Too soon for a PADI Wreck Specialty?

[sub_diving_mason]

First, not sure if this is the appropriate forum, so please excuse me if it is not.

My wife is getting her AOW this weekend and just got her OW in Early April. We also had signed up for a wreck dive in NC (USS Indra) in July and part of that includes getting PADI Wreck Specialty.

Is it too soon for her to start doing penetrations and diving in overhead environments?

I'll be with her, and the instructors that we deal with are great and I have no worries, which I guess is why I'm not as nervous for her, but I'm not sure if she knows what to expect.

Appreciate opinions and suggestions.

 

[pir8]

Go for it at her comfort level. Just because shes doing the specialty doesn't mean she has to penetrate. Dive 4 can be structured so she doesn't have to do penetration but can stay on the outside.

 

[Tomeck]

It depends of wrecks. If wreck is not deep, is in warm water, the visibility is very good and the opening is very large. Otherwise, it is better to wait.

 

[BarryNL]

First, not sure if this is the appropriate forum, so please excuse me if it is not.

My wife is getting her AOW this weekend and just got her OW in Early April. We also had signed up for a wreck dive in NC (USS Indra) in July and part of that includes getting PADI Wreck Specialty.

Is it too soon for her to start doing penetrations and diving in overhead environments?

At least 200 dives and several training courses too soon. Wrecks are death traps for those who don't know what they're doing. Put it like this, I have PADI Rescue, DSAT Tec Deep, GUE-Fundamentals and am a Divemaster doing work experience and have nearly 250 dives, and it's too soon for ME to start doing wreck penetrations.

 

[liuk3]

I'm curious to hear what your instructors say about whether you should be doing wreck penetrations with less than 20 dives?

 

[miketsp]

First, not sure if this is the appropriate forum, so please excuse me if it is not.

My wife is getting her AOW this weekend and just got her OW in Early April. We also had signed up for a wreck dive in NC (USS Indra) in July and part of that includes getting PADI Wreck Specialty.

Is it too soon for her to start doing penetrations and diving in overhead environments?

I'll be with her, and the instructors that we deal with are great and I have no worries, which I guess is why I'm not as nervous for her, but I'm not sure if she knows what to expect.

Appreciate opinions and suggestions.

None of the instructors I know will give a wreck certification without doing the mask-off, line-following (& lost line recovery), silted-out-environment part whether or not that's what the syllabus calls for.
If that's within your comfort level, go for it.

 

[muddiver]

The main point of the PADI Wreck class is to introduce the student to the necessary safety procedures and equipment to dive wrecks. It is much better to learn what you don't know before you go, than to dive a wreck without any knowledge. Have a good time.

 

[TSandM]

I didn't think the PADI wreck specialty included penetration . . . but it sounds like it does?

I did a wreck workshop a year and a half ago. At that point, I had about 300 dives, had passed Fundies and taken 5thD-X's Rec 2 class, and I had reasonably decent skills. One of the exercises we did in the class was to run line, and then turn around and exit blind on it as a team of three. We ran line for 18 minutes. We turned around, and 32 minutes later, the instructors cut the drill. We had gotten about 2/3 of the way back, had managed to pull the line off a tie and somehow get it completely wrapped around the guy in front (no, the instructors didn't help us) and we were never going to get back to the starting point without outside help.

It was an absolutely chilling experience; first off, spending 32 minutes blind and fumbling and knowing the clock was ticking, and then opening our eyes to what we had managed to screw up.

I don't think any but the most simple of penetrations (for example, swimming the length of the RMS Rhone, which is completely open and has no silt) should be attempted by recreational divers, period. As they say about caves -- Anybody can swim into one. It's getting back OUT that can be problematic.

 

[ReefHound]

There are all kinds and degrees of "wreck diving" from tech dives deep into the bowels of a dirty screamer to a recreational swim thru on a clean artificial reef. The PADI Wreck specialty is not intended to make you an advanced wreck diver. It's an introduction to the techniques and equipment you will need to master to further your training. While the course does allow for some light penetration, you won't likely be doing much more than swim thrus or one room deep. And that's how it should be for a long time, make your first 50 or so penetration dives super simple.

I think she should exhibit mastery of buoyancy and show poise in handling issues but that's true for any deep diving. Even if she doesn't choose to penetrate at all without further training, the specialty will lend her an appreciation for wreck diving.

 

[ReefHound]

It was an absolutely chilling experience; first off, spending 32 minutes blind and fumbling and knowing the clock was ticking, and then opening our eyes to what we had managed to screw up.

I'm planning on taking cave soon and talking to other cavers, they said it was very humbling when the instructor tells you that you died.