How to appreciate Wall diving ?

[animian2002]

I just got back from a diving trip to Sipadan, Malaysia .Even though I had a great time there,I still have the feeling that I have yet to really appreciate/explore the beauty of wall diving.:15a:

For those who have been to Sipadan will know that, most of the time, one can hardly see the bottom (the drop off is around 600m down) and it is something unique to me, because ever since I started diving, all those sites I have went to, I can ACTUALLY see the bottom :11ztongue

And so when I arrived at Sipadan and begin my diving vacation, I felt kind of helpless because I have no idea what to look out for when facing the wall.To make thing worst, the unpredictiable current always come at the wrong timing, ie before I can finish looking at one spot, I'm being swept to another spot (But I kind of enjoyed the drift diving) and diving horizontal also gave me a tired neck.

Given the unpredictiable current and the wall on the side, how can one actually see anything things other than those fishes that swam freely around us and those super big and unique nudibranch that stand out from it surrounding reef :06:

What do you guys look out for when doing wall diving :06:

 

[mattengstrom]

I've been wall diving off of Grand Cayman on two separate vacations so far. Why do I like it the best? Well, I'll try.

First, there's something about that feeling of heading over the lip of the wall and having the bottom just disappear. I think it's the closest feeling to actual flight that I'll ever experience.

Second, the blue. That color is something that's totally amazing to me, and very unique. I've never seen anything quite like it anywhere else.

As far as "stuff to see" goes, the walls themselves are full of life - at least where I've been. My reef biology ID skills are, well, um, "under development" but the black corals and others are beautiful. And if you keep one eye out to the open ocean, you may get lucky and see a shark or spotted eagle ray or something else large cruise by.

 

[grazie42]

Being from Sweden where viz ranging from 5-10 meters is the norm not seing the bottom is something I´m very used to...

If there´s any way to dive that uses less energy then walldiving, I can´t think of it...
All I do when wall/drift diving (in tropical waters) is descend, spend about an hour just drifting in the current either sitting (sometimes in a lotus-like position), standing or horizontal (lying down) then when I either run out of air or get too cold I ascend. I wouldn´t use less energy if they put me on a conveyerbelt. Sure sometimes you see something you´re really interested in or that you´d like a picture of and you actually have to fin a while but I usually manage without exerting myself to much

As for what there is to see? (forgive me for the coming lack of anything resembling proper names of actual species of fish or veggies)
I like to look for "sneak fishes" stonefish, crocodilefish and those kinds of thingies fall into that category (see ACTUAL names right there) also nudibranches (if that´s not a funny name then what is?!) also crustacians, little wiggly things and other types of macro features is what I like the best. Also if you turn around once in a while you may be surprised to see dolphins, sharks, turtles and other neat stuff just cruising along and sometimes looking like they´re trying to figure out if you´re edible or not

How can you not love walldiving?!

 

[Albion]

You didnt see any huge turtles on the wall, or sharks patrolling it, hmm, what about the bumphead parrots trying to sleep during your night dive. How about turning round to look at the blue and watch the baracudas and jacks, or maybe some tuna. So much to do during wall dives, also try getting your eyes tuned into the scorpionfish as you float past

 

[animian2002]

I have seen all those that you guys mentioned, but I still have a feeling that I'm missing something esp when it come to wall diving, guess I have to go have a few more times before I know What I'm missing

 

[diver_paula]

I've found going fairly slowly and looking in nooks and crannies is fun. & the small stuff is usually a good find.

 

[LoneWolf]

I am always just a little bit nervous. It's not because I am not comfortable with my skills, it is just that the part of the wall even farther down always seems to call to me, like the call of the Siren. "Just a few more feet, just a few more feet". I probably spend as much time looking at my depth gauge on a wall dive as I do looking at the wall!

 

[partridge]

98% of my dives are wall dives. One of the great drawbacks of a wall dive is the reliability. It's not like you can say let's dive here so we are sure to see this type of fish. Then again this almost guarantees that you can dive the same spot every week and it will always be different.

One thing I have tried that works a lot of the time is to descend to your planned depth in blue water away from the wall. Then when you reach your planned bottom swim to the wall and go up. I have seen all the shy fish this way. It is a little eerie at first but you get used to it.

 

[IndigoBlue]

I dove Great White Wall in Fiji, which is your average wall dive, not particularly deep, just too deep to dive all the way down recreationally.

Your buoyancy should be perfect, for a wall dive. One way to measure that is get into your freediving gear (no tank nor B/C) at the pool, then set your weight belt so that you are just neutral with your dive skins or 3mm suit. Then add 6 lbs for the ocean, and if you are diving with aluminum tanks, add another 6 lbs. For me, that works out to 14 lbs (2 lbs makes me neutral in my dive skins, 6 lbs more for the ocean, and 6 lbs still more for the single aluminum rental tank). Your air bladder (wing or vest) will be empty towards the end of your dive, and your buoyancy will be pretty good all though the wall dive.

What is fun about it is free-floating off the wall. You can refer to your gauge as a reference, or you can watch the wall itself. The beautiful butterfly fishes are also a major attraction, as well. But the free-floating aspect seems like flying, and that is what makes it fun.

Better have good buoyancy though, first.

 

[UCFDiver85]

I dove the famous walls in Grand Cayman. The coolest aspect for me, was just knowing that I was hovering over 2000 feet of water, not knowing what "lurks" beneath me. Not only that, but the wall was full of life. Perhaps the BEST feature of this particular wall was the way you get there. At about 60 feet there is a tunnel that slopes down and takes you through huge columns of coral. It feels like you're swimming through an underwater canyon. Finally, the pathway takes you to the end of the coral formation, and opens up to the open blue water and the wall itself. It was amazing.