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

[wnissen]

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

Here's the profile if it matters. I can't exactly see where the incident occurred, based on my SAC, but it was between 22 and 15.7 m (72 and 51 ft) we were on the surface with 61 bar / 885 psi.

 

[AdivingBel]

So making a blanket statement that diving in caves without appropriate training and/or equipment, on single tank without redundancies is a very bad thing will be not good advice and reduces ones credibility?

What you’re saying isn’t a blanket statement. It contains caveats such as proper training etc.. Based on the original thread title that topic would read something like: Don’t ever go into any cave. Yes, that lacks credibility.
Also inferring an “artificial wreck” with plenty of light to light passages, dived by thousands at a resort destination requires the same care as a cave, IMHO, lacks credibility. At some point this becomes semantics and a bit pedantic. I think I see a rabbit hole…

 

[Akimbo]

"Perhaps that.. "hey this thing held up to the last storm and big swells, it isn't going to fall today, since there is no surge". That's what I tell myself anyway. If it is holy enough not to trap bubbles, it should last another 40 minutes.

Yes but would you send your brother in there to work who is expecting his first child?

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

 

[Lorenzoid]

Personally, with almost 5,000 dives under my belt and a huge number of wreck dives, I would have had no problem with doing that dive.

What about the issue I thought of in my post above: you may know what you're doing, but others in the group crammed in there in front of you and behind you may not and could create some havoc if things go wrong, they panic, or whatever. (This is apparently normally done as a DM-led group dive.)

 

[Bob DBF]

Let's not forget that running out of gas and finding your way out are not the only considerations:

View attachment 738698

Corrosion and gravity for example. What the hell is this dude thinking?

Hovering under the hatch, he is in a better spot than the cameraman.

 

[Jafo19D]

I got stuck in a swim through a couple of weeks ago. Tried to push through but couldn’t. Then I tried backing up and got stuck again. At one point while trying to get free my regulator almost popped out of ny mouth.

 

[Cthippo]

I think it is a lot like shore side mine exploring. Yes, that timber is eventually going to rot away and the shift will collapse, but it has been here here a century and probably won't happen today. Is the small risk of dying in a cave in worth the very high likelihood of finding something cool inside? My risk assessment generally says yes, but yours may vary.

What bugs me about this whole conversation is that I feel like we are still discussing it the wrong way. Many discuss these activities in terms of "with x ampunt of training and y amount of experience this activity can be done safely"

I think that is wrong.

I think every single time we get in the water (or in a car or on an airplane etc) we are doing something that might kill us. Equipment, training and experience can mitigate some of the risks involved, but never eliminate them. Every single dive is another opportunity to die. The question then is "Is the experience I might have here worth the risk of dying to get it?". On a per-dive basis the rist of serious injury or death is generally fairly low, and the rewards in terms of experiences are fairly high.

This is strictly my own philosophy, but if you are not having experiences that are worth risking your life for, what are you doing with that life?

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

One hour of wreck diving is worth ten hours of pool training. Always go with an experienced guide.

 

[clownfishsydney]

What about the issue I thought of in my post above: you may know what you're doing, but others in the group crammed in there in front of you and behind you may not and could create some havoc if things go wrong, they panic, or whatever. (This is apparently normally done as a DM-led group dive.)

I said I would have no problem, not that others may be okay doing it or should do it. The people I dive with would also have no problem doing it, hence my six trips to Chuuk Lagoon and wrecks from Solomon Islands to Scapa Flow.

 

[BoltSnap]

One hour of wreck diving is worth ten hours of pool training. Always go with an experienced guide.

Is this based on your own experience? Tells us more about your wreck diving experience, what wrecks, where, who, when...