Progressive Penetration vs. Running a Line

[flw]

Having knocked something, which then fell over and the movement silted the place out in a wreck I thought I knew well - found my way out more by luck than good management many years ago - unless I can see daylight _and_ not be in a tight squeeze to get in or out - then I'll run a line. I'll be more likely to start the line just out of sight within the wreck rather than outside having had a problem with a curious diver who followed my line in Scapa - I was coming out to find them coming in.....

 

[Gilldiver]

However, for most recreational divers.... the use of a line is absolutely recommended. Wrecks kill over-confident and under-prepared divers. What is worse, is that under-trained divers can be oblivious to the risks until it is too late..

Acctualy, I have seen more of these divers die from getting tangled in their own line then from getting lost because because they did not have a line.

I use a line a lot and there are some wrecks I don't use one on. Drop me inside of the U-853 or U-352 and I'm very happy without a line. Put me in the engine room of the USS BASS, I'm OK without a line, put me in the after compartments of the same wreck and I'll run a line.

Progressive Penetration is only a tool in your tool box. It works when you have many, many hours on one wreck, it will not work on wrecks you only see once or twice. Use it when it is the right tool for that job.

 

[RJP]

There are no reasons to do a wreck penetration worth risking injury or death.

There's nothing in this [-]cave[/-] wreck worth dieing for.

 

[Blackwood]

Why is this an either/or situation?

The line is your backup.

 

[Kevrumbo]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/dir/202148-what-point-do-you-run-line.html

 

[SCUBA_Phil]

Like most things in life - it depends! Vis, deco, wreck size, and how many times I have been on the wreck ... Bottom line is your own comfort with the existing conditions. Some times on a wreck I'm very comfortable on, I still run a line just for the practice.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

+1

Its situationally dependent.


(Having said that, I've gotten turned around in a wreck when the vis went to crap, just once a long time ago. I have no desire to go through that a second time... I tend to err on the side of caution.)

YMMV.

 

[carlislere]

I run a line, period. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Superlyte27]

Just avoid the temptation, but in moments of weakness always dive dry when doing any penetration. It's a good relief to not have the next eighteen years flash in front of you when laying the line. The next dive after the progressive exploration seams so commonplace the s@#$ will hit the fan.

Funny how everyone worrys about pregnancy, (which can't kill you), but no one worries about STD's that can. Oh, and you're 4x more likely to get an STD than cause a pregnancy. Oh, and STD's today, doesn't matter whether you are "diving dry" or not.

 

[padiscubapro]

yo

running a line in my opinion is the only way to go as progresive penetration will do you no good in a zero viz situation

greetings
Matt

I can't agree here.. If you really know the wreck then you can still exit in zero viz.. On many wrecks laying a line is safe and preferred but it can also be a danger.. There are plenty of examples of wrecks that for simplicity and safety sake we do not exit the same way we came in.. The best example I can think of is u853.... Its easiest to enter from one part of the wreck then exit at the otehr.. trying to exit where you came in means you will ALWAYS be exiting in zero viz, no matter how good your skills are..

Personally I use both depending on the familiarity of the wreck, how deepe the planned penetration is and what enviromental concerns I have..