CamG
Contributor
Greetings fellow divers this past week end my buddy and I planned and executed our first real wreck dive. It was on Lake Huron and the conditions were great.
We actually did some research and one set up dive to make sure the information was good. As luck would have it the next day we dove the site again with plenty of gas for a nice progressive penetration.
I was very pleased with the dive and did not press to far but chose to limit the dive to only several turns and no tight restrictions. It was a learning dive for a real slow take in all in dive coming soon. I saw some very interesting items that were beaconing me to ponder but the plan was to ensure the passage not to touch anything.
There were quite a few large Burbot or fresh water Cod. They were not impressed with our lights and I was looking at them with hungary eyes! These would have went well with some hot oil.
Over all it was a great dive with a run time of about 59 min. That we turned with plenty of gas. It was amazing how much less gas we burnt being inside and out of the slight current.
I have been pondering some questions of structural integrity as the wreck was sunk in 1913. There was some reports of rivets falling dislodged from exhaust from OC.
I am being very cautious and conservative thinking before acting.
The ambient light that was available from cracks and port holes was amazing!
The few passages that were total pitch black were not that silted making it very nice to explore. The dive plan objective was reached.
Our next dive is to travel from stern to the bulk head in the forward section of the bow. We have made the passage connections and found some interesting places to look at along the way.
What advice would those of you with penetration experience give to me?
I am Adv. Nitrox / Deco. and an Intro. Cave diver been diving doubles for about two years. I am very familiar with gas management and run most dives on the rule of thirds even OW dives. I understand that an overhead environment requires more advanced dive planning and a lot of forethought.
How many of you run lines on all dives and what criteria do you use to determine if you do or not. If not much silt and a lot of ambient light in most areas what would you recommend?
Progressive penetration verses running a line? I have trained for both but just wonder what criteria some of the experienced divers use to determine what method to use and where. It is obvious that silt is a major factor and the ambient light another.
Thanks for the information and thoughts.
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
We actually did some research and one set up dive to make sure the information was good. As luck would have it the next day we dove the site again with plenty of gas for a nice progressive penetration.
I was very pleased with the dive and did not press to far but chose to limit the dive to only several turns and no tight restrictions. It was a learning dive for a real slow take in all in dive coming soon. I saw some very interesting items that were beaconing me to ponder but the plan was to ensure the passage not to touch anything.
There were quite a few large Burbot or fresh water Cod. They were not impressed with our lights and I was looking at them with hungary eyes! These would have went well with some hot oil.
Over all it was a great dive with a run time of about 59 min. That we turned with plenty of gas. It was amazing how much less gas we burnt being inside and out of the slight current.
I have been pondering some questions of structural integrity as the wreck was sunk in 1913. There was some reports of rivets falling dislodged from exhaust from OC.
I am being very cautious and conservative thinking before acting.
The ambient light that was available from cracks and port holes was amazing!
The few passages that were total pitch black were not that silted making it very nice to explore. The dive plan objective was reached.
Our next dive is to travel from stern to the bulk head in the forward section of the bow. We have made the passage connections and found some interesting places to look at along the way.
What advice would those of you with penetration experience give to me?
I am Adv. Nitrox / Deco. and an Intro. Cave diver been diving doubles for about two years. I am very familiar with gas management and run most dives on the rule of thirds even OW dives. I understand that an overhead environment requires more advanced dive planning and a lot of forethought.
How many of you run lines on all dives and what criteria do you use to determine if you do or not. If not much silt and a lot of ambient light in most areas what would you recommend?
Progressive penetration verses running a line? I have trained for both but just wonder what criteria some of the experienced divers use to determine what method to use and where. It is obvious that silt is a major factor and the ambient light another.
Thanks for the information and thoughts.
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
