Wreck Rating System

[shadragon]

I am signed up for a Wreck Diver course in September and while this gives you the knowledge to penetrate a wreck safely, it certainly does not prepare you for all wrecks in all conditions. You would need to practice on fairly "safe" wrecks initially until you had the experience, confidence and technique down to handle the more challenging ones.

I looked for a "Wreck Rating System", but could not find one. What I had envisioned was a points system that declared the level of competence needed to explore and penetrate a particular wreck. This would be based on other divers feedback based on their experience and knowledge. The obvious factors that would affect the score would be:

- Depth (top to bottom)
- Condition of the structure
- Water temperature
- Accessibility to the interior
- Environmental (Silt, viz, current, etc.)
- Entrapment danger (nets, fishing line, wiring, plumbing, etc)
- Orientation (How level or slanted it is)
- Recreational / Technical profile

Other factors might include:

- Proximity to medical assistance / chamber
- Local conditions (Boat traffic, fog, etc.)

That was just my first impression and certainly needs tweaking. A ship that was purposely sunk to form a reef and prepared for SCUBA divers (with debris removed and access holes cut), would have a lower score than one that sank in a hurricane 80 years ago, is in 170 feet of water with strong current and is upside down.

Obviously, ALL wrecks are dangerous places and they need to be approached with care and preparation, but it would be nice to have an idea on what wrecks were approachable with little experience and which should be avoided until you are really on your game...

 

[fire_diver]

Ummmmmm.....

If you are taking the "wreck diver" course, you are in no way prepared for penetration. If you have a really top notch instructor you may be ready for the baby-cavern equivalent of wreck diving, but that's it. You need a lot of mentoring with quality wreck divers before your ready "for real".

As for wreck "levels" it could change from day to day, hour to hour. A perfect condition wreck dive could be a killer once the currents change, silt blows in, vis dissapears, etc.

FD

 

[rockjock3]

There are rating systems in such things as rock climbing and skiiing. Even those rating systems can get quite subjective based on the opinion/experience of the one setting up the initial rating. I think with wrecks that with all the countless variables involved it would be pretty much impossible to set up any kind of reliable rating system.

My suggestion would be that when you decide to dive a new wreck you spend time researching it (books, internet, local sources such as divers and dive ops). You can get a lot of information from these sources to better guide you, based on your experience, as to the difficulty level of the wreck.

 

[daniel f aleman]

River rapids also have ratings based perceived difficulty. The problem is that ratings, in general, are from a mindset that is not applicable to underwater wrecks - as the OP will soon find out.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Ummmmmm.....

If you are taking the "wreck diver" course, you are in no way prepared for penetration. If you have a really top notch instructor you may be ready for the baby-cavern equivalent of wreck diving, but that's it. You need a lot of mentoring with quality wreck divers before your ready "for real".

As for wreck "levels" it could change from day to day, hour to hour. A perfect condition wreck dive could be a killer once the currents change, silt blows in, vis dissapears, etc.

FD

I'd second these thoughts. I just finished a recreational wreck course with a VERY good instructor (ppo2_diver here on SB) who pushed us way beyond basic PADI stuff. Even with that I feel it was only a baby step into wreck diving, especially with regard to penetration. IMO true wreck penetration of any significance should only be done once (1) you're diving doubles and a canister light, (2) you've had Adv. Nitrox/Deco Procedures and then (3) a technical wreck course. Another option would be ALOT of mentoring with experienced wreck divers that covers essentially the same information.

 

[Gary D.]

The obvious factors that would affect the score would be:

- Depth (top to bottom)
- Condition of the structure
- Water temperature
- Accessibility to the interior
- Environmental (Silt, viz, current, etc.)
- Entrapment danger (nets, fishing line, wiring, plumbing, etc)
- Orientation (How level or slanted it is)
- Recreational / Technical profile

Other factors might include:

- Proximity to medical assistance / chamber
- Local conditions (Boat traffic, fog, etc.)

That was just my first impression and certainly needs tweaking.

Almost everything you posted here can and often does change daily if not hourly.
Depth may vary a little but normally not much except in extreme tidal areas.
Condition can change rapidly because of environmental and/or man made issues.
Temps in some areas vary quite a bit.
Accessibility to the interior can also be at the mercy of the environment.
Environmental (Silt, viz, current, etc.) This can change several times throughout a dive.
Entrapment danger (nets, fishing line, wiring, plumbing, etc). This is another one that is subject to rapid changes depending in location.
Orientation (How level or slanted it is). Anyone who dives wrecks has seen this change from one day to the next. The Key's are a good example of wrecks being one way one day and moved around the next. Storms can move some mighty big objects quite a distance.

Unlike a rock face or in most casesd river rapids you just may not know what's going on until you get down there.

Gary D.

 

[shadragon]

True. Yet dive ops classify boat and shore dives as Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced today with the same shifting conditions. I am not saying it will be perfect, but something is better than nothing. Anyone who thinks well, it says here it is only a 2 out of 10 difficulty and then walks into 8 foot swells and storm surge should not be diving in any conditions.

 

[Walter]

I am not saying it will be perfect, but something is better than nothing.

I disagree. If you are ready for wreck penetration, you're ready to assess the wreck condition yourself.

 

[Crowley]

The PADI wreck spec, as the Hoosier said - is pretty much just a "baby" step into the world of wreck penetration. You don't go in beyond the light zone, and no more than 40 metres linear distance from the surface. Like all the PADI specs, it's an introduction to the basics, based on a recreational diver's perspective, which "qualifies" you to do reasonably easy wrecks in reasonably easy conditions. The depth, viz and other factors are the individual diver's responsibility, but those are taught by all agencies whatever the rating.

Clearly, there's a whole world of difference between say - the Thistlegorm in Egypt which is easy and 26 metres (ish) and the Andrea Doria which is deep, dark and kills people. There are Advanced Wreck courses available - from (er probably) PSAI and other agencies which will help but all divers, regardless of their level of experience, should know (and be taught) that wreck diving has its own unique set of hazards and they DO vary from wreck to wreck. Some of the local ships in my world are brilliant when conditions are good and deadly if they're not.

I agree that a wreck "rating" would not be a bad thing. Not everybody is advanced wreck/trimix/twinset/deco certified and since most of us are in the business of educating people to dive regularly, safely and enjoyably, I don't think its unreasonable to have them classified to experience levels.

Safe diving always, don't get too wrecked!

C.