Question Wreck or Cave?

[Rob Traynham]

I have a question, do cave divers make better wreck divers, or do wreck divers make better cave divers? And why?

[Kelly Jessop]

This could be a hotly debated question. Many potential wreck divers get their training as cave divers since the training can be a little less dynamic-less variable current and visibility,not to mention being carried off into the big pond by current. The date eludes me but there was the Doria Expedition that was held that had mostly cave divers on the trip. The cave divers used their techniques for reels and continuous guideline versus the use of progressive penetration. The end result was the cave divers got further back than many of the seasoned veterans and scooped a lot of the artifacts. This was not well received due to the use of line being questionable around sharp metal,and the didn't "pay their dues".

[ffdiver5597]

The reason why the wreck divers didn't like the reel was it allowed for people who were brand new to a wreak just to go inside without surveying the wreck or taking alot of dives to really learn the layout.

Caves and wrecks are two different animals. Yes the training is similiar and many wreck divers also cave dive and vice versa, but to say that cave divers would make better wreck divers and vice versa is just speculation. Cave Diving doesn't better prepare you for wreck diving. More wreck diving prepares you for that.

[Sludge]

The date eludes me but there was the Doria Expedition that was held that had mostly cave divers on the trip.

"Team Doria '91." Chapter Five of The Last Dive. Chris and Chrissy Rouse, Bernie Chowdhury, Steve Berman, a few others.

My copy's somewhere, not around here apparently.

[MedCop]

I do use some of the same techniques in wreck diving that I do in cave diving. However, I feel they are two differant animals when you compare the cave and wreck side by side.

It can be agreed upon by many (I hope) that buoyancy, fin control, kick technique are pretty universal when in cave or wreck. I think a big differance is equipment.

I am not going to carry a crowbar or hammer into a cave. However, I would consider them in a wreck not just due to artifacts but for safety. I think a crowbar and hammer could be a good...oh crap tool in the right situation.

When laying line in a cave you do have to be careful where you lay in ref. to sharp rocks, line traps and so on. In a wreck you have sharp metal & it can cut line faster (in most cases) so I do more tie offs in a wreck and try to avoid my line running over a piece of metal.

As far as wreck diver being better than a cave diver or the other way around.... No...each is its own skill set, but one can do the other but as said above the only way to be "better" is to do more of each.

[Kelly Jessop]

"Team Doria '91." Chapter Five of The Last Dive. Chris and Chrissy Rouse, Bernie Chowdhury, Steve Berman, a few others.

My copy's somewhere, not around here apparently.

Thank you I was too lazy to look it up. Steve always had the artifacts he retrieved on display at his house from that trip. There was some pretty fabulous stuff.

[Randy Thornton]

I think the difference between wreck and cave divers was much greater back in the day. I think many wreck and cave divers in today's environment use many of the same skills and techniques. The old school wreck divers for the most part were not cave trained and approached things quite differently. Today, many if not most of the younger wreck divers are also cave trained and utilize many of the cave techniques in the wrecks. Sure there are some obvious differences between the two, but for the most part, the similarities are somewhat minor compared to 25-30 years ago.

Just my $.02,
Randy

[phillip1]

now I don't know much about wreck diving, but (I may be completely wrong) no matter how well you know a wreck's layout if you are in a zero viz siltout without a line to follow how are you going to get out? it seems to me to be very dangerous and I don't understand how the progressive penetration thing works if you can't see anything.