Making the Right Choice

[divernva]

NJDiver_34 welcome to the board! I'm fairly new to the sport, and found this place to be great. The people are diverse and helpful.

Which part of NJ are you from? My girlfriend has family near AC (Linwood), so we get up there often. Hope to do some wrecks off those shores next year. You probably won't have a problem finding tech oriented dive shops up there... in fact the few I've visited in the NJ/PA area all carry a few items.

You're right about the LDS talking up their inventory. Northeast Scuba is probably the most tech specific shop I've seen... they don't sell Halcyon, so they talk it down. Worth a visit if you're interested in DR, OMS, AUL or strange tech hardware. I bought my Pioneer from Lancaster Scuba, not as tech oriented, but had the Halcyon stuff to see and touch.

Good luck.

 

[Liquid]

NJDiver,
when you say "rather technical", what do you mean?

I take it you are a fairly new diver, with AOW cert. Doing technical dives, into wrecks, aspecialy at night takes a lot of experience and requires also special certification. In that kind of dives, you must use special equipment, that unless you had your Tech course, you are not qualified to use. Even reels and spools (thx roaky) must be used by people that know how to use them properly. Using them wrong is dangerouse. A loose rope is a problem asking to happen, and if you are not trained in it's use you are asking for trouble.

 

[TexasMike]

I agree with Liquid that the dive you are describing sounds a bit too much for someone certified just 4-5 months ago. Diving on Wrecks has it's own set of hazards and and problems to work out, let along compounding it with a night dive. I'm sure I speak for most folks here that such a profile may be an invitation for disaster.

I too desire to dive on shipwrecks. As such I am now working with a TDI instructor to get my instruction this week, and then Friday we are heading for North Carolina to do 6 dives on the U-boat and other wrecks that are in that region. Once completed, I will be certified for limited penetration into a wreck (still see the exit).

But please note that I am only attempting this AFTER I had completed 40 dives into my log in various local conditions and have completed the PADI Advanced OW course.

So I'm going to step up and discourage you from doing that dive. It's too soon. And we want you around here for a very long time.

But if you are bound and determined, and you desire to get the best setup for the type of diving you want to persue, then I will recommend the Halcyon plate and wings setup. It's pricey, but you can't get much better than that.

But even this brings up another point that should prevent you from doing the "wreck dive at night". It takes time to learn new gear (where things are, and what to do in an emergency if you need to ditch something or get completely out of the gear). And this is something that you cannot learn in just one dive in the local inlet. It took me about 4 or 5 dives with my Ranger to memorize where everything was and how to set it up for ultimate comfort and utility.

I realize your eager to go, but everything we know about you now urges me to urge you to sit this one out. The wreck ain't going anywhere. And you will enjoy the dive more once many other things about diving become second nature. And that only comes with training and experience.

 

[NJDiver_34]

divernva I'm in central NJ along the coast perhaps next time your in the area for a dive we can hook up. And yes I am a fairly new diver being that this was my first season. And I appreciate you looking out for me liquid...THANKS!!! The dive I spoke about will be in "MY EYES" fairly technical. The wreck sits about 80-90' and I will be going with my instructor who is awsome. I have been in a wreck with him once before however, I dont believe we will be going into the wreck on this dive simply diving onto it.
I'm hopful that I will be able to begin my "Wreck Specialty" Class soon.

 

[Lost Yooper]

Wrecks make great night dives. I don't think going inside of one at night is such a fantastic idea without a significant amount of experience. Keep your eyes glued to your pressure guage at those depths. Newer divers can get into trouble quickly when depths near 90' and only have an 80 for back gas even when conditions are normal much less at night. Relax and have fun.

Anyway, I would suggest the Halcyon BP and wing set up. It ain't "perty", but it's efficient, clean, and completely adaptable for anything you'll ever get into -- guarenteed.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[NJDiver_34]

Thanks Mike for the advice!!!

 

[miked]

welcome njdiver34, from another diver from NJ,
you've got the right idea about how special a place this board is- info, laughs, and a great spirit.
good luck,
miked
ps, I've got a Zeagle (concept 2) and i think it's great.

 

[Liquid]

The kind of dive you are describing, aspecialy when you are acompanied by your instructor seems rather safe.

When spicking about "rather technical" wreck dives, people usualy mean DEEP and PENETRATION. these kind of dives, of course, is highly unrecomended for divers without a substencial amount of experiance and technical education. What you described is the "recreational wreck" dive. It dosen't require any special equipment, so you can stick to your old regular BC. Sometimes, aspecialy when done in bad conditions (visibility, curents, etc.) there are several other pieces of equipment needed, such as reels, spools and float bags. In these cases, of course, it is recomended to dive during day light.

Have fun NJdiver!

 

[ckharlan66]

I won't address your bc question since you seem to have so much good advise already. But let me welcome you to the board. I hope you find the locals agreeable.

Chad

 

[roakey]

NJDiver34,

What’s your level of experience and comfort with night diving and deep diving at the same time? If you’re quite comfortable and you’re not planning on penetration and there’s no current, etc. (in other words perfect conditions) what you’re planning sounds OK, though perhaps pushing the envelope a bit based on the amount of time you’ve been diving. Basically if everything perfect you’re diving a steel reef at night.

Be ready, and comfortable with aborting the dive if ANYTHING is less than perfect.

This is an excellent time to test your instructor too. If s/he mentions anything about penetration, or even worse without discussion on the surface gestures you to follow them into the wreck:

1) Don’t do it and abort the dive IMMEDIATELY (this doesn’t mean just saying NO and continuing the dive, this means returning to the boat).
2) Drop the instructor like a hot potato.

Totally off subject, but since this touches on a personal opinion of mine...

I think the majority of the SCUBA industry takes wreck penetration far too lightly. My opinion is that if you want to do wreck penetration, you should FIRST get certified for cave, since I think cave diving is far simpler than wreck penetration. In cave you don’t have to worry about currents sweeping you off the wreck, you don’t have to worry about carrying your deco bottles with you al the time (you can drop them because you’re either going to come upon them on the way out, or you’re not coming out ) and you don’t have to worry about other random occurrences like, for instance, sharks . Also in caves things don’t fall on you, you don’t have cables trying to snag you and you don’t have sharp stuff to rip your drysuit.

Cave diving is so much easier on so many levels than wreck penetration.

So if you want to do wreck penetration, learn you skills in a cave first. And if cave diving scares the bejeebes out of you, the last place you should be in inside a wreck. It may not seem as hazardous as cave diving, but in fact it’s a lot more.

Roak