We are now proud to offer the PADI Wreck diving Specialty running deep training dives on the MV Trident, here at Simple Life Divers.
Many of our past and present Koh Tao dive internships gang have been furthering their dive skills and education by completing their combined deep, wreck and nitrox diving specialties, getting to deep dive the wreck of the MV Trident as part of the experience. This time Will, Aude, Zak, Curtis and Dane signed up for the deep diving adventure.
MV Trident Wreck Dive Site, Koh Tao
A Baltic Sea Naval Cutter in a former life, the MV Trident is a steel hulled vessel which for the last few years has been used as a technical diving live-aboard seeking out wrecks throughout the Gulf of Thailand. After reaching the end of her service, the vessel was sunk as an artificial reef for diving, a little way from Shark Island off Koh Tao’s southern tip.
Image: Koh Tao’s new wreck diving site – the MV Trident being sunk as an artificial reef off Koh Tao’s southern tip
Since the MV Trident wreck dive site now sits in 30-37 meters of water (near to the maximum depth for normal recreational diving), deep diver training is a prerequisite to making these dives. But diving on air to such depths, the no-decompression limit becomes very short allowing only very brief bottom times. So to further enhance the dive, best is to dive the wreck with an enriched air – nitrox blend to extend our bottom time and/or enhance the safety of the dive.
For this reason, prior to beginning the PADI Wreck Specialty the Thailand dive internships crew first completed their PADI Deep and Nitrox Combined Course. Together the Deep, Enriched Air-Nitrox and Wreck diving specialties take about 4 days to complete. Essentially this gives the guys their first taster of deep technical diving, and enormously extends the range of deep, challenging dive sites which the guys are able to dive.
Image: Thailand dive internships theory lesson on wreck diving procedures – from left Viktor, Will, Dane, Aude, instructor Jon and Zak.
The main focus of these three PADI specialty courses are as follows:
PADI Enriched Air [Nitrox] Specialty
- How to work out the Maximum Operating Depth(MOD) of a mixture of nitrox.
- How to personal verify a nitrox cylinders contents.
- Equipment concerns when using elevated levels of oxygen.
- Setting /Diving with a nitrox dive computer to safe limits.
PADI Deep Diver Specialty
- Suitable equipment / Emergency breathing equipment for deep diving.
- How depth effects objects and light.
- Safe assents, deep stops and simulated emergency decompression stops.
- Effects of nitrogen narcoses.
PADI Wreck Diving Specialty
- Mapping and navigation on a wreck.
- Correct use of reel and wreck penetration.
- Rule of thirds, use of independent air sources for over head environments.
Upon completion of the 3 PADI Specialty Courses divers are certified to;
- Dive with and obtain mixtures of Nitrox containing up to 40% oxygen.
- Conduct a no decompression dive to a maximum depth of 40 metres.
- Dive on and penetrate a wreck. Penetration limited to 40 meters (to surface), only area illuminated by natural light and use of the rule of thirds.
The Divemaster internships gang coped well with the technical training and challenging series of dives, and are developing a real flavor for exciting, deep wreck diving.
Our next combined PADI specialty course is already in progress with our current group of Jake, Ash, Camerom, Johan, Cameron, Matt and Tim set to make their deep dives in the next couple of days.
I’m sure we’ll be running another course next month as well – let us know if you’d like to join!
