Dangerous psychology- Diving beyond one's training

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I pursued cave training for similar reasons. I had a passing interest in caves, but my first purpose was to prepare for overhead penetrations of wrecks and artificial reefs. I was shocked to find that cave penetration is much safer than wreck penetration. In fact, I now believe that I am not yet ready for wreck penetration, as in many ways each wreck dive is an exploration dive. Wrecks are subject to the conditions of their environment, which can effect significant changes on the internal structure of the wreck. Unlike most caves, wrecks begin a depth and stay deep, forcing the team to incur significant gas loading for even the shortest penetration. Furthermore, this decompression must be held in open water without visual reference, and deco gases must be carried throughout the dive, exposing the team to a possible CNS tox.
 
I find the two things to be very different. Wreck diving, you're usually in open water for most of the dive, and even inside the wreck, you're never that far from open water. There's definitely a greater risk of entanglement and ripping a piece of equipment in a wreck as opposed to most caves, but being able to go UP solves a lot of diving problems.
 
I find the two things to be very different. Wreck diving, you're usually in open water for most of the dive, and even inside the wreck, you're never that far from open water. There's definitely a greater risk of entanglement and ripping a piece of equipment in a wreck as opposed to most caves, but being able to go UP solves a lot of diving problems.

I suppose for me, with cave diving you have to get it right all through the dive, there is NO room for error, hence the strong emphasis on continual training, following procedures and consistency. This leads to divers being very well trained and predictable in their diving and approach.

With wreck diving, its something you can either do or not do while doing a normal open water dive. Whilst the training is set up for consistency, I think by the nature of the diving, people tend to do it "their way" more than the "set Way" as per cave diving. Although the risks in some regards are more than cave diving, it can benignly suck people in and the go further than they intended, past their skill level or past the point where level headed people would stop. On face value, to an unskilled diver the risks aren’t always apparent.

In cave diving it’s been drummed into people that it’s high risk. Anyone in the public arena knows this and it has created a feeling of danger and concern (and rightly so). Wreck diving has the mystique and the thought of treasure or finding something new, special etc that suck the unwary in. The risks are not often discussed in discussions with the general public.

Simply put, the risks are the risks and that’s what’s the important thing to concentrate on. The rest is the window shopping we do along the way.
 
With wreck diving, its something you can either do or not do while doing a normal open water dive. Whilst the training is set up for consistency, I think by the nature of the diving, people tend to do it "their way" more than the "set Way" as per cave diving. Although the risks in some regards are more than cave diving, it can benignly suck people in and the go further than they intended, past their skill level or past the point where level headed people would stop. On face value, to an unskilled diver the risks aren’t always apparent.

That depends a lot on how "wrecked" the wreck is.

A pile of boards stuck together in a vague boat-shape where you can exit almost anywhere is pretty safe.

A newer steel or fiberglass boat with passageways and no exits except the way you came in can be as big a killer as a cave, and caves tend to not have dangling cables and jagged rusted parts.

flots.
 
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That depends a lot on how "wrecked" the wreck is.

A pile of boards stuck together in a vague boat-shape where you can exit almost anywhere is pretty safe.

A newer steel or fiberglass boat with passageways and no exits except the way you came in can be as big a killer as a cave, and caves tend to not have dangling cables and jagged rusted parts.

flots.

And thats the problem, many of the wrecks are simple and so people treat them with contempt. On reading of one death in a wreck, the first penetrated into the room, not realising he was stirring up silt, second guy followed to try and keep up, when they turend around it was silted out. One minute a room with some light through the holes, next nothing just black.

I have seen rooms in ships and they seem so innocuous, so very inviting. You cant see the risks until you are in it, cables, silt, multiple passage ways etc.
 
And thats the problem, many of the wrecks are simple and so people treat them with contempt. On reading of one death in a wreck, the first penetrated into the room, not realising he was stirring up silt, second guy followed to try and keep up, when they turend around it was silted out. One minute a room with some light through the holes, next nothing just black.

I have seen rooms in ships and they seem so innocuous, so very inviting. You cant see the risks until you are in it, cables, silt, multiple passage ways etc.

... and strings of rust hanging down from the ceiling that turn the water opaque the moment your exhaust bubbles touch them ... gotta remember to look up before entering a room ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 

I see this in our industry (the electricity generation industry) and can see potential disasters. This is a replica of us. I agree that this clearly applies to diving, go to 80m on air once, twice, several times and all was well each time, soon its normal.
 
Rusticles are cool.

Exhaust bubbles? Nahh!

I went to one of those Experience Rebreather workshops once. Fell in love with a rEVO. And decided it's like a beautiful young woman ... attractive as hell, but at this point in my life the effort would probably kill me.

A man's got to know his limitations ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 

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