Learn how to penetrate New Zealand's shipwrecks safely with Dive Now Whangarei

Perhaps you served on one of our Leander Class Frigates (Canterbury, Waikato or Wellington) and want to revisit your old work place now it is 30 metres below?

Or do you want to visit the Rainbow Warrior that was sunk in the 80's protesting the testing of Nuclear weapons?

Perhaps the mystery of the running aground and the strange events that took place directly after the incident of the Russian cruise liner Mikail Lermontov is your thing?

Or perhaps you are getting ready for an international trip where there are wrecks to dive?

Well our four day PADI Wreck course is a great place to start your wreck training. We have access to two purposely sunk ships within an hours drive from Dive Now Whangarei - HMNZS Canterbury sunk in the Bay of Islands and the HMNZS Waikato sunk just out from Tutukaka.

Both ships sit on the sand in around the 35m mark with their highest remaining structure at around 16m. This means anyone wanting to dive them should have at least their Advanced Open Water certification and ideally Enriched Air Nitrox to give them a little bit longer down there.

Over the course some of the things you will learn are:

• Spotting hazards, points of interest and potential penetration points
• Map part of the outside of the wreck. You will use your maps and any available schematics to plan penetration routes within your training levels.
• Practise using reels and lights to safely penetrate a wreck and communicate with a buddy
• Look at progressive penetration methods
• Practise to carry, stage and retrieve a bail-out cylinder safely for the team to use in an emergency
• Finning techniques required for diving inside a wreck

Currently the course runs over three days, a Saturday, Sunday and following Saturday with fun dives available on Sunday. However this may change. We hope to run the course over two full weekends to give everyone a chance to dive an extra day at the end of the course using the skills learnt on the course.

Be warned, wreck diving can be extremely addictive.

Cost: $495| 4 days | Includes 8 wreck dives *charter fees not included

Cost includes all training, certification and study materials. Any specialist equipment such as Stage Bottles and Regulators will be provided for the duration of the course.