Approaching a wreck

[Medic0506]

Hey guys I have a question concerning a good approach to a wreck. I made an attempt to dive a sunken barge off the coast of Narragansett, RI on Monday, but as I approached my dive buddy and I decided to abort because the visibility was low (go NE diving) and the surge was pushing us 4 feet in each direction. So Instead of going head first through a rusted out old barge I did the responsible thing and said, "hey, I need some strategy on this one." So my question is, how do you safely approach a wreck when you have a rough surge (or do you not approach it at all?

 

[Kim]

I think you made a wise decision. I wouldn't attempt ANY kind of penetration in those conditions. Most wrecks are full of sharp stuff that can cut you to pieces!

Do you have overhead training?

 

[Medic0506]

No I don't have overhead training. I am a very beginner diver. Anyone with experience diving the wreck, please let me know your tactics.

 

[Kim]

No I don't have overhead training. I am a very beginner diver. Anyone with experience diving the wreck, please let me know your tactics.

Then you actually need to be VERY careful with what you're doing. As soon as you have an overhead that prevents you ascending directly to the surface it's a whole new ball game. You really need proper training to penetrate wrecks or you can easily kill yourself. It's not really something you should be attempting to do with only a couple of Internet tips to help you.

Really - it can be VERY dangerous. People die every year doing stuff like that.

 

[Web Monkey]

I think you made a wise decision. I wouldn't attempt ANY kind of penetration in those conditions. Most wrecks are full of sharp stuff that can cut you to pieces!

Do you have overhead training?

Absolutely.

The surge can blow through passageways and dramatically increase speed as the passageway narrows.

You can get shot through something sharp like a potato through a food-processor, with absolutely no control

I'd stay out of it.

Terry

 

[texdiveguy]

No I don't have overhead training. I am a very beginner diver. Anyone with experience diving the wreck, please let me know your tactics.

You are new to diving ...get some additional diving under your belt,,,some additional training...and don't enter an overhead situation at this stage of your diving---plenty of time ahead for that!!

 

[dk2943]

I am a new diver too. Every time there is a diving death, it is sometimes a health issue, but usually, it is a diver in a cave or a wreck who has not carefully followed all of the rules. Make sure you know what you are doing before you take your life in your hands.

 

[Medic0506]

I think somewhere I was misunderstood. I never had any intention of penetrating the wreck. By saying "Instead of going head first through a steel barge," I meant that the surge would throw my head first through. I may be new, but I'm not stupid. I would never try to penetrate the wreck without proper training. I was just looking for advice as to how to approach the wreck, hence the title, and not penetrate. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Walter]

I was also wondering where that was coming from. Most folks who dive wrecks don't penetrate them.

You had 4 feet of surge, what was the viz? Telling me it was low doesn't tell me much. Were you diving from a boat? Was the boat anchored on the wreck?

 

[Medic0506]

The viz was 3-5 feet. It was a shore entry and we dove the sand until we came to it. I appologize the lack of information, the post was originally meant for anyone who dove it before. Someone somewhere mentioned it's a better wreck to snorkel because it's shallow. That leads me to believe it may be better to swim over it and drop onto it.