New Respect

[Matteo]

I just returned from a 2 week trip to Hawai'i where diving was an important, but secondary part of the plan...mainly I was just visiting a friend, but planned to dive as much as possible while she was working during the day and then we could spend our nights together doing whatever??????...anyhoo, I digress....being that I had a long flight over from FL and an equally long flight back, I picked up a couple of books to read on the flights....Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury and Deep Descent, Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria by Kevin F. McMurray.....these were both excellent reads, but the coincidence is that during this trip, I was able to perform at an extremely minimal level, my first 2 wreck penetrations...needless to say, the paragraphs of these books and a couple of others really came to light....there is a HUGE difference between looking at a wreck from the outside and actually venturing into it's interior spaces...as a reader, sometimes you get jaded and accuse the author of embellishment and exaggeration, but once you get a slight glimpse of what he or she is talking about, it really hits home about how serious and dangerous advanced wreck diving can be....before I get flamed, let me state that I was under the direct supervision of an instructor who had literally 100s of dives on this particular artificial wreck and our penetrations never went beyond direct and clear sight of our entry/exit point....regardless, it gave me a new RESPECT for wrecks, their beauty, majesty, and potential hazards....cool stuff!

 

[justleesa]

I hear ya! It took me hundreds of dives to dare to venture into some areas of our wrecks....

 

[scubamickey]

Wrecks are great aren't they? My first was in Hawaii as well, and I got totally hooked. My 25-30th dives were in the Keys (The Eagle, The Duane, The Grove, in that order). I like reefs but I much prefer wrecks. Especially after diving those beauties. I remember thinking as the ships came into view: "Wow! this is incredible".

I think it can be very addicting, although I don't imagine that I will be getting any technical wreck training in the near future. There's plenty to see inside of wrecks and stay within the limits of recreational wreck diving.

I'm glad you've discovered the joys of wreck diving

 

[Cacia]

MATTEO, just for you.... I am getting really interested in them too, we go monday night and we will report back, hopefully get some shots

 

[Daylonious]

I just returned from a 2 week trip to Hawai'i where diving was an important, but secondary part of the plan...mainly I was just visiting a friend, but planned to dive as much as possible while she was working during the day and then we could spend our nights together doing whatever??????...anyhoo, I digress....being that I had a long flight over from FL and an equally long flight back, I picked up a couple of books to read on the flights....Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury and Deep Descent, Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria by Kevin F. McMurray.....these were both excellent reads, but the coincidence is that during this trip, I was able to perform at an extremely minimal level, my first 2 wreck penetrations...needless to say, the paragraphs of these books and a couple of others really came to light....there is a HUGE difference between looking at a wreck from the outside and actually venturing into it's interior spaces...as a reader, sometimes you get jaded and accuse the author of embellishment and exaggeration, but once you get a slight glimpse of what he or she is talking about, it really hits home about how serious and dangerous advanced wreck diving can be....before I get flamed, let me state that I was under the direct supervision of an instructor who had literally 100s of dives on this particular artificial wreck and our penetrations never went beyond direct and clear sight of our entry/exit point....regardless, it gave me a new RESPECT for wrecks, their beauty, majesty, and potential hazards....cool stuff!

LOL! I just finished Deep Descent not more than 15 minutes ago. Respect is definately the theme I came away with as well.

What did you think about the "add-on" bios where they're discussing Tri-mix as being bad for wannabe deep wreck divers? Basically the point was that divers didn't spend 10 years diving deep on air, honing their skills, getting used to narcosis, now with this blend they can just jump in after 75 dives. The discussion was that it had the potential of giving "newbie" divers a false sense of security.

Also was struck by the quote from Gary Gentile:

"Many people in extreme sports do not recognize their limitations, Gentile believes, and when they do, they are about to die."

Sobering stuffs...

D.

p.s. as usual, fantastic pics, Catherine!