Eventually want to get into Wreck Diving - what are the pre-requisites?

[TSandM]

There aren't a lot of specific skills that are needed just to swim around the outside of a wreck, but there are quite a few skills that may be needed to dive where wrecks ARE. Since wrecks in very shallow water generally don't last very long, Nitrox is a good class to take if you want to dive them. And since you will be doing direct ascents from wrecks, learning to shoot a bag and manage a reel are good skills to have, too. Since wrecks dives are deeper, and often require you to get back to an upline to reboard a tethered boat, learning some gas management skills would be very useful. Doing some night diving might be good, too, for dealing with the dark water at depth.

If you really are interested in wreck penetration at some future point, you might want to consider shifting your gear toward the equipment generally used for that. If you change to a backplate system, then I would highly recommend GUE Fundamentals or Primer (or both) as a way to get good with the new gear, and to begin to master precise control of yourself in the water column. Fundies also goes into the gas management I mentioned above, includes Nitrox education, and teaches bag shooting. A lot of useful skills are packed into a single class.

 

[beester]

Next to what has been said by Superlyt and Lynne... I would propose to do some easy wrecks already. Get a feeling of how diving from a boat works, but most importantly see if you can handle waves.

I know some very very good divers (as in skills and experience) who are very interested in wreck-diving but literally can't handle it because they are very prone to motion-sickness.

 

[waterpirate]

Depending on depth of the wreck alot of good advice has allready been given. As to a pre- requsite for wreck diving??? I would devide that into 2 very different categories. Diver prepped and natural. A natural wreck presents alot of specific hazzards that diver prepped do not. In the north east and mid atlantic the natural wrecks are full of hazzards you need to get familiar with. Some examples: collapse, razor sharp metal, net zilla, current, fishing gear of all description, visibility, and unexpected over heads. Diving here is where after you addres the skills you need to get there, a mentor or dive group will save you alot of pain and panic, and help you enjoy the art. It is rewarding to dive the " mud hole " and other places like it, but they are unforegiving to those who take the dives to lightly.
Eric

 

[RAD Diver]

Do your quarry dives. Every quarry has "wrecks" to dive on. That's where you get your bouyancy up to par etc. Then once in the ocean, its no different. Not sure where you are in NY, but Dutch Springs in PA is a perfect place to challenge you with all sorts of "attractions". If you want to do penetration, yeah you can pen the helo with little risk at Dutch. Personally I'm not sure what a PADI wreck cert does for anyone...

Not sure I agree with diving a quarry and ocean diving is no different, no waves, current, or bag shooting is necessary in a quarry.
Get out there and dive,dive and dive some more & if it happens to be on a wreck so much better.
Agree PADI wreck class is not worth much.

 

[Traijin]

Its a long road to get to a point where you can safely manage a penetration at depth. One of the best options I found was to join up with a local dive club. Get to know the people and find someone who is a wreck diver. Many of the divers are certified instructors or at least know where to meet the instructors. Before you start thinking like this is something that can be pulled off quickly, it simply isn't.

For example, if you are PADI affiliated, then OW, AOW, Rescue, Nitrox, Wreck and Cavern are good basics, but they are just scratching the surface. Then you may need to look at classes through other agencies. Certifications like Gas Blending, Advanced Nitrox, Normoxic Trimix, and Hypoxic Trimix may be a good idea.

Then you will need the gear.

BP/W
Double Tanks
Primary and Secondary Regs
Drysuit
Reels and Bags
Primary and Secondary Lighting
Primary and Secondary Computers
Deco Bottles and Regs
Maybe an Argon Bottle

This all adds up to a good pile of money. But none of the gear or money spent can replace the time needed to teach yourself how to respond to a problem. The importance of valve drills and quite honestly, facing problems and learning from the experience at depth cannot be overstated.

 

[DevonDiver]

What would you say are the pre-requisites to getting into Wreck Diving?

I attempted to catagorize pre-requisite competencies in my training supplement: "Advanced Wreck Diving - Course Notes" (you might enjoy reading that )

Excerpt:

---------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Wreck Diving - Required Skills

Recreational wreck divers should possess the following competencies before penetrating wrecks:

• Buoyancy Control. Ability to maintain +/- 50cm of target depth, whilst otherwise task loaded
• Trim. Ability to maintain flat horizontal trim, with slightly head-down positioning.
• Propulsion. Ability to utilize non-silting fin techniques, including frog kick and modified flutter kick.
• Control. Ability to demonstrate positioning control without reliance on hands. Efficient use of helicopter turns and back kicks for maneuverability within confined spaces.
• Streamlining. Divers’ equipment demonstrates effective streamlining, efficiency and adequate redundancy, with no obvious entanglement hazards and minimum failure points.
• Gas Management. Ability to accurately plan and manage gas requirements for the planned dive, including contingency reserves.
• Dive Planning. Ability to precisely plan a no-decompression dive, conduct effective risk assessment and confirm effective contingency/emergency plans prior to water entry.
• Navigation. Ability to effectively navigate back to the start point, using compass and natural navigation techniques.
• Buddy/Team Skills. Ability to plan dives and follow those plans in a coordinated way with a diving buddy/team, including the ability to conduct effective emergency drills. Buddy diving.
• Situational Awareness. Ability to maintain awareness of depth, time, no-decompression limit, surroundings, navigational location and buddy/team, whilst otherwise task loaded with specific skills.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From those foundations, the diver can then train/practice in the appropriate guideline skills, team methodology and advanced competencies needed to venture into the wreck overhead environment...

If a person wants to get into wreck diving what would be the best path to take?

Safe wreck diving, especially wreck penetration, demands highly effective and specialist training. Logic dictates that such training is only likely to arise from a highly effective and specialist instructor.

Sadly, many instructors offering entry-level wreck courses (and authorized to do so by their agency) have very little experience - often none at a high-level - and very little understanding of the proper protocols needed to approach such dives. It surprises many student divers to learn that a scuba instructor can 'self-certify' to teach wreck diving with as little as 25 logged wreck dives... none of which need to include penetration. That is a ludicrously low requirement and does not ensure any specialist high-level competency.

In contrast, a cave/cavern instructor must be fully qualified at cave diver level, with a high amount of post-qualification practical experience before attaining the instructor designation. Those instructors will have mastered a comprehensive and highly refined skill-set and procedural approach to overhead environment penetration.

Superlyte27 suggests that a good means to identify such training/instructors is to seek courses within an alternative 'overhead environment'; i.e. cave diving. That is, indeed, a good way to ensure that your instructor has specialist, high-level, experience in penetration skills.

Cave diving does have an equivalent in wreck diving - the Advanced/Technical Wreck qualification. Very, very few recreational wreck diving instructors possess that qualification. Those that do might be considered on a par with cave instructors, but specialist to wreck penetration.

Do not exclude the hope of finding an equally experienced and specialist instructor within the wreck-diving community. Such an instructor would have the same high-level experience as a cave instructor - but that experience would relate more directly to the wreck environment (caves and wrecks have generally the same hazards, protocols and risk mitigation techniques, but of differing priority and with subtle variation).

In short, look for a wreck instructor who is qualified and well experienced beyond the recreational (basic) wreck diving level. Such an instructor would be actively teaching technical/advanced wreck diving and would be able to demonstrate a personal history of extensive exploration diving on wrecks deeper than recreational depths and beyond recreational penetration limits. They are likely to have been involved in projects to locate, identify, survey and explore 'virgin' wrecks. They are also likely to have verifiable 'histories' online or within the dive community. Thus, it is possible to research and gain references for their expertise.

A wreck instructor of that calibre will provide you with basic/entry-level wreck training well beyond the scope (minimum standards) of the wreck course and do so in a way that lays-down the foundations for subsequent progression into higher-level wreck and technical diving.

For more information on wreck diving course/instructor selection, you may be interested to read my article: 'The Anatomy of an Effective Wreck Diving Course - How to Select A Wreck Instructor'

 

[TSandM]

BTW, I agree that cave training hones buoyancy control and teaches line running and competence at managing blown viz. But the OP is in New York and has said that he can't travel that much, so it's going to be difficult for him to find a cave class where he lives.

Wreck diving at the recreational level -- limited or no penetration, and no decompression -- really isn't all that different from any other diving at similar depths, except for the things that have been mentioned. Depth and currents, gas management, direct ascents, and perhaps, depending on where you dive, hot drops are wreck diving skills. Coping with seasickness is a wreck diving reality. Deep diving requires managing narcosis, and dealing with reduced light. And diving at depth benefits from some training in handling problems and remaining calm.

Where some of this advice is coming from is that most of us think of "wreck diving" as penetration diving . . . and that's a whole different kettle of fish. Real wreck penetration -- swimming into areas that haven't been prepared, and where you can't immediately see an exit -- is technical diving, even if it's in relatively shallow water. You have to be able to cope with entanglement, disorientation, and blown viz, and also any equipment malfunction you could reasonably expect to have, while not being able to ascend or sometimes even leave the wreck. This type of diving is done with a lot of redundancy (double tanks) and that redundancy requires training and practice to be able to manage it. Technical wreck diving asks a lot of a diver, and should not be undertaken without good training and solid skills.

 

[waterpirate]

Find a group of wreckers, get yourself a mentor and save yourself a bunch of money and time taking classes. This route can be explored every weekend in your local enviroment and most wreckers will not shy away from calling it like it is in regard to your skill set.
Eric

 

[DevonDiver]

Find a group of wreckers, get yourself a mentor and save yourself a bunch of money and time taking classes.

How does an inexperienced diver assess whether their group of "local wreckers" are safe and effective?

Can supervise them responsibly as they develop? Will provide them with optimal approach to risk mitigation, all necessary protocols, an intelligent philosophy on equipment selection or a responsible attitude to dive conduct?

There's more than a few cowboys out there... and I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy to dive under their 'care' and 'tutelage'...

 

[waterpirate]

Just like alot of other places in the world, unsafe and in-effective is not tollerated by the enviroment at hand. The cowboys get pushed aside by the more experianced. Here it starts with the boat. you do not get on without refrances or by being under someones wing. As for the gear...... Every enviroment has dictated to those diving in it what works best. Not all gear is a good fit for every enviroment. I am just pointing out that the OP is in a good location to save a bunch of time and money by geting out there and meeting some people who are doing the dives he aspires to do.

I never laughed so hard as when mr. bada$$ from south florida showed up on one of my local rides and started spouting off about hot drops, the vis that day in 140fsw was measured in inches.

Eric