I have no advanced wreck certification. Most of the wrecks I have dived are pretty simple, well-lighted structures without enough silt to cause a real problem in even the worst of cases. This spring I had some experiences that lead me to ask a question to you more experienced wreck divers about protocols related to lines.
I was taking trimix instruction in Florida, and I did a number of relatively deep wrecks as a part of my training. Most of these were not very complex either. There was generally good light and nearly zero chance of getting lost in anything. Some of them, though, had lines in them already, laid by some diver in the distant past. My instructor, and some of the other divers on the boats I was on, grumbled about them. They were in the way; they were entanglement hazards. My instructor, who had no cave training, talked as if it were a cave diving idea run amok, and he said it as something of a challenge, knowing I was a certified cave diver. He said that if it were up to him, he would cut them out.
In caves, we generally see two kinds of lines. Some lines are permanent placements that have been carefully laid by professionals. Others are temporary lines that are removed when the owner is done with them.
The lines I saw in those wrecks were neither of these. They were poorly laid, with none of the characteristics of permanent lines. (No arrows, for example.) They had obviously been laid by someone long ago and then abandoned.
If they had been in a cave, they would have been removed long ago. My trimix instructor (and the others) were afraid to do that, though, because of some sense that you are not supposed to do that. I told him if it were up to me I would have taken them out.
So, for you experienced wreck divers, what do you do when you find line like this in a wreck?
I was taking trimix instruction in Florida, and I did a number of relatively deep wrecks as a part of my training. Most of these were not very complex either. There was generally good light and nearly zero chance of getting lost in anything. Some of them, though, had lines in them already, laid by some diver in the distant past. My instructor, and some of the other divers on the boats I was on, grumbled about them. They were in the way; they were entanglement hazards. My instructor, who had no cave training, talked as if it were a cave diving idea run amok, and he said it as something of a challenge, knowing I was a certified cave diver. He said that if it were up to him, he would cut them out.
In caves, we generally see two kinds of lines. Some lines are permanent placements that have been carefully laid by professionals. Others are temporary lines that are removed when the owner is done with them.
The lines I saw in those wrecks were neither of these. They were poorly laid, with none of the characteristics of permanent lines. (No arrows, for example.) They had obviously been laid by someone long ago and then abandoned.
If they had been in a cave, they would have been removed long ago. My trimix instructor (and the others) were afraid to do that, though, because of some sense that you are not supposed to do that. I told him if it were up to me I would have taken them out.
So, for you experienced wreck divers, what do you do when you find line like this in a wreck?