Deep Wreck Diving

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Today a group of us from Asia Divers joined Master Divers on the MV Trident for a wreck dive on a ship called the torpedo.

It took 2 hrs to get to the site which allowed for a leisurely dive briefing, gear setup and very nice beans and bacon sandwich breakfast (first time I've had bacon that's been cooked properly and not to a crisp)

There were about 4 groups of us, we let the 2 tec diving groups go first as they had long deco stops to do.

Our 2 dives were planned for 42m with 1 min stops at 23m, 13m and a 3 min stop at 5m.

Me, Phil, Alice and our Instructor Jamie got into the water and dropped down the line fairly rapid to maximise our air. As I got to 23m I could taste a strong plastic taste and as I descended it started to get worse and made me gag, later on the surface one of the guys said it's common with scubapro regs due to the plastic they use. We got to the stern of the boat and vis was about 10-20m. I could feel the narcosis, the sound of my breathing was amplified and my air seemed to be going down alot, I had a heightened sense of anxiety and after a few minutes started to get used to it and had to concentrate alot on what I was doing. It felt very strange and I had to stay close to the wreck for security. Alice and Phil said that they felt ok. After about 11 mins we started our ascent to minimise deco time.

A nice long surface interval of over 2 hours was occupied with lunch, debriefs, briefings for the next dive and a spot of deep sea fishing!!

The second dive went well with a quick exploration of the bow, vis was down to about 5m and I made sure that I stayed close with the group, I could feel the narcosis.
Once we finished at the bow we went back to the line and quickly practiced using a reel to lay line then ascended. As we got to 11m, my air gauge showed about 50 bar! Alice had about 150 bar and Phil had about 130 bar. When we got to the hang bar I had 20 bar so switched to the oxygen in the hang tank set up for the groups. We surfaced and Jamie was convinced that there was something wrong with my gauge as he had watched me breathing and felt that my consumption wasn't that high especially as Alice and Phil had over 100 bar each. To be on the safe side he kept me close to him on the ascent :D

2 deep dives on a wreck was very cool and gave me a bit more experience of feeling narcosis. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the guys from Master Divers and Trident looked after us very well.

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Photos

MV Trident
Our vessel awaits

Me and Alice
Me looking white and pasty (wearing a shortie will do that to you) and Alice in her super scuba pose

Comments

[Emma Lau]

on my way to Ko Tao
Hi EuLong This is Emma - Li-sa's mate. Sounds like you had a really good time in Ko Tao. Congratulations on passing your IDC! I'm on my way to Ko Tao myself. Been travelling around and we're now in Bangkok waiting to sort out transportation there later. My friend's gonna do her Open Water. I'm currently Advanced Nitrox Level so I'll either just do recreational diving.... or maybe Rescue Diver course not sure. I'm kinda thinking I might just do recreational diving and built up my dive time for a bit. Anyway, congrats again. Em.

[Legs]

Hey Emma, Have fun in Koh Tao, the jetty can be a little hectic when you arrive. If you're looking for a dive centre then try Asia Divers, they have an office behind the main jetty. When you get to Asia Divers, ask for Guy and mention my name. Your friend will enjoy her Open Water in Koh Tao, it's still hot out there. If you want to get a bit more dive time under your belt, why not try some specialities?