The quality of a wreck course depends entirely on the instructor concerned. Like many courses, the actual syllabus is quite basic, but it is also written vaguely enough to give a good instructor the flexibility to make the course truly beneficial. This is especially true in terms of penetration skills. Be warned, the course
can be run without any actual penetration (
penetration dive is optional), so you
definitely need to discuss the course content with your potential instructor before you sign-up, to make sure that the training you recieve will be focused on giving you some tangible penetration skills.
Wreck penetration diving is one of the 'real' diving activities with increased hazards. It is an over-head environment, with limited exits and a significant risk of silting (severely reduced visibility). A wreck dive may appear easy, but a silt-out can change the environment from very benign to very dangerous in a few heartbeats.
Without the knowledge and training to function under those circumstances, then any penetration into a shipwreck is really just going to be a 'trust me' dive, where luck is the primary factor guaranteeing your safety. If you get unlucky, then you won't have the capability to guarantee extracting yourself from the situation.
Here is the course dives (with my notes in red):
Wreck Training Dive One
Performance Requirements.
By the end of this dive, the student should be able to:
• Swim on the outside of a wreck, maintaining proper buoyancy control, and identifying and avoiding potential hazards, under the direct supervision of a Teaching Status PADI Instructor.
• Navigate on a wreck so that the ascent point can be located without surfacing, with the assistance of the instructor.
• Maintain neutral buoyancy and body position so that the bottom is avoided.
This is the 'wreck introduction' that many divers will experience on their AOW course as an elective dive. The focus here should be about hazard identification, buoyancy and trim. I use this dive to demonstrate zero viz (not inside a wreck), along with issues such as sharp edges, collapse and hazardous marine life etc. The remainder of the dive is spent as a 'primer'; working on buoyancy and trim, with some tuning of the weighting and distribution to enable a good horizontal position to be achieved, followed by work on horizontal hovers. We also work on non-silting propulsion, including frog kick, modified flutter kick, helicopter turns and back kick.
Wreck Training Dive Two
Performance Requirements.
By the end of this dive, the student should be able to:
• Swim along the outside of a wreck, in a buddy team, identifying and avoiding potential hazards.
• With a buddy, map a wreck (or portion of a wreck), determining approximate size and marking points of interest.
• Survey a wreck for a penetration dive and evaluate possible entrances.
• Navigate on a wreck, returning to the ascent point without surfacing.
During this dive, there is more work to fine-tune buoyancy, trim and fin techniques. The student takes a slate and makes notes/maps the wreck with the goal of planning a penetration on subsequent dives. The notes/map enable post-dive discussion of penetration options, including a critical risk assessment. Depths, times etc are used to forumlate a no-deco dive plan and gas management plan for the penetration. If student doesn't already know their SAC/RMV, then we record it on this dive. I also introduce the concept of team diving, discussing the various team roles and how divers can support eachother to achieve objectives.
Wreck Training Dive Three
Performance Requirements.
By the end of this dive, the student should be able to:
• Demonstrate the deployment and retrieval of a penetration line, for practice, on the outside of a wreck, while working in buddy teams.
• Swim along the deployed penetration line so as to maintain contact with the line without kicking up silt and holding on to a dive light.
• Navigate on a wreck so that the ascent point can be located without surfacing.
This is the line-laying practice dive. At least 1 hour spent deploying and following a guideline. Practice is developed over the session, until the student can follow the guideline blindfolded (zero viz simulation) and can communicate via basic tactile signals. The team have to navigate a guideline that they have laid, 'escaping' from a silted-out wreck scenario whilst maintaining team cohesion. This dive also introduces light signals and places emphasis on team roles. I also like to ensure that students are comfortable applying all their core skills; such as air-sharing, mask clearing, reg retrieval etc, whilst following the line, maintaining neutral buoyancy and team cohesion.
Wreck Training Dive Four A or B
There are two final dives to choose from in this specialty course. Dive Four A outlines an actual penetration dive for training on a wreck that can be safely penetrated. Dive Four B outlines a nonpenetration wreck dive for training on a wreck that cannot be penetrated. Go to section XI, Wreck Training Dive Four B if you will not have students make an actual penetration dive.
Two options for instructors here. Unless the student has a strong preference not to conduct penetration, then Option A should always be taken. If the instructor doesn't have access to a wreck suitable for penetration training, then why are they teaching wreck courses there??
Wreck Training Dive Four A
Performance Requirements.
By the end of this dive, students should be able to:
• Plan and perform an actual wreck penetration under your direct supervision:
• Determining air supply and penetration limits.
• Swimming without causing excessive silt disturbance.
• Maintaining contact with the line.
• Using a dive light while following a penetration line.
• Navigate on a wreck so that the ascent point can be located without surfacing.
This dive is the crux of the course. It allows the instructor to enable a comprehensively planned team dive, with pre-designated goals and objectives. Divers conduct Gas Management planning, to determine turn-points based on the rule of thirds, along with pre-calculation of their air consumption requirements. Previously made maps are used to plan the penetration, bearing in mind calculated turn-points, no-decompression limits and gas contingencies.
Wreck Training Dive Four B
Performance Requirements.
By the end of this dive, the student should be able to:
• Organize and conduct a wreck dive with a buddy, but with only minimal instructor assistance.
• Swim on the outside of a wreck, identifying and avoiding possible hazards.
• Navigate on a wreck so that the ascent point can be located without surfacing.
What can I say... it is a scuba dive around the outside of a wreck...
When I teach Wreck courses, I typically offer extra dives to reinforce the penetration training. I don't think that a single penetration dive on a guideline is sufficient to really enable the student to develop ingrained skills necessary to actually use that guideline in low/zero viz scenarios.
The extra dives consist of more guideline laying, team skills and practice penetrations. Depending on diver skill and the amount of post-course refinement dives available, then the practice can be extended to include certain emergency drills (lost line, lost buddy, line entanglement and broken line).
Here are my notes that I use to supplement the basic wreck manual, which give an idea of the real breadth of skills/knowledge that can be opened up on a good wreck course...
Advanced Wreck Diving - Workshop Notes - Scuba Tech Philippines
The biggest benefit of a well-run wreck course is that it provides you with the knowledge to make your own personal decisions and risk assessments about wreck diving and/or penetration. At the very least, you won't have to rely on a stranger (
a 'dive pro' of unknown competence) telling you what is safe for you. It allows you to take increased personal responsibility for your diving safety, improves your core scuba abilities and provides the basic skills to conduct simple penetrations.
If you really get addicted to wreck diving (as many of us do), then further training is needed before you can increase the complexity of the penetrations. PADI have clear limits on wreck penetration, such as
no more than 40m horizontal and vertical from the surface, within the 'light zone' and no restrictions (defined as spaces two small for 2 divers to pass side-by-side whilst air-sharing). Going beyond the basic wreck courses means technical diving, with double cylinders and a technical wreck course.
- and would stay out of wrecks unless a DM said, "swim through, from here to there" like I did once on one of my AOW dives. But I'd like to go in the wrecks - so is the Wreck cert worth it? Some friends (with way more experience) were like, aw, you don't need that. But I've read a few books about accidents and posts - I'd rather have some basic training at least.
