Cave Diving vs Wreck Penetration training

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Most agencies which provide cave training sub-divide the course into several segments to enable divers to progress and develop skills as they penetrate deeper. Similarly, most agencies that teach wreck penetration seem to condense it into a single course. The result seems to be that a diver which has been certified to full cave has spent a great deal more time in training and refining their skills under the supervision of an instruction than a diver who has exhausted all the available training for wreck penetration.

In a sense I can understand why this arose from a historical perspective (cave diving training seems to have been better coordinated and organised from a much earlier point in time), but looking at the position 'here and now', it does seem strange to me that diver training organisations haven't applied more focus to training for wreck penetration. People can argue about whether caves are more dangerous than wrecks, but they both seem plenty dangerous enough.

I have never done any cave training, but I did do the TDI Advanced Wreck course, and I was very conscious that all the way through the instructor kept cross referring to cave diving techniques, and even gave us cave diving manuals to look at. I was definitely left with the impression that wreck penetration training was, in his view at least, a bit second class (which is worrying, because that was the toughest course I have ever done).

Why don't agencies offer more intensive wreck penetration training?

I asked this question once. I believe that the agencies can't really afford to do it for two basic reasons. So, in my humble opinion, I offer the following.

First, even advanced training with all the sport diving agencies is still very limited. No matter how good the technology, greater exposure runs the clock on statistics toward the accident prone side of the hazard meter. And everybody knows what happens then, right?

Second, building and offering an advanced course requires a significant investment. I wrote and offered a NAUI specialty course in extended wreck diving much for the very purpose you raised. My goal was to attempt to concentrate on that common body of knowledge; the planning, the physical and mental skills. It was well received, the folk who took the class liked it and recommended it. I could not make a business case for the class, the time and materials were just more than I could afford. Maybe if I had a dive shop or something where they would buy gear.

As a footnote, I think that diving habits, like many pastimes, are driven by environment. Excepting those who can afford to transport someplace different, I've seen most divers get wet in what's near them. So at the end of the day I believe that divers will gravitate naturally to whatever is most efficient for them to enjoy, with the most survivable set of skills. Sort of a Darwinian fatalistic kind of gravity type situation.

Another footnote - A pivotal learning experience for me. Limited, yet one of the most in-depth "sport diving" classes I have experienced. Less than "Technical" but much more than, say, open water. The class was an advanced diver training program in Northern Virginia. It lasted for months and included more than 20 open water dives, including one weekend offshore. We performed many exercises in swimming pools and many enlightening classroom sessions. Through this training program I think I bagged at least half a dozen specialties. The experience was excellent - by spending almost every weekend in the water for two or three months I became much more comfortable in the water. From there I went on to Instructor training, then Cave training and mixes. So far as I know that training was profitable and repeated each year; the business case for it was at least in part due to the equipment needs through the sponsoring shop in addition to fees and such.