Best Wreck Diving Certification?

[cnherrick]

and of course, best wreck diving training in that certification?

PADI? Others? Recommend and explain for us please.

 

[Akimbo]

Best? The US Navy Diving and Salvage Training Command (NDSTC) in Panama City, Florida comes to mind. Second Class Dive School has 70 training days with ships husbandry and salvage as their primary goal.

Seriously, you may find some posts in this thread useful. There are a lot on preparation and training.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/wreck-diving/485747-wreck-penetration.html

 

[hroark2112]

I'm sure this is something that has never been posted in the history of the interwebz.....

It's not the course. It's the instructor.

 

[cnherrick]

thanks for the link - I shall consume mass quantities shortly.

The scenario - In the past when I dived San Diego (Catalina and Mission Bay) I first checked into doing some wreck diving. The operator of the dive shop which did a bunch of wreck diving there immediately made me aware that I was not "wreck-ready" as I had no wreck training or certifications (and there were several). I then read the book "Shadow Divers" and that put me off wreck diving until recently. Now, some dive buddies and I want to dive the Oriskany off P'cola. And again the operator of one of the dive boats that does the Oriskany has a hard rule that unless one is certified and trained and technical, no dives go below 130 feet (no "deco's" for me).

I'm ok with that; but I now would like to raise my game. So, I am going to look into Wreck dive training.

If anyone would like to share their guidance into my new journey, advice would be greatly appreciated. Specifics even more. Thanks.

 

[victorzamora]

I think that a good series of deco courses should be steps 1-3. Maybe even light Trimix. Oriskany is definitely in Trimix territory.....extra so for any penatration. Once you're diving deco and are a competent diver you can progress to wrecks like the Oriskany. I'm not saying you have to get Deco certs before you get overhead, but most wreck penetration dives are in deeper waters and require deco.....so getting your fundamentals down is hugely important before entering a wreck, much less with an additional deco ceiling above you.

 

[Akimbo]

…The scenario - In the past when I dived San Diego (Catalina and Mission Bay) I first checked into doing some wreck diving. The operator of the dive shop which did a bunch of wreck diving there immediately made me aware that I was not "wreck-ready" as I had no wreck training or certifications (and there were several)...

You can probably find several boat operators willing to let you dive Wreck Alley in San Diego. The Yukon is in 105' and 68' to the highest point on the wreck.

Wreck Alley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You may be limited to a max depth and no-penetration but you can easily swim the exterior and learn a lot. Wreck Alley is one of the few places you can dive wrecks on the West Coast. Here is my opinion on when to take a wreck course:

Wreck Penetration, When to take wreck diving courses?

 

[boulderjohn]

Victor is correct.

A good answer for what you are looking for is more complicated than you probably realize. When you talk about PADI wreck diving specialty certification, that is designed for simple wrecks at recreational depths. It is not technical diving. A technical wreck diving class will be much more intense and demand much more skills of the diver starting the course.

If you are looking to go more than 130 feet on a wreck like the Oriskany, you first need to have decompression dive training. That means selecting an agency and instructor who will take you through that pretty intense training first. Once you are there, you can go for the technical wreck training.

But I'm going to guess that you really don't want to go there yet. I'm guessing what you really are looking for is the PADI-style wreck diving class that will better prepare you for the wrecks that you will encounter at recreational depths. If you like that, you may want to go on for more technical training.

Here is something to think about. I will compare two wreck dives I did in the past weeks. In both cases, I descended down a line to a wrecked ship. Each one was sitting upright. Each one had rooms one could enter to look around. Each one was covered with beautiful marine growth. Each one was populated with schools of fish. Each one had a very comparable enjoyment level as far as exploring the wreck was concerned. So what was the difference? One was at a depth of about 100 feet maximum. I did the dive on a single tank and did an ascent that took me about 5 minutes, counting the safety stop. The other was to a depth of about 180 feet. I had steel doubles on my back filled with a gas mixture that included a lot of helium. I had two aluminum 40 tanks under my arm. My ascent took about 50 mind-numbing minutes in the empty sea, with decompression stops starting at 90 feet. The real difference, though, was the expense. The second one cost several times the expense of the first one, primarily because of the cost of the helium and the oxygen. Which sounds like the better deal to you?

 

[Akimbo]

Here is a link to recommendations for training and skill levels for different sites in Wreck Alley (San Diego):
Lois Ann Dive, Wrecks

These are some of the shallowest, easiest, and safest wrecks in moderate water temperatures I know of. I can’t think of an better place for someone to figure out if they enjoy wreck diving and decide how much more training, if any, they want to pursue.

 

[cnherrick]

But I'm going to guess that you really don't want to go there yet. I'm guessing what you really are looking for is the PADI-style wreck diving class that will better prepare you for the wrecks that you will encounter at recreational depths.

I might just surprise you.

The points about getting deco training / certification are well taken. I'm off to research that and get the certs. I will then come back to wreck diving and use the suggestions here.

Many thanks. A good training trajectory is what I really wanted.

Would anyonen like to point me to a set of deco / technical courses they respect? PADI? someone else?

Interestingly, isn't this the guy who was part of "Shadow Divers" and who penetrated the U-boat?
Deco Diver | Shadow Diver | John Chatterton

 

[decompression]

As mentioned, good tech training is generally more about instructor than agency. I would suggest Google the standards of the entry level tec courses, PADI Tec , TDI deco procedures or Heliox, ANDI tech safe diver, UTD tech 1, GUE tech 1, NAUI tec.....see which will meet your needs and wants as far as depth, gases, equipment, procedures, future goals, completion time, location etc. Making the transition to tec diving can be a lot easier with a mentor. Someone who can guide you through what can be a info overload. If none is available to you, there are many SB members that have extensive knowledge and are willing to offer their opinions.

Find your goals and find your path.

And yes, that's John Chatterton, he runs several courses a year. A very interesting man.


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