Are Deep Dive and/or Wreck Dive specialties necessary?

[LI-er]

I'm an AOW/Nitrox/Solo certified diver with 45 years experience, 745 dives to date. I've dived in the cold dark waters of the Atlantic off my own boat, and to depths of 140 feet , and run reels during penetrations in low visibility wrecks. I carry a 2nd bottle as a redundant gas supply and routinely deploy my dsmb from depth at the end of drift dives. On my recent liveaboard in Australia I had to "try out" to prove my skills were adequate enough to solo dive. They had me go through a battery of skills tests, and ultimately gave me the ok. Towards the end of the trip the dive leader told me that many divers try out for the solo diving, often bringing tons of tech gear and they don't make the cut. I was actually one of the few over the past few years that they gave the green light to. I'm not bragging, (although the validation was nice), I'm just making the point that I'm an experienced diver.

I'd think that my credentials are sufficient for any diving within recreational limits but recently I have run into a few dive operators who question the fact that I do not have Deep Dive and Wreck Dive certifications. It has not yet prevented me from doing any dive in particular but it seems to be a trend lately. Those 2 dive operators were in Australia and Thailand.

As I am now retired and living in Europe I'm expanding into other areas on the other side of the world and I'm wondering if this is going to be an issue.

Not really looking to spend the time and the money on two specialties that are not going to teach me anything I don't already know, just to be certain I won't be prohibited from diving a deep wreck because of an overly restrictive dive operator.

In your experience, have you run into this issue, does it seem to be happening more often, and if so, where and with which dive operator? Did it prompt you to get one or both of those specialties?

 

[BoltSnap]

Not really looking to spend the time and the money on two subspecialties that are not going to teach me anything I don't already know, just to be certain I won't be prohibited from diving a deep wreck because of an overly restrictive dive operator.

This will depend entirely on the instructor/agency you choose for training. I went through these courses a long time ago, and the instructor was one heck of a tough, thorough, and challenging instructor. At the same time, I saw how some other instructors teach these specialties, and other specialties, and they don't mount to more than "hey, give me $$$, come and dive with me, and I'll give you a card."

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

just to be certain I won't be prohibited from diving a deep wreck because of an overly restrictive dive operator.

Deep? Like 100 feet?

If that's what you mean then no one should deny you to go that deep on a wreck, not IN a wreck other than simple swim throughs.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @LI-er

I was recertified in 1997, currently with a little over 2400 dives. I finished PADI training through Rescue in 2005. The only other training I have done is SDI Solo in 2013.

Other than my Solo cert, the only cards I've ever been asked for are AOW and Nitrox. I have Deep from 2004, but nobody has ever asked for it. I did not do Wreck, nobody has ever asked for it. I have used my DPV card a couple of times to facilitate rental without having to do a preliminary guided dive.

So, the bar is generally pretty low for unrestricted recreational dives, just AOW and Nitrox, 9 training dives and a no dive specialty. I have not dived in Thailand or Australia, perhaps you will be asked for Deep and/or Wreck certs at other locations you choose. I think it is unlikely that the 4 dives for Deep or the 4 dives for Wreck would result in significant value for you.

Best of luck

 

[LI-er]

Deep? Like 100 feet?

Yes, the two dive charters that asked me about those specialties pointed out that I'm only certified to 100 feet with AOW.

This will depend entirely on the instructor/agency you choose for training.

Thanks but I'm not looking for information about the courses nor the content, just about whether people have been asked to produce those cards in order to do a deep/wreck dive.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Wreck diving cert. is a bit of a misnomer. Going through a stripped out and prepped wreck in the Caribbean is a whole different animal than diving through one of the wrecks up in the St. Lawrence or Great Lakes. Personally, I don't penetrate ANY wreck with anyone who does not understand the concepts of silt-out and entanglement, regardless of certifications.

A lot of dive ops will take OW certified divers into a prepped wreck with no preparation or additional briefings nor do they ask for confirmation of certification. I do not agree with this. Wrecks are full of sharp pointy things and rusted edges, not to mention the lion fish hanging out in the corners. Way too easy for an inexperienced diver to be overcome by panic or claustrophobia and then we all die.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I have deep and wreck but don't recall ever being asked for them. I also have trimix, solo and advanced nitrox. I have had to show my technical certs for tech charters and tech fills. I have to show my nitrox (I use my advance nitrox) and a least AOW for higher (I show either my divemaster or trimix card) to do many of the deeper dives in Palm Beach County FL. I have had to show my solo card to dive solo a time or two. But for a non-technical wreck dive and deeper non-technical dives (100-120'), I've never been asked for my wreck cert nor my deep diver cert.

 

[Rilelen]

I think depends where you dive; I’m local to Florida and our boats/shops have become increasingly focused on checking certs, because insurance requires it for liability coverage. To my knowledge, they aren’t checking for Deep and Wreck, but they do regularly check for AOW etc. Boats that go to deeper wrecks (like the Spiegel Grove or Oriskany) will also sometimes ask you to show certs that back up your dive plan - for instance, they don’t want to see you diving penetration dives without an overhead cert.

If you are concerned about it, why not do Advanced Wreck or AN/DP with a tech instructor/agency instead? You’d probably have more fun, given your ability level, and you can also whip out the card if asked on a recreational charter. I suspect the recreational Deep and Wreck classes are unlikely to teach you anything you don’t already know, and aren’t that much cheaper/faster.

Come down to the Keys, do some tech/wreck training, dive a lot of cool wrecks in warm water, and you’ll have a great time and never have to worry about the certs ever again.

 

[tursiops]

I think depends where you dive; I’m local to Florida and our boats/shops have become increasingly focused on checking certs, because insurance requires it for liability coverage. To my knowledge, they aren’t checking for Deep and Wreck, but they do regularly check for AOW etc. Boats that go to deeper wrecks (like the Spiegel Grove or Oriskany) will also sometimes ask you to show certs that back up your dive plan - for instance, they don’t want to see you diving penetration dives without an overhead cert.

If you are concerned about it, why not do Advanced Wreck or AN/DP with a tech instructor/agency instead? You’d probably have more fun, given your ability level, and you can also whip out the card if asked on a recreational charter. I suspect the recreational Deep and Wreck classes are unlikely to teach you anything you don’t already know, and aren’t that much cheaper/faster.

Come down to the Keys, do some tech/wreck training, dive a lot of cool wrecks in warm water, and you’ll have a great time and never have to worry about the certs ever again.

I concur.
TDI Advanced Wreck was a MUCH better class than any recreational wreck class i know of (or that I taught, for that matter).
The recreational classes may allow limited penetration on Dive #4 (PADI), and likely teach some reel-handling skills for line-laying, but otherwise it's swim to the wreck, look around, and be careful.

 

[Eric802]

I concur.
TDI Advanced Wreck was a MUCH better class than any recreational wreck class i know of (or that I taught, for that matter).
The recreational classes may allow limited penetration on Dive #4 (PADI), and likely teach some reel-handling skills for line-laying, but otherwise it's swim to the wreck, look around, and be careful.

Like many other things, probably depends on your instructor. My SDI cert is " wreck limited penetration", and our instructor showed us and had us do basic reel-handling. His words were something to the effect of "This isn't supposed to be a penetration class, but let's be honest you're all going to do it anyway so you might as well learn."