Wreck Diving Vs Cave diving

Ok im going to start somthing here that i will probley get alotta opiouns on. For the few diviers out there that dive both Cave and Wreck, when i say Wreck im talking anything from 100' wrecks and going inside, trying lines, deco stops, everything, to Cave diving with silt out's,. as in wreck, strong water flow's, and also deco diving. From a stand point, which of the two do you think are more difficult and why. I have 3 dive buddies i dive with who are close friends, one thinkiing (hes a caver) that cave diver's put into a wreck atmosphere where be more better of a diver. I also have one friend when you compare Wreck to cave, brings up the point of changing current's, vis alway's changes, most of the time your at greater depth's, theres always a changing enviourment.
I would love to here from all the cavers and wreckers, not that were trying to prove who or which one is better, but try to balance the indiffernce in the two. From the few years ive been diving, i found ocean diving and wreck diving to be more challanging for myself, so far from the little cave diving i have done, i havn't seen anything challanging yet, always same water flow, same areas have same silt out's and so on, can someone who has experiance in both please enlighten me on more here. Thanks!

Wrecks and caves have some similarities and it is possible to use techniques from one in the other.

Wreck and caves are also very different. Assuming your training in one qualifies you for the other can get you killed.

I love wrecks. I love to penetrate them and to explore. I'm not a cave diver, nor do I ever expect to be one. Frankly, caves scare me to death. I have no desire to take cave training. As long as I am firmly outside the cave, I don't mind peeking inside, but I ain't going in.

Silly question.
Depends on the cave
Depends on the wreck
Depends on the day
Depends on the objective
Depends on the team
Rick

Rick,
I see you brought even depends for the whole team

Damn, that was great... Right outta left field...

still havnt gotten what im looking for, waiting for some Real answeres here......... but thanks so far for the replies

Uhhh... Sorry.

My official stance is... I couldn't tell you. I don't cave. I will eventually, but IMHO, "missing the wreck" - going down the anchor line and getting to the bottom to find nothing but sand - is exactly like caving. There's sand and water everywhere - just nothing else.

I really don't get the whole cave thing.

Now, I have ended up hanging out with a lot of cavers, because the skill set translates so well. Diving with a hard ceiling in a shipwreck just like it is in a cave. Precision buoyancy and running lines is identical. Of course, in a ship you're never further than maybe 100' from an exit, so in that sense caving is much more serious...

But having said that, whenever I talk to the cave guys, they look at me like I'm crazy and say, "You dive IN THE OCEAN? There's so many variables out there - it's so dangerous!" Whatever.

The bottom line - and an answer to your question - is that it really depends on the specific dive. It's true that open ocean diving has shifting currents, boat transportation, bottomless depths, and of course, salt water. There's also the marine life to contend with, which is basically a non-player in caves. Nonetheless, I personally am not comfortable with a three mile penetration, which you'll never get on a shipwreck.

I think if I were hard pressed to choose, I'd say that wrecking has more potential for failure, since:

1. There's a boat ride out there, which includes dealing with unpredictable weather
2. Marine life
3. Wrecks rust and fall apart; by comparison, the danger of a cave collapse is less
4. Salt's harder on your gear
5. Unpredictable dive conditions, including vis, current, temp, and depth.

Most divers I know consider the Andrea Doria dive to be the "Holy Grail" of diving. Some WKPP members I know would not even consider doing such a "dangerous" dive.

great Reply SeaJay, thank you for taking the time to write that, and there is some good info in there as well. I to also feel that Wreck diving is more Quote " unpredictable " where a cave seems to me a more stable envioment, and if your 3000' feet in, or 300' feet down, either way there is no exit, both will have what i think would be life threating situations. Both take ton's of experiance, and to me both Wreck and Cavers are the "Elite" diviers. Some day i hope to dive the Doria, and also pentrate a cave 2000' in, both are extreme diving, and both have my attention !!! Thank's for your reply, interesting thread, hope to get more like your answere!! Maybe we can even get Gensis to reply to this one!! Hehhee

I think Gen would be a great person to ask. He likes spearfishing (yuk), but often dives wrecks, from what I understand. He invited me to come dive with him (with his compressor... With his boat) on the Gulf... But I simply haven't taken him up on his offer yet.

One of the most respected divers I know is WreckWriter... I really like his style of writing and wrecking, from what I understand of it (never dived with him). Plus, he's living the Hemingway lifestyle that I'm so envious of. The other day he mentioned rust stains on his wing from wrecking... To me, a hopeless romantic, that is one of the coolest "marks of experience" there is. Of course, you're not supposed to impact the wreck at all, but hey... That's not the point to a romantic.

Yeah, many of the cavers I know can't believe that I'm willing to put myself in such an unpredictable environment. To me, that's part of the thrill... To them, it's an unnecessary risk. I'm not sure if they think it's "cool and extreme" or just plain stupid. Whatever it is, it must be managed.

I don't care. I love wrecking... And in my area, there's tons of virgin wrecks and reefs in less than 100' of clear, warm water. The only hard part about it is getting there... I'm having to invest in my own boat here to get any "real" wrecking in.

Next on my list of "must haves" is an underwater cutting tool. And I plan to enter GUE's Tech 1 for longer stays on the wrecks when I get there.

The cave stuff... Well... It's diving, so it's automatically cool... But it's not my passion. Maybe I'll feel differently as I progress into that arena.

Tomorrow I head up to Duke University to do my hyperbaric study... Then on Sunday on the way back I'll be stopping off to visit the Hunley in Charleston and see how she's desalinizing...

I cave dive and love it... but I live and teach near the Great Lakes and so do much, much more wreck diving.

Also, I've been lucky and have had the opportunity to dive some extra-ordinary caves and some top class wrecks (someone mentioned the Doria as the Holy Grail -- bull****. The Doria is a nice wreck but it ain't no holy grail and nor is it a Mount Everest dive... The journey to it is the toughest part of the "dive" but that's a debate for another time.)

Anyway, there are obvious differences in the environment.

Diving off a boat in two meter seas and 35 degree (celcius) sunshine but dressing for 4 degree water temperature at depth is different to putting your equipment together on a picnic table by the water's edge and knowing that the stairs are not going to be moving through a three meter vertical plane when you want to get outta the water. Visibilty and currents in the ocean and in large rivers (the St. Lawrence) and lakes are variable. The ceiling in a cave has few electricity cables and rotting wood ready to grab your manifold... and it tends to stay put.

There are some differences with equipment... I rarely use argon or seperate inflation system in a cave... don't carry a safety sausage in a cave... carry more than one reel or spool when caving... always carry primary and two backups in a cave... etc.

Apart from that, there really isn't much difference!

Doppler