for training included pool, confined ocean, boat and freshwater environments. He threw enough at me on each dive to keep the task loading up and allowed me to progress with each skill day to day.
Their shop is well setup for teaching and I would encourage you to only take what you need personally when it comes to gear, all the basics can be provided by Blue Label. Thanks for the experience Ben and Simone, I look forward to diving with you into the future.”
Regards,
Gareth Ingham
