Andrea Doria

[ScubaBabe22]

Close. he just reported #49.

Dives on the doria are like measuring human yrs in dog yrs!

 

[hex92]

But I can't justify the price. This same discussion is going on over at thedecostop.com. Paying $1750 to make maybe 3 dives on the Doria is CRAZY. You can go on a live aboard and rack up 25 dives in a week for that price.

I would pay $500 in a heartbeat to make the dives. Maybe even $750. But no more than that.

 

[AquaHump]

But I can't justify the price. This same discussion is going on over at thedecostop.com. Paying $1750 to make maybe 3 dives on the Doria is CRAZY. You can go on a live aboard and rack up 25 dives in a week for that price.

I would pay $500 in a heartbeat to make the dives. Maybe even $750. But no more than that.

But its the Doria

 

[cornfed]

But its the Doria

The Doria is no longer a premier wreck. Anyone can dive if following this simple two setep plan,

1. Get trained
2. Book charter

 

[drperi1]

The 'get trained" part is major, but not all people should dive her or any other deep/dangerous wreck. Extreme divers have significant training, their bodies are in certain ways "modified" for deep conditions, and they maintain a high level of physical fitness-not just 3x/week lifting weights or taking a spinning class. Such divers handle physical and mental stress, including that unique to extreme diving, differently than others. There is no one specific guideline (sorry, Jarrod) for training such divers; however, it is not a cause to be taken lightly, anymore than climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or entering a trailbiking race up and down mountanous paths is.

Before you decide to can or will dive her or any other wreck, get certified, & decide how far you want to take a sport that takes lives on a regular basis. My dive partners (and instructors- I continue to learn, as well as to teach) all know divers who have died doing "technical" dives that they were not trained fo, or trained inadequately for (such as not "racking up" enough bottom time with a well-trained instructor/DM).

Although, according to DAN's latests statistics, most diver fatalities occur within the recreational community, the extreme community is much smaller- so when we lose a diver, the effect is greater.

 

[Day]

The Doria is no longer a premier wreck. Anyone can dive if following this simple two setep plan,

1. Get trained
2. Book charter

Nice links there buddy!

Couldn't agree with ya more.

 

[DEEPLOU]

The Doria is no longer a premier wreck. Anyone can dive if following this simple two setep plan,

1. Get trained
2. Book charter

I disagree!!

You left out the most important step. Get lots and lots of NE wreck diving experience and deep NE wreck diving experience!

Too many people have done deep wrecks in benign conditions , warm or clear or both, and think they can do the Doria. It is cold, dark, deep, and has currents that can come up w/o notice.

Spoke w/ divers who went abt week ago, all the way out and some only did one dive, they said there was abt 5 kt current running.

U need experience, not just training to do this!

 

[JS1scuba]

Nice links there buddy!

Couldn't agree with ya more.

it's a bit more than that -- for the last trip we did more than 60 divers made application to get on the charter ....... only 12 made the grade .........

We had a blast ................

it is THE ANDREA DORIA ---

cheers
jds

 

[captain_mrw]

But I can't justify the price. This same discussion is going on over at thedecostop.com. Paying $1750 to make maybe 3 dives on the Doria is CRAZY. You can go on a live aboard and rack up 25 dives in a week for that price.

I would pay $500 in a heartbeat to make the dives. Maybe even $750. But no more than that.

On a lot of boats your money is paying for some "star" divers or some self-proclaimed experts to go for free. I don't like paying for some prima-donna's trip or having to listen to the blow hards for 3 days. Having to wait for the "elite" to dive first doesn't fly very well with me either, especially if I'm paying for their trip. The more expensive boats often have over 20 or 30 divers on board and are the most prone to calling a trip and NOT refunding your money.
There are a couple of boats that are a lot more reasonable and a lot more professional than the expensive ones, and the two that come to mind have the most experience on the Doria. They are Sea Hunter III and the Seeker, of course. Undeniably the two best boats in deep exploration diving.
As for the wreck itself - intoxicating (whether on air or mix). My first dive on her in the 80's off the Sea Hunter III was awesome. 70 feet of viz and no current. At 130 feet I could see at least 140 feet of the wreck lying on her side like she had just arrived. Schools of what seemed like small fish became hundreds of 20 - 40+ pound cod cruising the top of the wreck. I've been back many times and still can't wait to go back again. The big decision should be: drive to Montauk and then cruise 110 miles, or leave from Newport and cruise 85 miles.
If you get the chance and have the right experience - go. At first just go to look, don't get greedy, you will always have time for artifacts once you've learned something of the wreck and how it lies. But you won't ever forget the Andrea Doria.

Captain Mark

 

[amaze]

ask me next year

you planning on a trip? I would like to go the next season as well. Bill