Wreck Diving Mistakes: How to Avoid Wrecking Your Dive
Back in the day, dive clubs used to joke: “Plan the dive. Dive the wreck. Wreck the plan.” Any diver who has ever marshalled a club trip knows the truth in that dark humour. However well you prepare, however many safety briefings you deliver, the moment people hit the water, unpredictability takes over.
And nothing tempts chaos quite like a wreck.
That mantra “dive the wreck and wreck the plan” highlights the dizzying power of a wreck dive. The sight of a shipwreck can overwhelm even the most disciplined diver. For some, the plan dissolves not out of recklessness but pure awe. Sadly, in practice, it’s often less about wonder and more about someone nicknamed Dangerous Dave turning up with a crowbar and lift bag.
But here’s the reality: the biggest wreck diving mistakes aren’t caused by wrecks at all — they’re self-inflicted before you even hit the water.
Common Wreck Diving Mistakes Before You Even Dive
It’s surprisingly easy to sabotage your wreck dive before the first splash. Classic examples include:
- Forgetting essential kit – from weight belts to rebreather mouthpieces.
- Putting fuel in your car en-route to the harbour (yes, really).
- Turning up at the wrong marina because you missed updated instructions.
- A night-before “celebration” that leaves you hungover and unable to even find your boat.
Even small errors can wreck your wreck dive. Mistiming a pre-dive bathroom visit (especially in a drysuit), forgetting your hood and gloves in cold water, or jumping in with your drysuit zip wide open. All these can ruin your dive before it begins.
How to Avoid These Dive-Wrecking Errors
One effective technique is visualisation. Before the dive, mentally run through donning your kit in the right order and completing pre-dive checks. Many technical divers swear by this, finding it far more effective than a soggy Post-it note checklist on deck.
It might feel a little Californian to stand with your eyes closed, running through every step in your head, but it can save you from the most embarrassing wreck diving mistakes.
And when that inevitable stray wave drenches everyone on deck? At least you’ll know your kit, and your dive, won’t be wrecked.
