Andrea Doria Divers

[crispos]

I wouldn't worry about there being a lack of new wrecks....says it is already disintegrating.

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/communitysupport/5056jool.htm

 

[mempilot]

I wouldn't worry about there being a lack of new wrecks....says it is already disintegrating.

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/communitysupport/5056jool.htm

Seems like ferry's are plunging/crashing at an alarming rate. Why do they call ferry drivers pilots and ship drivers captains? Aircraft pilots are called captains and first officers. Seems we all pilot something, but why don't ferry drivers get the captain moniker?

 

[crispos]

Seems like ferry's are plunging/crashing at an alarming rate. Why do they call ferry drivers pilots and ship drivers captains? Aircraft pilots are called captains and first officers. Seems we all pilot something, but why don't ferry drivers get the captain moniker?

My theory is it is so boring piloting a ferry, and repetitive. Being a pilot maybe you can comment. There was also the one a few years ago in my country in Greece (about 100 died). The crew was watching soccer on TV.....

http://www.na-me.ac.uk/News/contents/ExpressSaminaDisaster.html

Here's a really deep dive...

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_849068.html

 

[mempilot]

Interesting article. What people won't do to get in the paper these days! LOL They quoted this guy after doing that 1000+ deep dive as saying:

"I wanted to find a method for safely ascending because there doesn't seem to be one. Lots of companies sell computer software that plots a solution for returning to the surface but none of it seems to work," he said.

If he's talking about software bringing you back from 1000' not working - uh... OK.

But if he's talking about software bringing you back from 250' not working - uh... OK.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Interesting article. What people won't do to get in the paper these days! LOL They quoted this guy after doing that 1000+ deep dive as saying:

"I wanted to find a method for safely ascending because there doesn't seem to be one. Lots of companies sell computer software that plots a solution for returning to the surface but none of it seems to work," he said.

If he's talking about software bringing you back from 1000' not working - uh... OK.

But if he's talking about software bringing you back from 250' not working - uh... OK.

I can't really comment on the intent of his statement but he has a point. Decompression is not an exact science and all the models are just that. Many of us use a decompression software to give us an outline for an ascent schedule and then we modify it before using it. The modifications are based on whatever theories you buy into and what seems to work for you and those you know who are doing the same dives. Decompression theory and practice is in a real state of flux right now.

Look at some of the dives of the WPKK for instance. BRW says that RGBM can be tuned to give a similar schedule but for the most part there isn't any table or software that wil produce their ascent schedules.

Another one to look at is a dive that some guys did in Akumal. Over three hours at a max depth of 350 ft. The only spent about 80 minutes in the shallow stops on O2. Every software I looked at required over 200 minutes. Their total decompression was like 7 hours and there isn't any software or tables that will tell how they did it. You can check it out at www.akumaldircenter.com

Take a close look at the gas switch stratagy used in that recent record dive. It's pretty much inline with the recommendations of BRW and for the most part it's pretty new stuff.

If you're going to do 250 ft dives then this is something you may be about to get real interested in. Although a 250 wreck dive is usually of much shorter duration that say a 250 ft cave dive. Shorter bottom times and knowing the profile in advance makes the decompression a little easier but only a little.

 

[Rick Murchison]

That being said, give me thunderstorms anyday over windshear or clear air turbulance(sic)! That's the stuff you can't see or predict!

What the captain means is that he can see and avoid Thunderstorms easier than the others. What he does not mean is that he'd rather fly through a TSM than the others. The Thunder god takes no prisoners.
Rick

 

[mempilot]

Good points Mike,

I jumped to conclusions about the 'safety' factor of the software. What's works for one person one dive might get another diver bent on the next. Good reasoning for working into depth on your own progressive schedule, tailoring as you go.

Look forward to diving/learning from you guys.

 

[WKinNJ]

Hi,
Although I do not consider myself a tech diver I am interested in wrecks, and am curios why the wrecks of Truk lagoon or Bikini Island don’t come up in this thread. Are these not considered as technical dives? Or just not in the class of dives as the others listed?
The dive club that I am in had Gary Gentile as a speaker about 6 month ago, and although his presentation was not on the Doria talk after the presentation naturally drifted to the Doria, and my impression was that the deterioration of the ship is only bringing new opportunities to explore this site, and although I don’t think I will ever dive the Doria it has sparked an interest in me to develop the skills needed for deeper wrecks, and the books written about her are a great whey to remind me that I have a lot to learn about diving.

 

[WreckWriter]

I would say they don't come up as often because most of us can't afford to visit them. air fare alone costs as much as a decent car.

WW

 

[mempilot]

I would say they don't come up as often because most of us can't afford to visit them. air fare alone costs as much as a decent car.

WW

What kind of car are you driving chap? LOL

If everyone pitches in, I'll fly you all out there. Speaking of this, anyone wanting to do a cheap trip to the Bahamas - I've got a twin in Ft. Lauderdale that will hold six, three with gear. We could do a quick trip out and back over a few days. Bimini's only 45 miles, so we could keep low for the offgassing. Better yet, it has 6-place O2, so we could decompress on the ride home!