Best instruction/instructors for basic and advanced wreck diving.

[DevonDiver]

Thanks for the Tip, I didn't know Mark still was Teaching, he is closer than you and John from where I'm now.

Do bear in mind that the quality of a wreck course is also determined by the characteristics of the available training wrecks.

The best wreck instructor in the world can't extract much training value from a sh*tty wreck. I've seen wreck classes taught on purpose-sunk buses in freshwater quarries and 30' wooden fishing boats... there's virtually zero training value.

Depth is also important. Shallower wrecks enable longer in-water training. A student benefits much more from 60 minutes practice per dive than 25 minutes. Again, you might have the best wreck instructor in the world, but your ability progression is ultimately determined by the in-water time you have with them.

World-class specialist instructors will either travel to conduct their training at optimum locations... or they will have permanently re-located themselves to the best places for what they teach.

That's why I opted to live here in Subic Bay... which is the wreck-diving equivalent of a cave instructor moving to the Mexican cenotes or Florida.

Even if a wreck instructor is conveniently located, be aware that a high quality instructor may still schedule classes in a more distant geographical location...to ensure the best training opportunity.

Just as a cave student would accept a need to travel to an optimum cave diving location for their training... the serious wreck student should make accept that specialist diving tends to require specialist locations... and travel may be part of the sacrifice you make to get the best tuition.

 

[boulderjohn]

A couple of years ago we had a thread about a couple people who learned to dive wrecks just by diving them and hanging out with people who dive them. They were doing the Speigel Grove in Key Largo, and the dive briefing said no penetration, but they (and apparently the crew) knew that did not apply to them, because they were so experienced. They not only penetrated, they penetrated using a reel, which they knew was the procedure used by the serious, advanced wreck divers. But they weren't trained for it, and they learned during the dive that laying line and picking it up again is harder than it looks, and without training it can take a lot longer than expected, and it can lead to entanglements. They also learned that serious, advanced wreck divers use gas planning techniques that allow plenty of reserve in case they run into trouble and need more time. (Time = gas supply.) Well, I assume they learned that--we won't ever know what the last their last thoughts actually were.

If you just want to go through the shallow, wide open wrecks such as you find in artificial reefs around the world, you really don't need a lot of training. If you want to do those serious and more advanced wrecks, though, you should find someone who can really do the training job well.

You don't need wrecks to start that training, though. You can learn good buoyancy and trim, and you can learn non-silting kicking techniques, right where you live in New Mexico. Get that stuff mastered first and then go to a place where you can get that good wreck instruction

 

[boulderjohn]

When I went to Truck Lagoon about 10 years ago to dive those WWII wrecks, no one on our liveaboard, including me, had any advanced wreck training. Some people had basic PADI wreck training, but that is not what I am talking about. The penetrations were mostly not difficult, and when we did ones that required more complex navigation, the boat provided guides. No problem, right?

We were nearly all part of a dive trip together, and everyone was a highly experienced recreational diver. There was one couple that was a real fun pair to be around--on the surface. Under water was a different story. I don't know if they realized it, but by the third day everyone was going out of their way to avoid diving with them. Their buoyancy, trim, and kicking skills were pretty much what you would expect from people who had done all their previous diving on open reefs. Consequently, on any penetration, they were kicking up rust and silt throughout the dive. Within minutes, that perfectly clear visibility you started the dive with had turned into a reddish haze. The photographers on board were particularly eager to avoid diving with them.

So, just to emphasize what I said above, concentrate first on buoyancy, trim, and non-silting kicking technique.

 

[stuartv]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how Adv Wreck from Trace Malinowski, on the wrecks in the Saint Lawrence River, compares to some of these world-class instructors that have already been mentioned?

 

[Bubblesong]

May I suggest talking to Giant Strides Dive Shop in Warwick RI, as they may also be an option for you. talking to several different operators may help clarify what type of wreck diving, in what conditions, and how far, and at what pace, you want to be able to take your training.

 

[DevonDiver]

... just to emphasize what I said above, concentrate first on buoyancy, trim, and non-silting kicking technique.

It's just as critical as it would be for cavern/cave training.

Decent fundamentals should be expected at technical wreck level diving, but that's too often not the case.

Few 'wreck instructors' demand good fundamentals from basic/recreational wreck students... which beggars belief given that silt-out is a specifically relevant hazard inside wrecks.

I think that indicates how many students are getting 'signed off' for recreational wreck penetration whilst still hazardously under-skilled for diving inside a wreck environment.

 

[Beau640]

Just wanted to give a plug for Rick Kruzel (can google him/great lakes technical diving) for anyone in the Michigan area. He's not associated with a dive shop and is known by many tech divers up in these parts through word of mouth. Awesome instructor and mentor.

 

[rhwestfall]

@Doppler (Steve Lewis)

 

[Marie13]

Wreck Dive Rescue: Trapped Inside the Cedarville

And don't forget about the inexperienced wreck diver who was trapped inside the Cedarville wreck in northern Lake Huron a while back. He survived by tanks being brought down to him and being passed through an opening in the hull until trained divers could get him out.

 

[Remy B.]

@Doppler (Steve Lewis)

I would consider him for Extended Range, didn't know he specializes in Advance Wreck as well