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Ingemar wrote: > Thae way i deco when diving wrecks is this: First of all we never dive on > the anchor line because it can pull off. We have always got a separate line > to the wreck that we do the descent/ascent from. This way we can never lose > the line. This line is placed at a spot where it is easy to locate for > example on the port side of the bridge. This way it is nearly impossible to > fail in locating it. In fact we have made thousands of trimix wreck dives in > our dive group and no one has ever missed the line If the vis is very bad > or the wreck so broken up that it is hard to navigate on we use navigational > guide line. This is similar to what I do in Alaska. On the wrecks that we dive, frequently we have installed permanent mooring buoys for the season. Usually we just use leaded crab pot line which is tied into the wreck with a bridle of stainless steel cable and a shackle so that the rope doesn't chafe against the wreck. For a float I just use a crab put buoy so it is disguised. There are thousands of crab pots around SE Alaska so no one notices a stray buoy. I'm always worried that if sportfishermen learn that it's a mooring buoy they'll tie off and strip the wrecks of all the big ling cod and other fish. All of the wrecks around here are on steep slopes (these are deep glacial fjords) and we always try to set the mooring buoy as high up on the wreck as possible on something secure like a bullard or rail. That way no descent is ever required to get back to the line and it's hard for even someone new to get lost...just find the highest spot on the wreck and there the line is. Since the wrecks are on slopes, every thing angles upwards and you have to be brain dead to get lost, even in horrid vis. If I'm diving with divers who haven't been there before I usually leave a strobe on the line as a marker. With the regular buddies we don't usually bother. Mostly we dive off small boats and just tie right into the mooring line so no anchor is set. Usually we have two boats on site, one tied into the mooring buoy and the other tied off on the stern of the first boat so a chase boat is always ready. This isn't the North Atlantic, these are relatively narrow fjords and the wrecks are mostly within a few hundred meters of shore so big boats are not necessary. There's rarely any place we ever dive where the shore isn't more than a 20 minute swim away. > If we cant find the line (which has never happened) we inflate the bag > approaching the first stop and lock the reel. Note that we do not tie off > the reel line to the wreck. When the bag hits the surface it will be in the > area directly over the wreck and the crew will spot it. If the boat is > anchored the crew will simply put a buoy on the anchor line and drop it and > then start to chase the lift bag. The Halcyon surf mat is thin, long and > in bright colors so it can bee spotted at a distance. Same procedure. I've practiced floating deco but have never been forced to do it. It's more a matter of being prepared in case we mis-time the currents and get blown off the line or the wreck. I carry a diverite primary reel with #36 knotted line on it and I have one of the OMS 60lb SMB sausages that is stuffed in the halcyon backplate pad. Works well. I keep another lift bag clipped off to a rear crotch strap d-ring and I keep a cave diving safety spool in my drysuit pocket so if I have an absolute cluster and lose my first lift bag and reel I have a backup spool with about 100' of line on it and a backup reel. I also usually have two 1" webbing jon lines about 8' long each which will give me still another backup line to hang off of. The bridle on the lift bag hangs down about 3' so hanging on the jon lines on the lift bag will give me at least 20' and 10' stops. I just bought a roll of 1" tubular webbing from the local climbing shop and cut it into lengths and then brought the pieces to a local sail maker to have the ends stitched back into loops so they look like a dog leash but with loops on each end. For about $35 I made jon lines for all my dive buddies at once. I use a climbing carabiner to clip it off to my chest d-ring on a anchor line hang and when not in use the jon lines are folded up, secured with a heavy rubber band and ride in my drysuit pocket. > Locating the line will bee much easier when the line is carefully placed on > a easy to find spot on the wreck and it is permanently placed there rather > than a randomly placed anchor line that can end up pretty much anywhere. > No need to have 150m 1/8 inch line on a must bee pretty huge reel and no > need to have a 150-200ib lift bag. This means a cleaner configuration. The > surfmat is also closed circuit so it can not sink back on you as a > traditional lift bag can. Yes, we used to dive off the anchor but rather than ending up with a randomly placed anchor, it would usually end up on the bottom of the wreck some place which sometimes meant descending to the deepest part of the wreck to get back to the anchor. Not an ideal situation, especially if you want to turn the dive at a higher part of the wreck and are forced to descent t get back. I was never really worried about the anchor pulling. My small boat has a lightweight anchor and I usually would wrap the anchor into the wreck or wedge it in someplace very secure before starting the dive. But that meant you had to unwrap it or unhook it at the end of the last dive or you end up leaving tying it off on a buoy and getting it back on another day. Kent Lind Juneau, Alaska klind@al*.ne* -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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