Wreck diving - how to proceed

[ginti]

Not all dives are equal and i strongly believe a dive where one works consciously practicing skills in cold water in a drysuit doubles is much more constructive than a recreational dive in crystal clear warm water in Indonesia.

I only partially agree; crystal clear water is without any doubt easier, but presents other challenges especially if one uses to dive only in murky water. This deserves another thread, here I limit to say that, to build solid experience, one should try several different environments.

Totally agree about Mario; finished the T1 with him some weeks ago

I know it is not much, however some GUE divers who took Tech 1 in Sweden said that instructor included some wreck penetration techniques into the course - like working with the reel, black out mask training and so on.

reeling the line is part of T1. But I guess that doing it in OW is fairly different from wrecks. Black-out mask, really? Anyway, in T1 overhead is strictly forbidden, so you are not going to deal with all the issues typical of that environment...

If I were you, with this strong interest for technical environment, I would just focus on a tec-pass for the moment, whch is already a lot of work. That would be my next step to proceed

 

[Celt]

Hello. I've heard the same thing about Caves.
Cheers.

Yep, it’s the nature of the beast. You need to find out what’s around the next corner.

 

[knuhol]

Anyway, in T1 overhead is strictly forbidden, so you are not going to deal with all the issues typical of that environment

That's not completely true, T1 can be done even in cave if you are already cave certified.
Anyway, as I wrote already, I fully understand that T1 is not a wreck or overhead course, I want to do this course mianly to be able to dive deeper wrecks

I would just focus on a tec-pass for the moment

That's obvious - I cannot do tech courses without that anyway. Or did you get an impression I want to jump into any of these courses without the tech pass?

 

[ginti]

That's not completely true, T1 can be done even in cave if you are already cave certified.
Anyway, as I wrote already, I fully understand that T1 is not a wreck or overhead course, I want to do this course mianly to be able to dive deeper wrecks

It's a bit more complicated than this; for overhead, you don't need to be cave certified, but the instructor needs to be an active cave 2 instructor.

If you want to do the tech1 entirely in cave environment, you need to be cave2 an the instructor need to be an active c2 instructor.

Anyway, you're right, the course is not intended to teach anything related to overhead.

That's obvious - I cannot do tech courses without that anyway. Or did you get an impression I want to jump into any of these courses without the tech pass?

There are many other agencies besides GUE, and they have less stringent prerequisites than tec-pass for technical courses. So, if you really want, you can go for trimix and wreck courses without tech-pass. I didn't get the impression you want to skip the tec-pass, but it's a possibility.

But my point was another one (sorry, I didn't explain it). Here you are asking about how to proceed to do wreck diving. I think you should focus on the tec-pass without thinking about anything else for the moment. The tec-pass is way more complicated than a rec-pass, and to achieve it you will have to work (just a bit if you have a good basis and dive often, otherwise it will take a lot of time). In the process of training for the tec-pass, you will understand many other things about diving, GUE and other agencies; so, at the end, you will be able to make your decisions more consciously.

In other words, do not make a plan for the "far" future now, just focus on the next step.

(I am not criticizing your curiosity; I am here for the same reasons of you, learning )

 

[KenGordon]

Hello divers,

I think a lot about my future diving and how to proceed into the level I want to and would like to brainstorm a bit my ideas with you to have another insight, opinions and maybe recommendations

First, bit about my diving history, skills and interest:
I did my OWD + basic nitrox class with IANTD in 2018 in the Czech republic, soon after that I have moved to Sweden, did a dry suit class here and started local diving. Those times I knew only PADI local clubs in Stockholm and for me it was not a way to go, since I dive BP/W and long hose from the very beginning, so I have decided to travel again to the Czech republic for my IANTD AOWD class the last year.
AOWD cert has opened for me a lot of possibilities for local wreck diving around Stockholm and I was hooked - so I have started buying my own equipment. By the beginning of this year I had everything except tanks, but I really wanted to buy them as well to have an opportunity to just grab them and go diving when buddies call me. Since most of my dives are wrecks in 25-30m and I was diving nitrox already, my bottom time was limited mainly by gas supply - so I have decided to buy D12. I was lucky to get introduction to diving doubles by an experienced GUE diver - I have finally found somebody who dive the same configuration as me and I liked the diving philosophy he promoted.
Diving doubles has totally changed my diving, bottom times were longer and I could enjoy the wrecks much more. On the other hand, I felt stuck - I knew I need a practise and better foundation skills before jumping into more serious diving, but no courses which PADI or IANTD offer seemed like that one I was looking for. To make it shorter, no wonder I ended up in GUE-F class very soon after discovering GUE, since it was exactly the course I was looking for. I took the class when having just around 60 dives under my belt, around 50 were in dry suit and around 20 were with doubles. My gear was compliant with GUE standards already.
I didn't intend to challenge any pass (I even didn't know there are some passes at all when signed up for the class) - I just wanted to learn and become a better diver. I ended up with a rec pass, however the instructor said it is a strong rec pass and he believes I can come back for my tech endorsement before the winter/beginning of spring (he doesn't recommend to do that during winter).
GUE-F class was by the end of August and I did around 25 dives since that. I continue diving wrecks every week and my diving is totally different since the class has ended - I feel very confident under the water, practise my new skills but most of all I totally enjoy my dives.

I thought it will be enough for me for some time, cause I have lot of fun during the dives I am doing. But more often I dive on the same wrecks, more routine the dives are. Plus, some of the wrecks start within the limits of my AOWD cert and continue deeper down. I have a discipline to never exceed 30m, however after the dive I more often think about an idea of extending my licence to be able diving them whole. Plus, I more often think about a possibility of going inside the wrecks.
I have very contradictory feelings about me jumping into tech diving - on one hand, I am still a greenhorn with just 75 dives under my belt. I need the tech endorsement and at least 25 more dives to even be able to sing up for GUE Tech 1 class. On the other hand, I believe I will be able to get the tech endorsement in couple of months and I will also have 100+ dives.

My long term (and for now also the only one) interest are wrecks. I don't want to do deep dives on sake of going deeper, but I really want to dive more wrecks in my area which are deeper. And I also want to start going inside.

So, what next? I don't feel a need to rush into tech endorsement, I am maybe 95 % sure I perform on this level already, until I am not 100 % sure I will not make a call. That means, I will probably wait a bit and do it during the spring.
I know the tech endorsement is GUE gate keeper for tech courses. I know that when having it, I will feel confident enough with my skills to start tech diving. I also know GUE has 100 dives requirement for tech curses for some reason. But, after reading all the horror stories about GUE-F and people practising between rec and tech passes several years (even though having much more dives than me), I can't believe I am almost prepared for tech diving.

So the first question is, should I set my mindset for doing GUE Tech 1 the next year or is it better to wait one more year? If you recommend to wait, do you recommend to wait just with Tech 1 or also with the tech endorsement (and why)?
The second question is about wreck penetrations - GUE doesn't offer any wreck course. What is your recommendation to proceed in this education? Find a local GUE instructor who is diving wrecks and could provide some non-class training? Or go with some other agency? Or take GUE Cave 1 class, even though I am not interested in caves at all? I believe diving wrecks has lot of specific over caves - even though some procedures can be similar, I think it is better to be trained specifically for wrecks if these are the dives I want to do.
Last but not least: I am equally interested in both diving deeper wrecks and going inside wrecks (also the shallow wrecks which I can dive even now). What is better to focus on first and why, picking up deco procedures or learn basics about overhead wreck diving? I would say deco procedures, since that will allow me longer bottom times even in shallow depths so the wrecks penetration will be safer.

Sorry for the long writing, any opinions are more than welcome

Happy diving!

Do a deco course, then do a load more diving. You don’t need to be squirrelling about inside narrow passages to enjoy wrecks. Do straight forward wreck diving for a bit and then do a proper wreck course with someone who dives them on a regular basis if you fancy going inside in a serious way. Many wrecks are very open and don’t need line laying, on the other hand some have holes that you can accidentally swim inside. Care is required but that is more about experience than teachable skills.

 

[knuhol]

There are many other agencies besides GUE, and they have less stringent prerequisites than tec-pass for technical courses.

Ok, just to be clear: I don't want to do T1 with any other agency. Whatever the tech pass will take it will take it, I don't care - want to be fully prepared before jumping into tech diving.

I think you should focus on the tec-pass without thinking about anything else for the moment.

I believe GUE instructors provide very honest, direct and detailed feedback about your performance. I know what I need to practise and how to check if that is already enough for the tech pass or not.
And it has been also my instructor who strongly recommended to come up with a mental deadline until I want to challenge the tech pass - because otherwise I can practise forever.

If the instructor thinks I could be prepared till the end of the year, I trust him. Possibly I can pass tomorrow. Spring just sounds more reasonable to me, because: 1) I will have "a fresh" evaluation after the winter (when I usually do less dives) 2) There will be no T1 course in my area conducted till the end of the year anyway. 3) I will have 100 dives already (the second condition).

Why doing the research now? First of all, I want to set up that mental deadline. There is the only reason why coming back for the tech pass: to check if I am prepared for tech diving. I don't need to know this until I plan doing some tech courses

The second reason is purerly practical, diving courses are both time and money investment. I would like to have an idea how many vacation days I will spend on this the next year and what budget should I prepare. Plus, if I need to update some of my equipment the next year or not.

I wouldn't say it is dangerous to think about technical diving without the tech pass (or maybe my wife would disagree, it is dangerous for our wallet )

 

[ginti]

Ok, just to be clear: I don't want to do T1 with any other agency. Whatever the tech pass will take it will take it, I don't care - want to be fully prepared before jumping into tech diving.

Always good to have clear ideas. Also, you choose a good path

I wouldn't say it is dangerous to think about technical diving without the tech pass (or maybe my wife would disagree, it is dangerous for our wallet )

Never said it is dangerous. I was speaking about focus. But from what you have just written, it is clear that your focus is all in the right direction. In this case, I can't help you more, because I still have to gain experience enough to do wreck penetration

Regarding the wallet... well, it's addictive, and it's going to be more dangerous every year

Good luck for your tec-pass!

 

[knuhol]

Thanks ginti, I appreciete your input! Happy diving, maybe we will meet one day on advanced wreck course

 

[Degenerate]

Sounds like you know what you want and you seem to have the motivation to follow through on it
If you ever find yourself thinking about other agencies please do stay clear of Swedtech though, for reasons beyond my comprehension they somehow got some traction with divers here in Sweden...

 

[knuhol]

If you ever find yourself thinking about other agencies please do stay clear of Swedtech

I know very little about SwedTech - read about the agency on this forum, did some reserach and didn't find much information. Do you have some experience with them? Would love to hear more