How many dives before you penetrated your first wreck?

[B.L. Justice]

For what it is worth, I am over 100 and I still haven't. Not comfortable with it yet.

 

[tc]

20ish.

 

[RJP]

Just curious how experienced people were when they began doing this. I'm a long way off myself.

Took a good wreck class which included light penetration around 30 dives; included running line, no mask, no light, etc.

Cavern cert around 70 dives or so. Pretty comfortable doing more complex penetration after that point.

At nearly four hundred dives now I'd say more than half have involved some level of penetration, including getting down under the grating and behind boilers in lower engine rooms and such in Truk Lagoon.

You've not lived until you're down around 150' and wayyyyy back in there!

 

[lamont]

Been to the Dawn or the Hauler? If not I can take you sometime. Both are actually penetratable and shallow enough so you don't scream through the gas. There's another wreck down there very close but I forget its name or if you can get inside.

Somehow I've missed going to the dawn multiple times, haven't had an opportunity for the Hauler.

 

[AndyNZ]

First "penetration" of a wreck for me was actually on dive number 6.... a longish swimthrough on the Niagara at Tobermory (Lake Huron).

Next was I think dive 12, my PADI AOW course where the instructor blatantly broke standards and took us on about a 15m penetration.

From then on, I was in and out of many purpose sunk wrecks like a rat up a drainpipe and never really thought about it.

Round about dive 200, I had a few "holy fcuk" moments that made me take stock and think a bit more about what I was doing. My awareness is about where it should be as a result - and am quite happy doing 70m+ penetrations (beyond the light zone) on wrecks like the Mikhail Lermontov.

I now teach both basic and more advanced wreck courses that are focused around that awareness and my "holy fcuk" moments... I wouldn't want anyone to ever think that they were bulletproof, as it's a real shock when you find you aren't.

 

[njedrn]

My first penetration was during my PADI Wreck course... about dive 15 or so. It seemed like minimal training, I would not feel comfortable going beyond the lightzone, but hey I'm still pretty wet behind the ears. I am however, very aware of the issues and possible problems associated with deep penetration.