Sweat begins to bead on my brow as I look up to check the rest of the group.
As I watch them clip in their life support I feel re-‐assured that if an emergency was
to occur these people would be able to handle it appropriately. I watch them do the
mandatory checks. Checking that nothing is tangled or entrapped. Blindly feeling for
all of the gear they need, or hope they don’t have to use. Everything backed up,
sometimes tripled.
Back gas on. Check.
Deco bottles pressurized and turned off. Check.
All regs functioning properly. Check.
Lights. Check
Now comes the hard part. Standing up with over 100lbs of gear and shuffling
to the exit. Every diver does a modified S drill to reaffirm his primary can be donated. We all line up at the exits together as this will be a “hot drop”. More waiting means more sweating. We wait until the captain gives the word. This way as we do a free descent “hopefully” the current will take us straight to the wreck.
“Dive, dive, dive.” The captain calls.
Just like that we make the leap into the ocean. Everyone splashes at the same time and immediately starts checking their gear. Once a quick check has been done they look around for the group. At this point it probably wouldn’t make much difference. One of the joys of technical diving is the confidence your training allows you to have. If a person had a problem at this point they could abort their dive and surface. Better now than below.
We descend with no way of knowing if we’re going in the right direction. It’s 200ft to the bottom and you don’t have any frame of reference except the other divers and they’re moving the same as you. Halfway down the bottom begins to appear. At 150 you can make out the sand patterns. With the bottom visible you begin looking for the fish. If you’re close to a wreck you can normally follow the fish and find your shipwreck.
At 200ft you will get about 20 minutes of bottom time for 45 minutes of “deco”. Time is not something to be wasted at this point, but you don’t want to rush anything too much either. Problems have to be dealt with quickly in this environment, as they tend to have a snowballing effect. We planned to offset one of the most common problems by diving on trimix. It has worked as it’s supposed to and narcosis hasn’t reared its funny head.
Now we are here and we do a check to make sure everyone’s okay. Our dive was planned topside and the team leader begins leading the dive. Each member of the team is responsible for a different part of the dive, but each diver should be aware of his or her own dive profile.
Diving the deeper wrecks allows some sights not seem by to many people. Sharks are circling. Fish seem to be bigger and less afraid. And the reason I do it is for the wreck itself. I try to imagine a crew aboard and working the ship I casually swim through. As wrecks spend a long time underwater it becomes harder to distinguish features on them. I try to imagine and figure out which room is which. Some ships make me feel sorry for the crew. Having to live in such cramped conditions.
Back gas on. Check.
Deco bottles pressurized and turned off. Check.
All regs functioning properly. Check.
Lights. Check
Now comes the hard part. Standing up with over 100lbs of gear and shuffling
to the exit. Every diver does a modified S drill to reaffirm his primary can be donated. We all line up at the exits together as this will be a “hot drop”. More waiting means more sweating. We wait until the captain gives the word. This way as we do a free descent “hopefully” the current will take us straight to the wreck.
“Dive, dive, dive.” The captain calls.
Just like that we make the leap into the ocean. Everyone splashes at the same time and immediately starts checking their gear. Once a quick check has been done they look around for the group. At this point it probably wouldn’t make much difference. One of the joys of technical diving is the confidence your training allows you to have. If a person had a problem at this point they could abort their dive and surface. Better now than below.
We descend with no way of knowing if we’re going in the right direction. It’s 200ft to the bottom and you don’t have any frame of reference except the other divers and they’re moving the same as you. Halfway down the bottom begins to appear. At 150 you can make out the sand patterns. With the bottom visible you begin looking for the fish. If you’re close to a wreck you can normally follow the fish and find your shipwreck.
At 200ft you will get about 20 minutes of bottom time for 45 minutes of “deco”. Time is not something to be wasted at this point, but you don’t want to rush anything too much either. Problems have to be dealt with quickly in this environment, as they tend to have a snowballing effect. We planned to offset one of the most common problems by diving on trimix. It has worked as it’s supposed to and narcosis hasn’t reared its funny head.
Now we are here and we do a check to make sure everyone’s okay. Our dive was planned topside and the team leader begins leading the dive. Each member of the team is responsible for a different part of the dive, but each diver should be aware of his or her own dive profile.
Diving the deeper wrecks allows some sights not seem by to many people. Sharks are circling. Fish seem to be bigger and less afraid. And the reason I do it is for the wreck itself. I try to imagine a crew aboard and working the ship I casually swim through. As wrecks spend a long time underwater it becomes harder to distinguish features on them. I try to imagine and figure out which room is which. Some ships make me feel sorry for the crew. Having to live in such cramped conditions.
As we swim through we systematically check our tank pressures, bottom
time and fellow divers. Deeper wrecks aren’t prepped the same way as some of the
shallower wrecks. If at all. Cables, nets, wires and sharp edges are always trying to
reach out and entangle a diver.
We reach our allotted bottom time and the signal to go up is passed around. One of our team pulls a lift bag from his back. He quickly attaches a line and shoots it to the surface. We hopefully will have a boring 45 minutes of Deco ahead of us. As we reach certain depths we perform gas switches to accelerate our decompression time. All the while being taken wherever the ocean wants to carry us. Drift deco has it’s own challenges, but this day the ocean is gentle and our stops are uneventful.
People often ask why I enjoy and am willing to risk so much to do technical diving. It can be difficult to explain to people that don’t share the sense of adventure that gets most people into diving in the first place. It’s not pretty or overly colorful like a reef. Pretty fishes don’t swim that deep usually. It can be incredibly dangerous and very expensive. So, why do it? Personally it’s for a couple of reasons.
First, I love wreck diving. Be it shallow or deep. Intact or busted. I just love wrecks. The story, the history and yes the dangers.
Second, would be to have more options to dive. I tend to live in places where I dive. While in enjoy the regular sites they can get a little repetitive. I like to have a little variety.
Third, would be the challenge of Tec diving. I rather enjoy all the gear and planning that goes into each dive. The pre-‐planning that goes into each dive and the dangers that can come from not following the plan. Taking only what is necessary to complete the dive safely.
Last would be the company. Tec divers are, for the most part, always trying to better themselves. Be it through continued training or simply rearranging their gear configuration.
There aren’t many rules set in stone with Tec diving. Generally if you do something different from other divers, but can explain why in a way that makes sense, it will be tolerated if not accepted. Tec divers are always learning from each other as they are the people pushing the boundaries so they are the ones making the rules. Most rules come from tragedy or arrogance of others.
Tec diving isn’t for everyone. It requires discipline, proper training and a hefty investment. For most people it isn’t about having your computer say 300ft, but for the adventure and challenge. Exploring something new or even finding something lost.
We reach our allotted bottom time and the signal to go up is passed around. One of our team pulls a lift bag from his back. He quickly attaches a line and shoots it to the surface. We hopefully will have a boring 45 minutes of Deco ahead of us. As we reach certain depths we perform gas switches to accelerate our decompression time. All the while being taken wherever the ocean wants to carry us. Drift deco has it’s own challenges, but this day the ocean is gentle and our stops are uneventful.
People often ask why I enjoy and am willing to risk so much to do technical diving. It can be difficult to explain to people that don’t share the sense of adventure that gets most people into diving in the first place. It’s not pretty or overly colorful like a reef. Pretty fishes don’t swim that deep usually. It can be incredibly dangerous and very expensive. So, why do it? Personally it’s for a couple of reasons.
First, I love wreck diving. Be it shallow or deep. Intact or busted. I just love wrecks. The story, the history and yes the dangers.
Second, would be to have more options to dive. I tend to live in places where I dive. While in enjoy the regular sites they can get a little repetitive. I like to have a little variety.
Third, would be the challenge of Tec diving. I rather enjoy all the gear and planning that goes into each dive. The pre-‐planning that goes into each dive and the dangers that can come from not following the plan. Taking only what is necessary to complete the dive safely.
Last would be the company. Tec divers are, for the most part, always trying to better themselves. Be it through continued training or simply rearranging their gear configuration.
There aren’t many rules set in stone with Tec diving. Generally if you do something different from other divers, but can explain why in a way that makes sense, it will be tolerated if not accepted. Tec divers are always learning from each other as they are the people pushing the boundaries so they are the ones making the rules. Most rules come from tragedy or arrogance of others.
Tec diving isn’t for everyone. It requires discipline, proper training and a hefty investment. For most people it isn’t about having your computer say 300ft, but for the adventure and challenge. Exploring something new or even finding something lost.
