LEARNINGCURVE
for instructor and student alike . However , it ’ s very rewarding and with new skills to master , such as a controlled buoyant lift ( CBL ) inside a wreck ( quite up-front and personal , I can tell you ), everyone walks away smiling .
Being honest and open about wreck diving in the real world , I think it ’ s safe to say many of us have penetrated wrecks in the past and neglected to feed a line out to mark the exit route . People go into wrecks , not having considered their communications in blackout scenarios , or how the hell they could CBL someone from inside a deep dark engine room . Well , this is what Advanced Wreck Diver is all about .
Who can do this course ? You should be a minimum of a Sports Diver , be a qualified BSAC Wreck diver or equivalent . The student should also have experience of twinset diving / CCR with experience of carrying bail out / back up gas .
There are five theory lessons , three dry practical lessons and seven open water lessons , which combine a mixture of non-overhead , partial overhead and full penetration dives . There is plenty of using a reel to line out and back in , new communication skills in blackout conditions , and confidence building . It ends with a debrief , which is also the sixth theory session .
Meet Steve Baker , one of our BalSAC members who decided to take the plunge . Already a twin set diver and Dive Leader , he had completed the Wreck Diving SDC between lockdowns and was ready ! Tom , a CCR diver with the club , also decided to join in ; again , Tom had done his Wreck Diver qualification in lockdown . Chris
Tash helps Steve simulate silt-out conditions
Haywood crossed over to BSAC in Cyprus and also wanted to extend the skills he had already learned on a wreck course with another agency . We also had Chris Martin from Alpha Divers , which is already a BSAC Technical Centre . Once we told him what we were doing , he was keen to add this to his extensive list of BSAC instructor qualifications , so he hopped on board too !
We didn ’ t want to let the course completely take over our holiday . So we dedicated specific dives to the course , leaving plenty of time for some chill-out diving . I think it ’ s important that the training does not overload the student . long and full of vehicles and features she offered the perfect environment for us to complete the course in warm water with great visibility . Lying on her port side , she bottoms-out at around 42m , but is 16m at the shallowest point .
Steve under instruction from Tash
Why go for Advanced Wreck Diver ?
Well , the point is safety . The course is designed to extend your skills and knowledge learned during the Wreck Appreciation and Wreck Diver Skill Development Courses ( SDCs ) and to give you the skills and confidence to execute a well-planned and safe penetration of a wreck with no immediate access to the surface . Simple …… or is it ? You see , I haven ’ t noticed many of these courses running . Why ? Well , it ’ s a lot of hard work
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