Key's Wreck Etiquette

A thread in the Basic Scuba Discussions addresses diving the Speigel Grove in current. Some SB members are advising to wear gloves and go hand over hand along the wreck when necessary. I did some dives on the Duanne and Bibb 8 years ago and I do not remember being advised to grab the wrecks. My posts on that thread are reef hugging if you have to touch you should not be there eco babble; that's the way I was raised both above and below the water.

As I am located in Hawaii and the main proponent of hand to hand combat diving is located in the UK, we could use some Conch chowder to chew on.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/232587-diving-current.html

Please feel free to correct whatever nonsense you see, both in the above thread and here on this one.

Aloha

If you don't hold onto the Duane or the Grove, you will get blown off of it a lotof the time due to the current. Gloves only protect your hands.

I have been to both in significant current and found that once you got to the bottom of the mooring line, using the structure of the wrecks to hide from the current was a common way to negotiate the dive. Obviously there are areas of the wreck that are not accessible this way, but do you have to go to those areas every dive day? My question really boils down to; is grabbing these wrecks the typical and acceptable way to do the dives?

Do the dive briefings on the charter boats include "pull yourself hand over hand when necessary"? Are any of the operators telling divers that "if you have to pull yourself hand by hand to do the wreck you should abort the dive?"

I have been on the Grove and the Duane when the current was so bad it was like diving in a firehose. On both occasions the dive operator advised us of the current during the pre-dive briefings. On neither occasion did they suggest that we should abort the dive because of the current. They never told us to go hand-over-hand, but they didn't tell us not to tuoch the wreck either.

At times you MUST hold on or you will get blown off the wreck, but not all the time. Sometime if the current is strong and you can tuck in close to the wreck and avoid the current it depends where you are located on the wreck in comparison to the direction of the current. When you do have to hold look at where you put your hands down as to avoid as much damage to the corals growing on the wreck as possible.

But at other times, no/very little current and you can do/go wherever your skill level will allow you to do.

I was on the grove last year when the Capt told us the same thing to usse the hand over hand method. The reason he used was that divers are not the only ones to use the wreck. Anglers use it also and that there is a good chance that there are some undiscovered fish hooks on the down lines. So rather than slide your hands on the down line and find a fish hook the hard way, ( 2 of us found hooks on the way down that dive) if you use a hand over hand method, you are less likely to find a hook.

As far as the wreck itself, there are times on the wreck you will need to hold on. Other wise the boat may find you off the Carolina coast. However changing sides of the wrech usually solves that problem.There are also times when there is a current on the surface, but not on the wreck.The only way to know for sure is to hit the water.

I took a wreck course down in Marathon this past November, and I was told to bring gloves, and wear them whenever I dove on a wreck.

We've been on the Grove where we were flags in the wind on the mooring line, and zero current on deck. However, we've seen that change *during* a dive, while still on the deck. In those cases, if you don't hold on to *something* you can find yourself in Bermuda, and the only way to get back to your mooring line (of which there are 8 on the Grove) is hand over hand.

halemano:

A thread in the Basic Scuba Discussions addresses diving the Speigel Grove in current. Some SB members are advising to wear gloves and go hand over hand along the wreck when necessary. I did some dives on the Duanne and Bibb 8 years ago and I do not remember being advised to grab the wrecks. My posts on that thread are reef hugging if you have to touch you should not be there eco babble; that's the way I was raised both above and below the water.

As I am located in Hawaii and the main proponent of hand to hand combat diving is located in the UK, we could use some Conch chowder to chew on.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/232587-diving-current.html

Please feel free to correct whatever nonsense you see, both in the above thread and here on this one.

Aloha

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I must be missing something. Can you tell me why you are not suppose to have contact with this particular wreck? Is it covered with coral or something else that is protected? It would seem from your avatar picture the last thing you would be concerned with is touching the delicate enviroment.

I'm a PADI Instructor and have been diving primarily Wrecks in South Florida since the mid-eighties. I'm also a certified trimix diver, who has dove most of the deeper wrecks in South Florida and the Keys.

Personally, I feel as though too many of the dive shops in the Keys take the whole "don't mess with the enviroment" thing a bit too far!

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE THAT WE SHOULD MAKE A REASONABLE EFFORT TO PROTECT THE UNDERWATER ENVIROMENT - BUT LET'S NOT THROW COMMON SENSE AND SAFETY OUT THE DOOR BECAUSE OF THAT!

When it comes to South Florida wreck diving, given all the sharp edges and strong currents, divers need to use their hands on the wrecks. As has already been mentioned within this thread - Should divers touch the wreck if not needed? Of course not! should divers be cautios and look to see where they are placing their hands to ensure they don't damage the wreck, or put their hand on something dangerous? Absolutely!

In wreck diving, which often entails being subjected to tight quarters, using your hands to pull your way through passages and along the wreck is part of standard protocol, because otherwise, you kick up the silt and/or scrape yourself on the wreck.

Just as with everything in life, a bit of moderation, instead of trying to apply rules that apply to another enviroment to a setting where it does not apply, goes a long way!

Just my 2 cents.