Suppose I want to go to Bikini Atoll

[Barmaglot]

I got my PADI AOWD in early 2017, and since then, I've done some 150-ish dives, split between Red Sea (Eilat and Sharm el-Sheikh), Thailand and the Philippines, most of them with a medium-sized camera rig (Sony A6300 with twin lights or strobes). I've done some wreck dives, but nothing serious - the only penetration was a swim through the SS Dunraven in the Red Sea. Aside from AOWD, I got a nitrox cert, and about a month ago, EFR+Rescue.

The sunken nuclear fleet at Bikini is something that intrigues me quite a bit, combining my hobbies of diving an WWII history, and I'm beginning to think about a training path that I could take that should, eventually, lead me there - hopefully before the wrecks rust away to nothing. I don't think I have the free time to dive frequently enough to justify investing in a rebreather setup, so if I do go down this path, it will be on open circuit.

I get 24 days of vacation time per year, and if I time them to overlap with national holidays, I can stretch things a bit further - for example, I was in the Philippines from September 30th to October 22nd, and this used up 14 days of vacation time.

With this in mind, what would be a good way to accrue the training and experience necessary to dive Bikini Atoll safely - or, well, as safe as diving eighty year old wrecks in 50 meters of water can be? I'm planning my next vacation for April 2020, overlapping passover (April 8th through 16th) and possibly our independence day (April 29th), going to either Thailand or the Philippines again. I'm already booked to go on a week-long photography-focused liveaboard in the Red Sea in August 2020, so I won't be doing much more diving that year, but my 2021 calendar is open for 2-3 weeks in April and another 3.5 weeks in October. Locally, I can go to Eilat or Aqaba on a Friday afternoon after work, dive Saturday morning and afternoon, leave in the evening and be back at work Sunday morning, but not too often - it's about 5 hours each way, longer to Aqaba as it involves a border crossing.

As far as courses go, I'm thinking about:

• April 2020 trip - PADI Tec Deep (40/45/50), either on Koh Tao or Koh Lanta in Thailand. I did my OWD+AOWD with Davy Jones Locker on Koh Tao, and I dived with Kon-Tiki on Koh Lanta this February, which I liked a great deal, so these two places are at the top of my list. Possibly do self-reliant+sidemount as well, if I have the time.
• April 2021 trip - advanced wreck in Subic bay, liveaboard to Tubbataha either before or after (unrelated, but it's on my bucket list).
• October 2021 trip - split between Coron wrecks for experience and macro photography in Anilao for fun.
• 2022 - get more wreck experience... somewhere. Possibly Maldives; I haven't been there yet but it's on my list. Maybe do a cavern/intro to cave course for additional experience on overhead environments?
• Drop by Eilat/Aqaba a couple times between trips to keep skills fresh.

Does this sound right? At this rate, would it be sensible to look at a Bikini Atoll liveaboard somewhere around 2023 time frame?

 

[BenjaminF]

Maybe consider doing the tec and sidemount courses at home? Self-reliant, unfortunately, isn't an option here due to local ( stupid) legislation. That could save your holiday time for 2020. For the extra wreck experience, look at Europe? Closer, but possibly about the same price overall?

 

[grantctobin]

If you're using mix, you're going to need to be on CCR. Sand is ~56M. While I have friends that have gone on OC, I think it's fairly reckless to do so given the depths, remoteness, and desire to go into overhead environments. Being constrained by a set of AL80s on air in 55M of water is also not much bottom time given the time and expense necessary to get to Bikini in the first place. Add in photography and it gets even worse. On the flipside, you'll likely spend ~half of your dives on or around the Saratoga, the flight deck of which sits at ~31M (at least the part that's not caved in).

If your Subic Bay classes are not with Andy Davis, I'd encourage you to use him instead. If you have the opportunity to take a Basic Cave/Cave 1 class, that would serve you well. Some of the classes touted as "advanced wreck" in FL, for example, are a safety hazard and out of touch with current science and safety practices.

 

[Barmaglot]

Maybe consider doing the tec and sidemount courses at home? Self-reliant, unfortunately, isn't an option here due to local ( stupid) legislation. That could save your holiday time for 2020. For the extra wreck experience, look at Europe? Closer, but possibly about the same price overall?

Thing is, going to Eilat is still consuming vacation time unless I drop down for 2-3 dives on a Saturday and come back, which is enough to keep the gills from drying out, but not for training. In addition, I like traveling in Southeast Asia, and even accounting for flight ticket costs, it's way cheaper - the costs of hotels in Eilat are ridiculous, and while Aqaba is somewhat less expensive to stay in, courses there are, for some reason, way more expensive than even in Israel. A cursory look online shows the cost of PADI Tec 40/45/50 in Aqaba to be nearly $3000, compared to $2000 in Eilat, and $1350 in the Philippines.
Europe has a lot of wrecks, true, but the water is cold. I'm told that Malta, for example, takes 7mm suits in the summer and drysuits the rest of the year. I like my 3mm, thankyouverymuch

If you're using mix, you're going to need to be on CCR. Sand is ~56M. While I have friends that have gone on OC, I think it's fairly reckless to do so given the depths, remoteness, and desire to go into overhead environments. Being constrained by a set of AL80s on air in 55M of water is also not much bottom time given the time and expense necessary to get to Bikini in the first place. Add in photography and it gets even worse. On the flipside, you'll likely spend ~half of your dives on or around the Saratoga, the flight deck of which sits at ~31M (at least the part that's not caved in).

Reading the brochures for liveaboards that go to Bikini, it appears that they're diving steel 110s, rather than AL80s, plus stage tanks. I'm wary of CCR both due to dangers - as I understand it, it requires constant practice to operate a rebreather safely, and I'm a vacation diver, as well as costs - it will take what, $15-20k to get a good rebreather plus the requisite training?

If your Subic Bay classes are not with Andy Davis, I'd encourage you to use him instead. If you have the opportunity to take a Basic Cave/Cave 1 class, that would serve you well. Some of the classes touted as "advanced wreck" in FL, for example, are a safety hazard and out of touch with current science and safety practices.

I haven't even looked at booking anything yet, just considering my options, and whether this is a viable route at all for me to take, but I will keep that in mind, thank you.

 

[lermontov]

you may want to see what the available spots are at bikini and work backwards - i think they are booked up 2 year in advance - that will give you time to plan it out

 

[grantctobin]

There are currently two liveaboards and only one of which has a regular BIkini "season." The Truk master OC configuration is either standard or neutral AL80s backgas (either sidemount or banded backmount) with a slung AL80 50% and a slung AL40 100%. I don't know the Indies trader loadout. They may have AL100s but I don't think it's steel. The advantage of one of the Pete Mesley trips is the presence of a chamber and a physician.

 

[BenjaminF]

Look in the centre for courses? Caesarea has some decent instructors for Tec and Sidemount. PM me if you want recommendations.

 

[Barmaglot]

There are currently two liveaboards and only one of which has a regular BIkini "season." The Truk master OC configuration is either standard or neutral AL80s backgas (either sidemount or banded backmount) with a slung AL80 50% and a slung AL40 100%. I don't know the Indies trader loadout. They may have AL100s but I don't think it's steel. The advantage of one of the Pete Mesley trips is the presence of a chamber and a physician.

This page mentions 12L steels filled to 260 bar; unless I'm mistaken, that's 110 feet in American terms: Bikini Atoll Dive Requirements and Safety Information | Indies Trader

Look in the centre for courses? Caesarea has some decent instructors for Tec and Sidemount. PM me if you want recommendations.

Hmmm, you have a point there, Caesarea is easier, though still quite a ways away - I'm in Rehovot. Maybe I should look for something in Ashdod or Ashkelon, although I have no idea if they have tech diving instructors there. Definitely not in winter though.

 

[rjack321]

This page mentions 12L steels filled to 260 bar; unless I'm mistaken, that's 110 feet in American terms: Bikini Atoll Dive Requirements and Safety Information | Indies Trader.

12L = 85cf steel in imperial terms.

If you want to be doing 50m dives and taking (good) pictures at Bikini you need trimix. Helium is not practical there for open circuit. Thus you need a CCR. If a CCR is too big a commitment to develop the skills and mindset to use, I'm not sure being on air at those depths for a casual "vacation diver" is any wiser.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

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