One of the questions I hear most often from newly certified tech divers is: “So where by can I put these skills to utilize?” Answer: Lots of places, which includes a lot of you already know and love.
Tech diving isn’t often about going to extreme depths or locales–sometimes it is about staying longer at common sport diving depths and websites. Believe of it this way: technical expertise let recreational divers to expand the boundaries of wherever, how, how deep and how long they dive. Several “traditional” recreational web-sites are also superb tech dives–but the tech diver enjoys a thorough look, even though divers following no-deco depths and times get only a brief glimpse.
With that in mind, here are 10 good dives for beginning techies.
Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman
Dive with all the hammerheads of Cocos Island’s Dirty Rock on a semi-closed rebreather to have more base time and less decompression.
Depth: 120 to 160 feet.
Recommended teaching: Complete decompression and innovative nitrox.
Bloody Bay Wall is renowned for its vibrant reefs and an abundance of tropical marine life at conventional sport diving depths. Effectively, guess what: It is pretty great down deeper, too.
The wall drops effectively over 1,000 ft, but for the starting tech diver, I suggest a dive to 150 feet for 20 mins, leaving you with only nine moments of deco on air. If you’re innovative nitrox certified, it is possible to gain a physiological benefit by breathing 38 % nitrox (offered from shops on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac) on the deco stops. Another option: Make the entire dive on 27 % nitrox and cut your deco time to six mins.
Dirty Rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Depth: 140 feet.
Proposed training: 100 % decompression, advanced nitrox and rebreather certifications.
The next hot spot on our list–Dirty Rock–is predator central. A deepwater pinnacle off Cocos Island, it is known for its schooling hammerhead sharks along with a prolific list of marine life, which includes eagle and manta rays, whitetip sharks, sea turtles, silky sharks and enormous schools of jacks. Dirty Rock tops out at ȡ ft, and while divers on air and standard recreational nitrox blends spend the bulk of their dive at this level, divers trained and equipped for deco diving can drop down towards the ledge at 140 and take in the entire ecosystem.
Diving on semi-closed nitrox rebreathers also helps divers get one of the most out of Cocos. Diving in stealth mode lets you drop onto internet sites like Lone Stone and watch as colleges of curious hammerheads sweep in more than your head. Additionally to a additional intimate interaction, rebreather divers also benefit from a incredibly extended gas supply and longer base occasions having a shorter decompression obligation.
USCG Cutter Bibb, Essential Largo, Fla.
Degree: 140 ft.
Advised training: 100 % decompression, state-of-the-art nitrox and wreck penetration.
This 327-foot Coast Guard cutter lies intact on her starboard side, and also the wreck is both a slice of history and also a haven for marine lifetime. Descending on the mooring lines, you will pass through schools of barracuda lined up along the ship that guarded Allied trans-Atlantic convoys from deadly U-boat attacks in Planet War II, and served inside the Battle of Okinawa. It takes just a little imagination to see the activity on her bridge and feel the presence of her crew.
Though even now inside selection of classic sport diving depths, no-deco profiles give you just 10 to 13 mins to investigate this big wreck. A basic decompression profile permits you the chance to explore the exterior at a a lot more leisurely pace. Hanging wires along with other entanglements, along with the size, age along with the tilt in the wreck, also challenge wreck penetration divers.
USS Curb, Critical West, Fla.
Level: 140 to 190 feet.
Recommended education: Entire decompression, sophisticated nitrox, wreck penetration–and for the a lot more adventurous, extended assortment diving.
In Key West, you’ll discover the USS Curb, a U.S. Navy tug lying on a sandy base in clear, warm drinking water. By far the most interesting parts of this dive are found between 140 and 165 ft, requiring a staged decompression profile to investigate the exterior fully and wreck penetration instruction to explore the interior of this vessel.
As divers descend as a result of the drinking water column, the hull of the ship seems to be undulating. Descend one or two much more feet, plus the school of bait fish that conceal the hull will part to ensure that you can see the actual structure of the wreck. The Curb is virtually untouched by divers and many artifacts however remain. The interior compartments are loaded with colleges of yellowtails, angelfish and juvenile jacks. They’re also house into a resident 300-pound jewfish.
Hydro Atlantic, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Level: 175 feet.
Suggested instruction: Entire decompression, state-of-the-art nitrox and wreck penetration.
Among the most picturesque natural shipwrecks for the East Coast is off Ft. Lauderdale. The Hydro Atlantic was being towed to some salvage yard when she sank in a storm in 175 ft just off Hillsborough Inlet. Close your eyes and imagine a shipwreck–towering masts above a flat deck covered with marine existence and circled by large barracuda. Add strong Gulf Stream currents and you’ve conjured the Hydro Atlantic.
At a level of 150 ft, penetration divers will locate substantial open locations within the superstructure. A popular penetration route by way of the vessel starts within the forward side near the center from the vessel, where the interior decks are loaded with marine lifetime seeking a respite from the swift currents. A typical dive profile of 20 minutes in these compartments is usually followed by a slow ascent up the vessel’s rigging structures (actual base time of 30 mins), and will result in about 32 mins of decompression time. Or use 27 % nitrox and cut the deco time to 26 minutes.
Mount Olympus, Grand Bahama Island
Depth: 110-plus feet.
Suggested teaching: Complete decompression and sophisticated nitrox.
Accessible by live-aboard, this remote mountain of living coral is shot as a result of with caves and swim-throughs that begin in 80 feet of water. Descend by way of a living kaleidoscope of color and you’ll exit at depths at 100 ft or more. To examine this awesome seascape fully, you will need to have additional bottom time than is allowed by common sport diving limits. Use 32 % nitrox for dives as much as 40 mins in duration with only 15 mins of deco, and you are going to however be producing new discoveries while your deco-challenged buddies are sitting within the boat.
U-352, Coastal North Carolina
Level: 115 ft.
Encouraged coaching: Complete decompression and sophisticated nitrox.
No trip for the wrecks with the North Carolina coast would be total with no a visit towards U-352. This German wreck lies in 115 ft of water and is accessible to recreational divers, but a basic, beginner-friendly deco profile can dramatically extend your bottom time.
This U-boat was sent to her grave by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus in 1942. She went down with loss of life and remains nowadays as evidence of a turning point in the Battle from the Atlantic. This wreck is a war grave and out of respect, penetration is strongly discouraged. Additionally, these Globe War II-era diesel-powered subs are quite confined inside and penetration is, at ideal, a hazardous endeavor.
Papoose, Coastal North Carolina
Degree: 130 feet.
Encouraged instruction: Full decompression and state-of-the-art nitrox.
You don’t ought to travel all of the way towards Pacific to see sharks. The Papoose is really a casualty of Entire world War II lying in 130 feet of drinking water off the North Carolina coast. This wreck is shallow enough to become accessed for incredibly restricted duration dives by sophisticated recreational divers; even so, if you are trained and equipped for simple deco diving, this wreck still yields a couple of artifacts and throughout mid- to late summer, it’s teeming with sand tiger sharks. Though the conventional recreational diver will ought to call it quits after only 13 minutes about the base, the deco diver can additional than double his base time–racking up 30 minutes with only a 14-minute stop. If you are a penetration diver, beware the heavy oil sludge that nevertheless coats portions in the interior.
Nippo Maru, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia
Level: 100 to 165 feet.
Advised coaching: Entire decompression, sophisticated nitrox and wreck penetration.
Tech divers who appreciate Globe War II relics within the Atlantic will also be moved by Truk Lagoon’s relics from the war within the Pacific. Truk functions a lot of excellent dive internet sites, but the Nippo Maru is one of many ideal for beginning tech divers.
As you descend to the wreck’s primary deck at 130 ft, one of the most prominent feature is really a Japanese battle tank poised as though it were even now ready for battle and clearly identifying this ship’s deadly intent as she sailed from Japan. The engine room telegraph still stands prepared for action within the bridge, providing an exceptional photo opportunity.
Like all of the wrecks in Truk, this one particular is loaded with both prolific marine existence and historical artifacts that add on the surreal feeling as you swim across her decks and inside her structure. This web site offers penetration potential and also a wealth of photo/video opportunities.
San Diego’s Wreck Alley
Depth: 80 to 100 feet.
Advised teaching: Decompression procedures and wreck penetration.
When divers imagine tech diving, they commonly believe deep. On the other hand, the websites of Wreck Alley offer an excellent example of wonderful shallow dives made better whenever you can extend bottom times and use penetration expertise that permit for far more complete exploration.
In only 80 feet of drinking water, the El Rey can be a prime illustration plus a beautiful spot for macro photography. A decade within the sea floor has left this artificial reef covered with strawberry-colored anemones, gorgonians, bryozoans and several species of starfish. On the other hand, her most striking feature is the covering of orange, brown and green cup corals that carpet sections of the wreck. Take advantage of extended bottom times with nitrox gases or staged decompression to obtain the best photo for your collection.
If wreck penetration is your interest, dive the 366-foot Yukon. A much more recent artificial reef, this Canadian destroyer escort lies on her port side in 100 ft of h2o, however the size of the wreck and numerous man-made access holes make her an superb penetration dive.
The Base Line
The technical profiles outlined here all require–at minimum–certification in decompression procedures. They must not be attempted with no correct training and equipment.
Clearly, this level of diving isn’t for everyone, but isn’t that the point? In each and every sport there is a cutting edge that requires an adventurous spirit. If you are possessed of that spirit, the adventure of technical diving is well within your reach.
Get With the Program: Tech Education Explained
Total Decompression. These programs have numerous names, including Decompression Procedures and Deep Air, and commonly make it possible for dives to some optimum degree of 150 feet. Deco profiles in this degree variety can usually be completed in single tank dive gear with an extra stage cylinder of 30 to 40 cubic feet.
Superior Nitrox. Fundamental nitrox programs train divers to make use of nitrox mixes of as much asನ percent oxygen. Superior Nitrox programs expand this to include up to 100 % oxygen. These mixes, commonly referred to as hot mixes or hyperoxic mixes, are used to extend base occasions at standard depths (for example, a 60-foot dive on EAN50 for 150 moments without having deco stops) or to accelerate or improve the efficiency of decompression stops. Innovative Nitrox courses call for divers to have an oxygen-clean cylinder and regulator.
Extended Selection. These courses expand upon the skills listed above to take divers into a optimum level of around 180 ft on air utilizing separate tanks of hyperoxic mixes for decompression. Courses usually require twin cylinders or a high-capacity single (98 cubic feet or larger) with H-valves and an oxygen-clean stage bottle.
Limited Penetration Wreck Diving. Recreational programs that train divers to do basic swim-throughs, generally in open holds or superstructure places, only. These programs are available from most standard recreational agencies and can be completed in recreational gear with several added accessories.
Complete Penetration Wreck Diving. Offered by tech training agencies, these programs train divers to penetrate any portion of a shipwreck. Often known as Innovative Wreck and Technical Wreck, they call for twin cylinders, a primary reel, a safety reel, a primary light and two backup lights. Depending for the agency or the wreck, you may possibly also will need stage bottles and other accessories.
