Janko
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I've just finished reading "The Last Dive", about the dangers of deep wreck and cave diving and the loss of life involved in these endeavours.
One thing struck me as odd: all of the expert divers in the book are active seekers of goodies from sunken ships (dishes, portholes, bells, etc).
I'm new to diving (and know nothing about wreck/cave diving) but I was seriously irked by this underwater shopping spree. Although unlikely that I will ever get to the wrecks explored in the book (Andrea Doria, U-869, Empress of Ireland, etc) I would think that a diver getting there for the first time and finding a bare ship would have a far less rewarding experience than someone who spots champagne flutes, brass fittings and other items that add a human touch to the rusty maze.
Even if these liners are enormous and will probably disintegrate before they run out of stuff to pillage, I find the principle of it all rather sad. Does this goodie hunting not contravene the diving etiquette of taking nothing but photographs, leaving nothing but bubbles? Is wreck diving exempt from this for some reason?
One thing struck me as odd: all of the expert divers in the book are active seekers of goodies from sunken ships (dishes, portholes, bells, etc).
I'm new to diving (and know nothing about wreck/cave diving) but I was seriously irked by this underwater shopping spree. Although unlikely that I will ever get to the wrecks explored in the book (Andrea Doria, U-869, Empress of Ireland, etc) I would think that a diver getting there for the first time and finding a bare ship would have a far less rewarding experience than someone who spots champagne flutes, brass fittings and other items that add a human touch to the rusty maze.
Even if these liners are enormous and will probably disintegrate before they run out of stuff to pillage, I find the principle of it all rather sad. Does this goodie hunting not contravene the diving etiquette of taking nothing but photographs, leaving nothing but bubbles? Is wreck diving exempt from this for some reason?