Lessons Don't go in a wreck, even an "easy" one

[Nemrod]

I share your approach. I would do a swim through, with an easy egress visible from the entrance. But I worry about what you describe, a buddy going off doing actual penetration. I think I would do as you did, and "peace, out" the buddy.

I dove the C-59 in La Paz in December. The guide did discuss swim-throughs on it, and said we could follow him or not. On the swim throughs, I followed. Some of them looked more like penetrations though, so I did not. I dont think he was doing a full course of the whole damn ship though, like the OP describes!! Thats pretty crazy.

If I buddy up I consider it a serious thing, like sticking to my word of honor. But when we have an agreement and the agreement is busted by the other party then my word of honor is then retracted. And the reason he was kicking up so much debris is that he had on free dive fins!

I just watched that movie about the cave rescue. Yeah, yeah, well, it is pretty good anyways. I am kinda like the grouchy British diver, I am not interested in dying. I have people who I am responsible to care for, like my wife. And I have told her she should not count on being a rich widower like her mom (or a poor one ).

The C53 is pretty mild, it does have tons of cutouts. But regardless, the guided dives I have done through it were penetrations though several sections with restrictions. I should not tell on myself but I like double hose regulators. Well, not sure I hit something or if I just tore the hose but inside that engine room area my regulator flooded out. So I went to my octopus, no big deal. But! Right equipment for the job. Course, that could happen on a rebreather but rebreather divers are set up with bailouts, so they have redundant options on board plus their buddy, OW divers generally do not. That was the same dive my S90 camera flooded. I was not a happy diver .

N

 

[boulderjohn]

When skiers go to a new resort and try to decide which runs to take, they look at a map which has the runs marked with different colors and symbols indicating the difficulty. The skiers can then choose the ones that are best suited to their ability.

About a decade ago, I tried to design a similar system for scuba overhead environments. I gave up. I finally instead got a distinctive specialty called Understanding Overhead Environments approved by PADI (and that approval was not easily achieved, believe me.)

Overhead environments range from swimming under the anchor chain to exploring complex cave systems. Some can be done by brand new divers; in fact, short, simple swim throughs are allowed by PADI under certain conditions for the OW certification dives. At the other extreme, divers need years of experience, lengthy training, and specialized equipment. Divers need to make a reasonable decision about a planned entry by making an objective decision about whether they have the skill and equipment necessary for what lies before them. What is a simple dive for one diver is a definite "no go" for another. They key is knowing the difference.

 

[wnissen]

I shake my head at DMs pushing the safety envelope for tips. But that's what happens with abysmal pay (which means cheaper diving for the customers).

Yep, it's pretty clear that for a typical trip in the area, the owners of the boat and the hydrocarbon industry are making almost all the money. The crew is getting peanuts and has a huge incentive to demonstrate cool stuff, even if it's dangerous or unadvisable

Please tell me that was actually entering with no less than 2000psi!

No, those pressures are correct. It truly is a mostly benign environment, short passageways joining large rooms with at least one and often two large cutout openings. I didn't see every room, but I really think you're never more than 5 m / 15 ft. from open water. Bright sun, very little silt, I wouldn't have gone in at all if there were confounding risks.

You might find this thread useful:

Lessons - Wreck Penetration

There are a lot of posts on Scubaboard about finding your way out of a wreck and avoiding stirring up silt, but not much on other factors that influence when it is safe to penetrate a compartment. I thought I would share this experience: I was in Navy First Class Diving School in the early...

scubaboard.com

I did, thank you! I was especially interested in @boulderjohn 's post about how PADI defines "open water". Lessons - Wreck Penetration Certainly a fine distinction. I think by that definition we did not, in fact, do any penetration, not that the definition matters if you're in distress.

 

[bakodiver391]

I guess all that scissor kicking going on flushes out any sediment, so there's that. Kick like that in a silty wreck and visibility would go to zero very quickly. Open water divers simply don't know what they don't know, because they've never been taught the importance of proper finning techniques.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I missed the meaning of your comment, please clarify.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Praise to yourself for your safe return and happy ending!

I missed the meaning of your comment, please clarify.

I was just saying that the OP should praise he/her self for their own safe return and happy ending..... If Allah had anything to do with it....then that's totally cool too!

 

[Marie13]

I guess all that scissor kicking going on flushes out any sediment, so there's that. Kick like that in a silty wreck and visibility would go to zero very quickly. Open water divers simply don't know what they don't know, because they've never been taught the importance of proper finning techniques.

I’ve suggested learning the frog kick to newer divers after seeing them silting up the bottom. Their response: “I don’t need that. Frog is for cave/tech divers.” I shouldn’t be surprised. I know people who’ve been OW instructors for a long time who do nothing but the flutter kick. They, too, poo-poo the frog kick.

 

[Celt]

The wreck is a perfect example of the tourist trade bypassing proper wreck training. They buy and clean a vessel, sink it upright in shallow water to suit rec divers and advertise it as an easy dive giving people a false sense of security.

 

[Zef]

Small world! Yes, I think if I'd asked more questions on the surface things would have gone much better. I'm sure from the DMs perspectives it goes fine 999 out of 1000 times and most people have a great time. I forgot to add that our DM told us in advance that we should not enter the wreck with less than 70 bar / 1000 psi, and that we would be ascending to our safety stop at 50 bar / 700 psi. So we were being fairly conservative with our air.

That is not "being fairly conservative" with your air.

First, those of us who dive using bar instead of PSI, typically plan a dive to be at the surface with 50 bar remaining in our cylinder, not the safety stop.

Second, entering an overhead environment such as the wreck you were in, with a single air source and possibly only 70 to 80 bar is ludicrous and is not conservative at all with regards to gas management.

If there is anything in this discussion thread that indicates your lack of experience and training it is the quoted post above. It indicates not only a lack of judgement, but a lack of ability to pragmatically evaluate a situation in which prudent judgement is called for.

-Z

 

[AdivingBel]

There are so many variables when it comes to diving or a particular dive. Risk assessment is very personal and many times based on experience. When someone makes “blanket” statements, IMHO, it reduces their credibility. All IMHO, YMMV.