Open Water Wreck Diving

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Diver0001:
This is excellent advice.

R..

But what happens if you can't grab the wreck and you can't go as deep as the sand didn't get addressed.
 
CD_in_Chitown:
But what happens if you can't grab the wreck and you can't go as deep as the sand didn't get addressed.

I think Doc Intrepid's answer was meant to say "be prepared to go to the sand".

If it really isn't possible to get back to the wreck and it isn't possible to go to the sand then you're just a speck in a big ocean floating neutrally somewhere in mid water.... In that case, the dive is over. Float a blob ASAP and start with your ascent.

If currents are horrendous I would make it a goal to get to the surface as quickly as possible without skipping any necessary stops. Being on the surface just improves your chances of being found.

I should also say that in my experience this is a very rare event. Everyone naturally worries about it but the bigger concern should be to develop the skills to not get blown off a wreck to start with.

R..
 
Diver0001:
I think Doc Intrepid's answer was meant to say "be prepared to go to the sand". ...Everyone naturally worries about it but the bigger concern should be to develop the skills to not get blown off a wreck to start with.
Precisely.

If the currents are strong enough down on the wreck that you're in danger of being blown off the wreck, then thumb the dive.

If for whatever reason you find yourself (or your buddy) blown off the wreck, the dive is over. It's now an issue of recovery. This goes in spades if your dive plan involved decompression. If you can get back to the upline, this is preferable to any other option. But getting to back to the upline MAY involve working back up-current. CO2 buildup precludes swimming upcurrent. So be prepared to drop to the sand in the lee of the wreck to pull and glide back to the wreck, in order to get back to the upline.

(There may be other reasons to go to the sand. Your buddy may be lying there, for example, or another diver may be. To do a dive breathing a bottom mix that will not take you to the sand, is to gamble that nothing goes wrong. Fine if nothing goes wrong. Sucks if it does.)

Your other alternative if current blows you off the wreck, as Diver0001 noted, is to do a free-ascent. But if the current is that swift, get a bag up quickly as you're quite likely to be doing some drifting. Especially if you're in a shipping lane, this can be problematic. (Big ships don't turn very fast.)

Much better to have enough situational awareness to not get blown off the wreck to begin with. Never be concerned about thumbing a dive. There will always be another dive, another day.
 
Thanks again for the safety tips. Now that some of those issues have been addressed, anyone mind sharing some of the more positive aspects of wreck diving? What is the coolest thing you have seen or experienced at depth on a wreck?

-V
 
Vayu:
Thanks again for the safety tips. Now that some of those issues have been addressed, anyone mind sharing some of the more positive aspects of wreck diving? What is the coolest thing you have seen or experienced at depth on a wreck?

-V
Not all wrecks are 200 feet deep or in a permanent 3-knot current. Chances are you'll have a great trip.
 
Da feesh :) Fish like hanging out around wrecks, you may see some nice ones.
"wow" factor -- depending on water conditions, the view of a wreck rising off the bottom is simply a cool sight.
 
First, why haven't you got involved in nitrox? If you are going to get into deeper diving on wrecks; air is not your best choice !! As a chamber Tech. It has been known, that certain depths have a proportinately higher incidence of DCS, and 90 fsw on air is one of them. At 90', using the RDP, allows a max of 25" bottom.If you are going to dive this depth on air, turn your dive at 20 min to be as safe as the tables allow you.If you were trained in nitrox, a mix called NNII (36o2/64n2 ), a standard nitrox mix, you extend your max allowed BT to 40 min. Giving you at least 15 to 20 min more time. You should still not push the tables, even with nitrox!. What I am getting at, is you will have more fun, and excitement, when you get trained in the use of using nitrox mixes when you plan your deep diving. PLEASE, get training first!! You will appreciate the use of of nitrox..... Thank You......Capt. Tom
 
Vayu:
Thanks again for the safety tips. Now that some of those issues have been addressed, anyone mind sharing some of the more positive aspects of wreck diving? What is the coolest thing you have seen or experienced at depth on a wreck?

-V

Thousands of bait fish swimming into a wreck and out of the superstructure while being followed by schools of hundreds of spades, jacks, and snapper.

Good visibility may get you the awe of a large ship materializing out of the deep blue on descent.

A seemingly gloomy ship covered in a shade of blues glowing in yellows, pinks, purples, oranges with the introduction of your dive light.

Seeing a 400+' vessel thats been broken once or twice into sections by the ocean.

Popping that big ole flounder that was sitting right where the hull of the boat and sand met :D




I'm assuming you're going with a charter catering to OW divers? They'll probably put you guys in a safe enough spot, its good that you are covering your bases for all the 'just in cases' though.
 
You could find some diving shops who do regular trips there and ask them on the conditions. Some of them have charts of the wrecks and descriptions of the sites.

Alternatively, you could look for someone who dives those sites a lot and ask for what to look for.

Many sites have predictable currents and visibility; Once you know what currents there are (or can be) plan your dives around that; You might get to do some drift dives.
 
You will have a great time. I have dived both the wrecks you mention and they are perfect, diver-friendly wrecks. Yes, you do have to watch for the odd bit of monofilament line, etc, as mentioned before, but otherwise, they are great for a first wreck dive.

You will no doubt be diving from a charter vessel operating out of Lauderdale, so they will give you a thorough briefing on the wreck and the dive itself. They will probably anchor/tie on to the wreck, so you will have an up/down line to follow.

There will probably be some current, as they sit near the Gulfstream, but this can vary dramatically from virtually nothing to a ripping blast. If it is too bad, you won't be diving, but this is fairly rare, especially on those wrecks.

Vis is usually excellent, so make a note of where the line/anchor is on the wreck and then explore with your group/buddy. You won't have to worry about losing the upline unless the vis has seriously changed since I was out there!!!!

Lots of marine life on the wrecks – shoals of grunts and snapper, occasional barracuda and jewfish (sorry, Goliath grouper – PC bollox...), but look closely at any nooks and crannies on the wreck – you will often find cleaner shrimp, crabs, etc, tucked in out of the way.

Have fun, dive safe, and enjoy yourself. For your next trip to this sort of depth/dive, look to get nitrox certified – as said previously, you will extend your bottom time dramatically, but in the meantime, air at this depth will be no worry, just don't push your computer limits to the max.

Mark
 

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