Be careful in Coron: operator(s) taking non-wreck certified divers inside the shipwrecks

[Lorenzoid]

What does “wreck certified” even mean? I don’t think there is a standard. If it’s a true overhead environment, where some unplanned contingency inside could get you into trouble, as opposed to something more like a swim-through, then it’s a tech-level dive and you should have redundant gear, the training to use it, a suitable dive plan, etc. You would have to really understand the wreck before the dive to decide whether it’s more like a swim-through or a tech dive. I’d rather err on the side of over-equipped than under-equipped.

 

[Aviyes]

They do that all the time on Grand Cayman. Penetration of the Kittywake - no cert required.

Kittiwake is a bit different, as you are always inside the light zones due to the number of additional exits/entrances cut into the hull. There are also no overhead entanglement hazards, as they did a good job prepping the ship before sinking her.

 

[Saboteur]

Kittiwake is a bit different, as you are always inside the light zones due to the number of additional exits/entrances cut into the hull. There are also no overhead entanglement hazards, as they did a good job prepping the ship before sinking her.

Many areas are... but there are some that are very dim, dark even and somewhat tight quarters. I was on one particular dive there, and despite there being relatively wide open areas to go in, we were led into a tight, dark room, same way in as out. I was the only one with a light and I could barely see the DM. If I had a full briefing on what that particular room was like I’d have declined. There were no issues but the group was less than pleased with that part of the dive.

 

[Peter69_56]

Peter I know where you were and there should have been an experienced dive guide with you and a maximum of 2 divers with the guide. I guess that's what happens when you go with an inexperienced operator. I'm glad you and your buddies came out all right but I don't have to tell you that there is zero room for error in those conditions. An incident like that could scar someone forever.

Yes the other CCR diver was experienced. Yes my thoughts at the time when I looked at the entrance was there are too many to do this dive safely, hence why I stayed at the entrance and didnt penetrate. The bad part of this was the buddy, who not only caused the issue, then (I believe) paniced and bailed, and left his buddy behind with no care or concern, even to the point of not communicating to me there was an issue. As I said to the silted out diver, I would not have just left you there, and was preparing to go in and search when they come out.

I have a rule, if it doesnt feel right then it isnt, end of story.

The lost diver was very shaken and stated later he thought "I am dead", and just sat there and waited, realising to panic and try and fumble his way through the silt would have made things worse. He was very shaken later. Lucky for him the guide, even though he too was silted out and did not see who was where, had the presence of mind to check the compartment before coming out.

 

[Peter69_56]

@Peter69_56 I am surprised that bikini would be a problem. The only option is a fairly expensive liveaboard and usually that weeds people out who aren't suited for the diving there. it isn't like chuuk where you might get a significant amount of recreational divers.

As always, some people have the certification but not the ongoing skills, or the character to be a good diver. I agree, but if you have the money, anyone can get to Bikini. Chuuk is much cheaper, thus in the scope of recreational divers, Bikini being 4 to 5 times the cost of Chuuk, weeds out many but NOT ALL. Money doesnt necessarily equate to skills.

 

[bakodiver391]

Well I’ve dove the USS Kittywake twice and in the virgin island I was inside a couple of wrecks. I had a 32LED light on all my dives. No card but felt ok on all of them. On one in the Virgin Island we dove inside and entered an air pocket where we removed our masks and talked with one another, then departed. Pretty cool. I guess I need to get wreck certified now haha.

You had A light? All trained wreck divers carry 3 lights, that way if 1 fails (as all lights will sooner or later), you don't have to turn around, as you still have redundancy. What would you have done if your one light failed?

 

[lermontov]

i'll tell you a story that could have ended really badly- there were 3 of us and we had planned to do a dive and go through a wreck that had particularly nasty spot (lots of cables and loose panels, curtains etc ) that i has done a number of times before. the dive plan was the other two go through as 3 people was one too many -we planned that i would go out through a hatch swim ahead and meet them in another spot that was on the other side of nasty silty section.
anyway a long story cut short - one of the divers stresses out and bolts out leaving the other guy in the silted out corridor. So i decided to go in and find him ( as i was pretty familiar with the route ) and ended up bumping into him in the silt -we turned around and he followed me only to realise i now couldnt find the line-
well obviously we got out and i Iearnt a lot about not putting my self at risk and what i should and shouldnt have done.

it doesnt have to be you that makes a mess

 

[Davi Magalhães]

Thank you all for your replies.
I agree with all the posters that going inside the shipwreck was my responsibility. Until this point of my very short diving life, I've always blindly trusted my divemasters because I always thought that if there's a potential problem ahead, he or she would know it better than me and so far I've never had any problem with this assumption other than this one. So yes, it was my responsibility for going in but I had no idea this kind of behavior would exist, and that was why I decided to create this post, so other inexperienced/naive divers like me can be more careful than I was.
I really enjoying learning the idea of only saying "OK" to something when you're underwater, when you can fully assess the situation. I've never thought about doing this until now, so thank you to the posters who suggested it.
What really made me sad was reading the linked topic which shows someone already died inside a shipwreck in Coron in 2017 and nothing has changed since then. I wish PADI or the local authorities would do something about this.

 

[lermontov]

What really made me sad was reading the linked topic which shows someone already died inside a shipwreck in Coron in 2017 and nothing has changed since then. I wish PADI or the local authorities would do something about this.

ive actually been in that room where the diver died its an auxilliary room off the main engine room and definitely not an AOW area it has only one way in and out and very silty

 

[Glenn Williams]

You had A light? All trained wreck divers carry 3 lights, that way if 1 fails (as all lights will sooner or later), you don't have to turn around, as you still have redundancy. What would you have done if your one light failed?

Dude I had 32 of them just in one case haha.