Best location to do PADI Wreck Specialty??

[red_barbarian]

Since your in Chiang Mai, Pattaya makes the most sense. Go with one of the shops that will teach the course on the Hardeep, it will give you the best "feel" for being inside a larger wreck. The Hardeep has the chance to do longer swims between tie off's , most of the shops seem to just drop into the engine room on the Khood/Khram do some short line drills and get out. Since PADI allows you to make 40M (depth + penetration dives) I think it's good training to get a feel for longer swims, I agree with the previous poster about the Sattakut being a bit dull, the Khood/Khram can be good training sites, although you'll get more if you and the instructor plan on using Nitrox due to the interior training spots are fairly deep. The Hardeep/Khram/Khood can all give you the chance to feel what a low viz, high current wreck feels like as well if you drop down at the wrong time. There are a large number of shop reviews on this site about Pattaya shops over the years, they can cause a bit of a stir so you might just try popping into a few of the shops around town and seeing who you get on best with.

 

[DevonDiver]

First, you might enjoy my article: The Anatomy of an Effective Wreck Diving Course.

There's two factors to consider when choosing a wreck course:

1. Location: The availability of enjoyable wrecks which allow the full breadth of wreck skills to be developed. You won't learn much about 'wreck history' from a sterile artificial reef project. A newly sunk wreck might not educate you effectively on certain hazards, such as risk of collapse, low viz or silt accumulation. The type of vessel and its condition will also dictate what manner of penetration you can conduct (not all wreck courses include penetration).

2. Instructor: An educator with a genuine history of active wreck diving; who has wealth of experience and knowledge on wrecks. 'Proper' wreck training is akin to Cavern training - when comparing risks faced in an overhead environment and training needed to mitigate those risks. There is a big disparity between the PADI instructor requirements for wreck and cavern instructors. In truth, any bum instructor can pay $80 and get signed off to teach wreck diving. In contrast, a cavern instructor needs to be full cave qualified and well experienced in that environment.

IMHO, it is pointless to conduct a "non-penetration" wreck course... you simply don't need a full course to achieve that knowledge...and there's no skills. If you are seeking penetration training, then search for an instructor who is qualified above the level they teach at... that means either cave or technical wreck level. Those instructors will have the capacity to teach refined techniques and educate you beyond the content of the Wreck Diver manual alone.

Pattaya is probably a good choice - they have a mix of genuine (not sunk for divers) wrecks in a variety of conditions. Maybe contact Bruce Konefe (a well-regarded wreck and cave explorer) who lives there and see who he can suggest locally. He teaches for ANDI (good, if you can see beyond the PADI hype) - but is well connected to know who the "serious" wreck divers are in Pattaya.

 

[padiscubapro]

I mostly agree with you.. With Bruce and ANDI you can do a recreational or technical wreck class both which go miles beyond PADI's offering.. FULL DISCLOSURE.. I wrote some of the material in the ANDI Wreck Manual..

The ANDI manual covers topics which most of the other agencies won't touch... If your in an area that you can legaly remove artifacts and need to know how to preserve them, this coarse is as far as I know the only one that discusses it... Also Bruce recovers Artifacts for the proper authorities in Thailand..

First, you might enjoy my article: The Anatomy of an Effective Wreck Diving Course.

There's two factors to consider when choosing a wreck course:

1. Location: The availability of enjoyable wrecks which allow the full breadth of wreck skills to be developed. You won't learn much about 'wreck history' from a sterile artificial reef project. A newly sunk wreck might not educate you effectively on certain hazards, such as risk of collapse, low viz or silt accumulation. The type of vessel and its condition will also dictate what manner of penetration you can conduct (not all wreck courses include penetration).

2. Instructor: An educator with a genuine history of active wreck diving; who has wealth of experience and knowledge on wrecks. 'Proper' wreck training is akin to Cavern training - when comparing risks faced in an overhead environment and training needed to mitigate those risks. There is a big disparity between the PADI instructor requirements for wreck and cavern instructors. In truth, any bum instructor can pay $80 and get signed off to teach wreck diving. In contrast, a cavern instructor needs to be full cave qualified and well experienced in that environment.

IMHO, it is pointless to conduct a "non-penetration" wreck course... you simply don't need a full course to achieve that knowledge...and there's no skills. If you are seeking penetration training, then search for an instructor who is qualified above the level they teach at... that means either cave or technical wreck level. Those instructors will have the capacity to teach refined techniques and educate you beyond the content of the Wreck Diver manual alone.

Pattaya is probably a good choice - they have a mix of genuine (not sunk for divers) wrecks in a variety of conditions. Maybe contact Bruce Konefe (a well-regarded wreck and cave explorer) who lives there and see who he can suggest locally. He teaches for ANDI (good, if you can see beyond the PADI hype) - but is well connected to know who the "serious" wreck divers are in Pattaya.

 

[lord khram]

Over the next few months where is the best location in Thailand (or not far from) to do the PADI wreck specialty?

I know pattaya has a few wrecks.

I heard you can stay on Ko Racha Yai and do it through Raya Divers there.

Has anyone had any experience with it before?

Depends what you are looking to achieve from the course?

If you just want to spend a fun day diving a wreck under the supervision of an instructor, and collect another PADI speciality card at the end of it, then it doesn't really matter where you go.

If you actually want to learn something about wreck diving, look beyond PADI speciality courses. Most are just money spinners for the PADI organisation and are of little benefit to divers.

 

[instructorinasia]

Go and see my friends at Master Divers - they will take VERY good care of you on this course.