dlao
Contributor
Just wanted to share my dive trip experience from a tourist's angle, following up on my previous post. So here it goes:
Weather: We tried hitting the water on Feb. 10th, but the weather was not ideal and the boat trip got canceled. Gave it another shot on the 11th. The weather was still rough, with some light rain and 6-foot waves. Not much wiggle room on our end, so we just went for it. The boat ride was okay, but as soon as we stopped, a lot of people started feeling seasick.
Configurations: We went with Horizon Divers for our dive, on a recommendation from some local buddies. I was diving AL80s tanks filled with 31% nitrox, a 3mm rental wetsuit, and sticking to the usual single-tank recreational dive setup.
Condition: Visibility underwater wasn't exactly perfect, hovering around 30-50 ft. The current was blowing towards the southeast direction, weak in the first dive but became noticeable in the second dive. The tide seemed high and my dive computer read a bit deeper than the maps said. The water was ~75 F, and we were shaking at the end of our second dive. I'm definitely going for a thicker wetsuit next time.
Dive time: The first dive was about 41 minutes at an average depth of 23 meters. We had some decent SAC rates. I entered the water with 2900 psi and climbed the ladder with exactly 750 psi left. We maxed out our NDL. There's a time constraint and we ended up having only 40 minutes surface interval. My dive computer was quite conservative. In the second dive, we hit the NDL pretty fast and did an 8-minute decompression stop at 5 meters. Ended that dive with over half my tank left after 33 minutes.
Navigation: We were self-guided and aimed to explore as much as we could. The dive boat was tied to mooring line #4, which is in the middle of the wreck. Without penetration, the navigation is mostly straightforward. But it is embarrassing that we got mixed up with the cranes on the wreck and ended up at the next mooring line #5. Had to do a short surface swim back to the boat. After reading the map again, we didn't have any problem navigating the second dive. I marked our trajectories below.
Marine life: Saw some cool marine life like tiger sharks, barracudas, and a goliath, though it wasn't that big. We are happy.
What I loved: The dive site was far from boring. Lots of swim-throughs and potential for penetration with the right gear and know-how. Even staying outside the wreck offers plenty to see in two dives. We're definitely coming back better prepared next time.
What wasn't so great: The upper 60 feet has literally nothing to see, especially with the visibility being off. Plus, the second dive didn't really feel worth it due to the NDL. A longer deco dive would've shown us more cool stuff than two shorter dives.
Tips to tourists:
1. Not a dive for inexperienced divers, even with a guide.
2. Check the weather before you go.
3. Read and try to memorize the wreck's map, and discuss the navigation plan with your dive guide (if you hire one). Will enhance your experience a lot.
4. Double dipping within a 4-hour time frame is simply not ideal, better to do one longer dive (if you are trained to deco).
5. Nitrox (we paid 30 for 2 dives) is totally worth it.
Weather: We tried hitting the water on Feb. 10th, but the weather was not ideal and the boat trip got canceled. Gave it another shot on the 11th. The weather was still rough, with some light rain and 6-foot waves. Not much wiggle room on our end, so we just went for it. The boat ride was okay, but as soon as we stopped, a lot of people started feeling seasick.
Configurations: We went with Horizon Divers for our dive, on a recommendation from some local buddies. I was diving AL80s tanks filled with 31% nitrox, a 3mm rental wetsuit, and sticking to the usual single-tank recreational dive setup.
Condition: Visibility underwater wasn't exactly perfect, hovering around 30-50 ft. The current was blowing towards the southeast direction, weak in the first dive but became noticeable in the second dive. The tide seemed high and my dive computer read a bit deeper than the maps said. The water was ~75 F, and we were shaking at the end of our second dive. I'm definitely going for a thicker wetsuit next time.
Dive time: The first dive was about 41 minutes at an average depth of 23 meters. We had some decent SAC rates. I entered the water with 2900 psi and climbed the ladder with exactly 750 psi left. We maxed out our NDL. There's a time constraint and we ended up having only 40 minutes surface interval. My dive computer was quite conservative. In the second dive, we hit the NDL pretty fast and did an 8-minute decompression stop at 5 meters. Ended that dive with over half my tank left after 33 minutes.
Navigation: We were self-guided and aimed to explore as much as we could. The dive boat was tied to mooring line #4, which is in the middle of the wreck. Without penetration, the navigation is mostly straightforward. But it is embarrassing that we got mixed up with the cranes on the wreck and ended up at the next mooring line #5. Had to do a short surface swim back to the boat. After reading the map again, we didn't have any problem navigating the second dive. I marked our trajectories below.
Marine life: Saw some cool marine life like tiger sharks, barracudas, and a goliath, though it wasn't that big. We are happy.
What I loved: The dive site was far from boring. Lots of swim-throughs and potential for penetration with the right gear and know-how. Even staying outside the wreck offers plenty to see in two dives. We're definitely coming back better prepared next time.
What wasn't so great: The upper 60 feet has literally nothing to see, especially with the visibility being off. Plus, the second dive didn't really feel worth it due to the NDL. A longer deco dive would've shown us more cool stuff than two shorter dives.
Tips to tourists:
1. Not a dive for inexperienced divers, even with a guide.
2. Check the weather before you go.
3. Read and try to memorize the wreck's map, and discuss the navigation plan with your dive guide (if you hire one). Will enhance your experience a lot.
4. Double dipping within a 4-hour time frame is simply not ideal, better to do one longer dive (if you are trained to deco).
5. Nitrox (we paid 30 for 2 dives) is totally worth it.
). 
