May I pick your brains for a moment?

[NYCNaiad]

I'm going to give you more of a recreational diver opinion. I would never dive to 140 -150 and also wouldn't do or want to do wreck penetration by myself. To me, both of these things fall outside of recreational diving.

130 feet lots of times. Wreck penetration with a buddy? No problem.

Happy writing!

Side note: I'm a lefty writer as well.

 

[lowviz]

...//... My novel will have my main character doing a dive on a newly discovered wreck, and find some old vials of a pathogen. The character has just finished training to allow independent wreck penetrations from his instructor, who happens to be his recreational dive buddy. This character does all of this diving as a hobby, and is not interested in tech diving professionally. Diving will only be a small portion of the overall novel, but I want even the small parts to be as accurate as possible. ...//...

Fun thread.

Maybe stretch the drama out a bit by initially finding a clue of some obscure sort on the beach. "I wonder if this came from the new wreck they found?" Clues on the beach are nothing new, all divers relate to that. (Here is where my local Sirens live: The Faithful Steward Wreck & Delaware’s Coin Beach)

Then you can set about detailing the training/freelance progress of your main character's efforts at getting onto that wreck while being continually pulled out of his/her training/comfort zone...

 

[rongoodman]

A newly discovered wreck would not have been prepared for divers, unlike the ones in your experience, so there would probably be very limited means of ingress and egress, dangling cables and other entrapment hazards, collapsing structures, perhaps heavy silt or remnants of fuel and other hazardous materials. Lots of opportunities for your characters to get into trouble, but not something any rational untrained diver would undertake.

 

[Lefty Writer]

Wow!
I posted this thread and watched a little TV before heading to bed, hoping I'd get a response or two. I fire up the 'puter this morning and discover a HUGE trove of information. Thank you ALL!

I'm doing this on a laptop, so I'm not going to try to multi-quote all the fantastic suggestions.

One person asked about my target audience. I'm intending for this to be a medical techno-thriller, appealing to a wide audience. I wanted to add the diving element into my novel because, no surprise, I love diving and want others to see my passion in it as well. So, while I don't want to lose readers delving into a lot of technical diving description, I also don't want to lose any divers reading this book and thinking "No way, this is total BS! Besides, that guy is diving with neon yellow fins, so he's gonna die!" One of the biggest turnoffs for me, and this is such a trivial detail, is when an author refers to a magazine as a clip. After that, it's hard to take the author seriously when reading about anything firearms related after that. That's why I want to, ahem, do it right, on even the smaller parts of the story.

Since everyone has been so generous with their time and knowledge here, I'll expand a little on my general concept. That might also help refine what I'm asking. Following the adage to "write what you know," my character "Zach" works in infectious disease research. While on vacation, he and his tech/wreck instructor decide to dive this newly discovered wreck, a freighter. Zach is an experienced recreational diver, and has finished his advanced wreck diving training. His mentor found out about this wreck from some of his fellow tech divers. He thought Zach might find this to be a good way to gain experience. Much of this is backstory here, and may or may not make it into the final cut.

Anyway, while exploring an interior part of the wreck, Zach finds a crate of old vials, similar to what he's seen at work in their reference collection. Is that Cyrillic writing on the vials? What are they doing in a freighter in the Gulf of Mexico? Hhhmmmm, the plot thickens!

Zach takes the vials back to his employer (there's a reason for this that will come out as part of the plot) and this discovery will drive the rest of the novel.

At this point, depending on how the story develops, Zach might have to re-enter the wreck to find more samples. That, right now, is where the climax of the story will be.

So, that's why I was asking about the technical aspects of wreck penetration. I want to do it right, and let my non-diving readers get a glimpse of what we do and love.

Thanks again, y'all, an I truly appreciate your help! (And yes, I actually dive with bright green fins. Just ask KWS. )

 

[RyanT]

Maybe have your character also be deco procedures certified. 140-150 is certainly deep enough to warrant a little decompression with an additional higher O2 cylinder clipped on. It could add a little more interest/complexity without having to delve into so much detail that you could lose your non-diving reader.

BTW, I generally don't read fiction at all. The idea of diving combined with a medical mystery, however, sounds intriguing. I'd definitely give this book a read! Good luck with the project.

 

[doctormike]

While on vacation, he and his tech/wreck instructor decide to dive this newly discovered wreck, a freighter. Zach is an experienced recreational diver, and has finished his advanced wreck diving training. His mentor found out about this wreck from some of his fellow tech divers. He thought Zach might find this to be a good way to gain experience. Much of this is backstory here, and may or may not make it into the final cut.

To me, a non-tech diver who just finished advanced wreck training entering and exploring the interior of a non-purpose-sunk wreck at 150 feet seems ridiculous. Maybe put the wreck at 80 feet, or have him technically trained and experienced in wreck penetration, or have the vials spilled out in a rubble pile on the deck or something. "Experienced recreational diver" to me means no experience with overhead environments, deep diving, narcosis or staged decompression. And definitely don't have him do a "trust me" dive with his tech trained buddy.

 

[KeithG]

Howdy from SE Texas (and Happy Friday!)

As you can see from my username, Lefty Writer, writing is a passion of mine. I've written several short stories, and maintain a (somewhat) current blog. I've finally decided to take the plunge and start on my first novel. I got my PADI Rescue Diver card in 2015, and have been enjoying the relatively "tame" wrecks like the C-53, Kittiwake and Oriskany. My next courses will most likely be the beginning tech diving classes, and onward from there. That's where you fine folks come in. I need your expert advice on a few points to ensure my novel is accurate and plausible.

My novel will have my main character doing a dive on a newly discovered wreck, and find some old vials of a pathogen. The character has just finished training to allow independent wreck penetrations from his instructor, who happens to be his recreational dive buddy. This character does all of this diving as a hobby, and is not interested in tech diving professionally. Diving will only be a small portion of the overall novel, but I want even the small parts to be as accurate as possible.

For the story purposes, this wreck is about 140 - 150 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico and is relatively intact.

1. Would it be plausible if my character was trained on rebreathers instead of doubles? If so, what would be a suitable beginner rig? Something like the Poseidon Seven?
2. Regardless of system, would this be done with TriMix? I looked at my nitrox MOD table, and saw that Nx 25 might work. Yes? No?
3. Given this is in the Gulf of Mexico, would a dry suit be necessary, or could he get by with a 5 or 7 mil? He's a native born Texan, and dives primarily in the Caribbean. He's warm natured, and is generally tolerant of cooler water. Since I've only done safety stops (and a "deep stop" diving the O), a 3/2 was adequate for me. I have no basis for comparison for doing a long deco stop.
4. Anything obvious I'm missing?

I truly appreciate any insight you tech divers could provide.

Thanks in advance!

i would not sweat the diving details. Trying to adhere to science and reality can be a huge limitation on your story line. The majority or your audience does not know or care. This is a work of fiction, make up what ever you want.

Ignore science and write something that will entertain the masses. That is what everyone else does...

 

[Lefty Writer]

Thanks, everyone, for your most helpful ideas and insights. This thread has revealed several important aspects that will help me with my manuscript.

Y'all rock!

 

[lowviz]

...//... while exploring an interior part of the wreck, Zach finds a crate of old vials, similar to what he's seen at work in their reference collection. ...

I have a big problem with that. IRL, anything new will be scoured mercilessly by the local wreck rats. He is coming way too late to the party.

How about Zach loses control of his buoyancy and drops into the silt filled hold? While trying to find his inflator he feels something smooth and oddly shaped. He manages to inflate and free himself of the muck and pockets the vial...

 

[Diver0001]

Anyway, while exploring an interior part of the wreck, Zach finds a crate of old vials, similar to what he's seen at work in their reference collection. Is that Cyrillic writing on the vials? What are they doing in a freighter in the Gulf of Mexico? Hhhmmmm, the plot thickens!

You can't recover a "crate" of stuff without some preparation. Since he isn't expecting it, he couldn't have planned for recovering a crate of stuff on his first dive, so Zach will need to take one or two vials and then return for the rest of the crate at a later time after making a plan.

R..