Wreck Diving Trip

[smartecosse]

Provisional stages of planning a trip on the Gulf of Thailand on a tech liveaboard diving wrecks in the 60 to 70 meter range. You must be tech qualified (unless you want to do the course onboard) to partake in this trip.

The boat will leave and return to Koh Tao. The cost will be approximately 25k Baht, this includes air etc but not the cost of your helium etc.

Anyone fancy doing some "proper" diving on some nice wrecks

The trip will be aboard the Trident run by Jamie and Stu the team that found the USS Lagarto sub.

**Edited to add

Trip report from previous passenger onboard the Trident on a wreck trip

[smartecosse]

no interest at all?

well, at least there will be lots of space on the boat

The dates have been amended slightly

Depart eve of the 8th July (sunday night)

Back on the night of the 11th

3 Diving days

still 60 to 70 meter range @ 25k all in excluding helium & kit rental if required

will be looking for some of these

[hUsh]

I'm not a diver but have forwarded this info to my bf -- I know he'll be thrilled!

Do you have any other wreck diving scheduled after this?

[smartecosse]

I'm not a diver but have forwarded this info to my bf -- I know he'll be thrilled!

Do you have any other wreck diving scheduled after this?

Its not my boat, I just happen to know the guys that run it.

However that being said I can tell you that they actually have trips running all year round from 3 day 4 nights ones to week long explatoratory trips including the USS Lagarto.

Check out the Trident website for more info

The diving with them is truly top notch. The "Wreck Detectives" ( some american Tv show) have actaully just spent a trip with them filming and one of them enjoyed it that much he went as a customer on the following trip they ran!

[smartecosse]

still some spots left

50 - 60 meters

pristine wrecks

[ProfessorNiceGuy]

20 meters is about as far as i wanna go these days.......Nikon in hand and a pony bottle. I guess it has to be your cup of tea to push the limits.

Remember Fred, on the vertical wreck when it still waz.....waz kinda cool, but I ...... Always said its playing russian roulette.

RIP Fred.

Must admist though, lying on your back at 50 meters looking up in crystal clear water at the vertical wreck with tons of divers at the 20 + meter level, kinda seemed like you were in space watching people go around the space station....

[smartecosse]

I guess it has to be your cup of tea to push the limits.

50 to 60's hardly pushing the limits though is it?

never been to Pattaya so can't comment on the vertical wreck, must be good though.

by fred do you mean fred evans?

[Etrigan]

The vertical wreck was the PAC 1 which was out in the middle of nowhere. The Thai navy had to sink it after it dislodged from the seabed and started drifting with the currents in and out of sea lanes. All this was a few years back. However, I never heard of any accidents occuring around the wreck when it was diveable. There was an entry at the 30m mark, did they penetrate at that depth?

For sure there was a time when some gas leaked and ruined a load of BCD's owned by Scuba Pearl which back then was a russian liveaboard operation.

[ProfessorNiceGuy]

The vertical wreck was the PAC 1 which was out in the middle of nowhere. The Thai navy had to sink it after it dislodged from the seabed and started drifting with the currents in and out of sea lanes. All this was a few years back. However, I never heard of any accidents occuring around the wreck when it was diveable. There was an entry at the 30m mark, did they penetrate at that depth?

For sure there was a time when some gas leaked and ruined a load of BCD's owned by Scuba Pearl which back then was a russian liveaboard operation.

50m / 60m meter not pushing limits ? Stay there for 20 mins...... and I dont think you will be surfacing in a hurry. Anything which puts me out of a direct ascent to the the surface is "pushing it" . Tried some cavern / cave ...interesting / fun, but never liked the thought of not being able to pop up if required. Maybe a whimp, so be it.

Yes, Fred Evans. When the vertical was vertical, the cabin was at about 50 meters, and he would go in there with a long hose and hunt around. Watched him coming up, and it was Verrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

There was one death I know of on the v wreck when it was still there ( not pattaya by the way ) An American nut ( like repeating ones self ) decided he was going to do a search and rescue pattern to find a tank which fell overboard after 2 prior deep dives on the VR. Needless to say, he got the bends just after surfacing, and died before getting to port.

[smartecosse]

2 prior deep dives on the VR. Needless to say, he got the bends just after surfacing, and died before getting to port.

eh?

getting bent is nowt to do with having done 2 deep dives b4, its not following your plan or having a problem that forces you to surface.

[ProfessorNiceGuy]

2 prior deep dives on the VR. Needless to say, he got the bends just after surfacing, and died before getting to port.

eh?

getting bent is nowt to do with having done 2 deep dives b4, its not following your plan or having a problem that forces you to surface.

U da mixing 2 things up.....

The guy who got the bends was a reply to AjarnRuss who stated no deaths on the VR. There was one as the above...... the guy was a "cowboy" ( "I can do it" ) macho man........ He had tons of warnings from every one to not persue this stupidity of looking for a tank at 60 meters after 2 previous dives......... my friend was on the boat and told me the gory details.

I am not discouraging deep diving, been there, done that. ( ok - 60 meters aint deep, but sure as hel_l as deep as i ever want to go ). its a aquired taste ( like my photography ).... Only difference is the margin for errors / hick ups gets very narrow at that depth - and some times things are not in your own control as much as you would like it to be. I have experienced Murpheys law on a few occaisions during diving, not a happy experience

.... ( and another was at the VR diving when it came popping up ! different story, different day )

[Etrigan]

60m on air is just asking for trouble in the form of a CNS hit, no warning, just, over.

Smarts - Of course the two prior dives contributed, unless he washed out with nitrox, his residual nitrogen (combined with 7 or 8 atmospheres of pressure) would have been way high. Sounds like this guy never had a plan neither, just dove in to rescue a tank!

Thanks for the info. I was shocked to hear that there had been an incident at the VR.

[skippybangkok]

60m on air is just asking for trouble in the form of a CNS hit, no warning, just, over.

Smarts - Of course the two prior dives contributed, unless he washed out with nitrox, his residual nitrogen (combined with 7 or 8 atmospheres of pressure) would have been way high. Sounds like this guy never had a plan neither, just dove in to rescue a tank!

Thanks for the info. I was shocked to hear that there had been an incident at the VR.

agreed....lets face it, there are hero's out there - and i stay as far away from them as i can

[britmaveric]

Hmmmm sounds like a grand dive. If I were around I'd give it a try, mind you never done any technical diving - but looks rather spectacular. Put it on my list of things to do..... Anyways no doubt you'll fill the boat.

[smartecosse]

60m on air is just asking for trouble in the form of a CNS hit, no warning, just, over.

Smarts - Of course the two prior dives contributed, unless he washed out with nitrox, his residual nitrogen (combined with 7 or 8 atmospheres of pressure) would have been way high. Sounds like this guy never had a plan neither, just dove in to rescue a tank!

i think you missed the point i was trying to make which was that there is no problem with doing multiple deep dives as long as they are planned properly.

I am not defending morons that jump in unprepared and with blatant disregard for their safety and that of the others that need to help them when a problem does arise but doing three 60 m dives in one day needn't cause problems.

oh and as far as air at 60m is concerned there are plenty of divers that do that routinely due to the prohibitive costs of helium. The ppo2 is still at an acceptable livel although you may be well gone on the old narcotic front.

for those that do 50 to 70 meter range a lot there are plenty that do it on air and only switch to trinix when they are teaching courses or have students with them. In fact there are agencies that have 100 meter deep air course ( tho that is just mad)

personally at the mid 60 mark on OC or CCR I am happy doing that on air. If I had a free helium though prettty sure that I would use that on everything past 30 ish

[Etrigan]

Just love that narcosis !

Air at 100m, sounds like doing a bungie jump without the bungie!

[skippybangkok]

I was one of those nuts done 60 on air on VR. Must admit i was as high as a kite, and my mobility was clearly not what it normally is. Did not know in those days about o2 partial pressures and the 1.6 threshold.

Since I took up photography, getting max time out of a dive was always the mode, and diving deep does not assist in that goal.

[Chantal]

So did you go Smartie? If so how was the trip?

[smartecosse]

did go on the trip and was there when it was a week of atrociuos weather just my luck

however cames back with some nice brass and got to "interact" with a juvenile whale shark at chunpon pinnac;es for 20 mins - in fact we got fed up b4 it did and went off to look at other things

[deepdownanddirty]

Hi just did my DSAT tech deep with Jamie and Stewart of the MV Trident and have to agree with smart the boys are first class and the trip we did was tops now just waiting to do my trimix with them. I gt a beautiful porthole and another guy got some great lamps and another guy got a lovely silver condiment tray. some photos on other post here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=151208 I cant recommend these guys enough. They certainly have me hooked. Its a while since I've been so fired up about my diving.