Diving The Doria (Nothing about it being the Everest...)

[JohnnyH]

I had wanted to ask this on the Mt. Everest of Diving thread, but I think that thread is a goner...

Diving the Doria, for whatever reason, is a personal goal of mine. I operate more efficiently when I have a clearly defined goal, and so years ago I set my sights on the Doria. However, my approach is more from the engineering view than from the romantics. I am slowly building up my diving experience and gear config until I have the confidence in my abilities and training to attempt the Doria (though my wife would prefer I didn't have this goal, she still supports it).

I have a whole bunch of recreational and 'light' technical (nitrox, SCC rebreather) experience, but only within the past year have I moved into technical training.

I have paired up with another instructor whose diving ability and outlook closely matches my own and we share the same Doria goal, but I would welcome finding others with the Doria in mind to talk to.

I am, er, recently 42 years old, but am in pretty good shape for such an old geezer.

The only difference my buddy and I have regarding the Doria is that he wants to collect some form of memorabilia and I want to leave it where it is.

Anyway, I enjoy reading posts from folks on this forum and welcome any regarding diving the Doria - and in specific if there are people in the Boston area who have the same goal...

John

 

[Mr.X]

I had wanted to ask this on the Mt. Everest of Diving thread, but I think that thread is a goner...

Diving the Doria, for whatever reason, is a personal goal of mine. I operate more efficiently when I have a clearly defined goal, and so years ago I set my sights on the Doria. However, my approach is more from the engineering view than from the romantics. I am slowly building up my diving experience and gear config until I have the confidence in my abilities and training to attempt the Doria (though my wife would prefer I didn't have this goal, she still supports it).

I have a whole bunch of recreational and 'light' technical (nitrox, SCC rebreather) experience, but only within the past year have I moved into technical training.

I have paired up with another instructor whose diving ability and outlook closely matches my own and we share the same Doria goal, but I would welcome finding others with the Doria in mind to talk to.

I am, er, recently 42 years old, but am in pretty good shape for such an old geezer.

The only difference my buddy and I have regarding the Doria is that he wants to collect some form of memorabilia and I want to leave it where it is.

Anyway, I enjoy reading posts from folks on this forum and welcome any regarding diving the Doria - and in specific if there are people in the Boston area who have the same goal...

John

The Doria decks have collapsed. It makes penetration harder. There are some interesting dives in the NE which are equally as challenging. U-869, etc. My opinion is that the Doria is overrated + certainly work with your buddy so that you have a common vision/dive plan. Diggers/treasure hunters often get myopic.

X

 

[theskull]

John,

The Doria makes a great long-term goal, especially if it is one you can hold as a goal but not become attached to or obsess about.

I just dived the Doria last July, and I think the "Everest of Diving" is a great comparison for the following reasons:
*If you want to do it, successfully & enjoyably, with an excellent chance of survival, you need to first gain a lot of experience on less challenging but still difficult dives.
*Need to have experienced dives gone bad, gear failures, buddy problems, fighting current, poor vis, etc. in situations where your responses were not life-or-death choices so you can learn to cope with them and be ready.
*It is a major investment--not just in the necessary gear, training, and Doria trip charter fee, but in diving VERY often for a couple years in advance while you do other very enjoyable technical dives to build up your level of experience while wearing full tech gear.
*You have to be prepared to abort the goal if during your technical training and subsequent deep dives you discover that you really don't have the taste for doing dives with this level of risk.
*And, you have to be prepared to book a trip, assemble all the needed tanks, mixes, and gear, and arrive at the dock to have the trip cancelled due to conditions. Or even to motor the boat out to the site and THEN have the dive called on conditions.

Personally, I kind of put it out there as a "maybe" goal and then just did the dives I wanted to and was qualified and prepared to do; and then a couple years later noticed that the dives I was doing for fun (mostly caves) were certainly as difficult as the Doria, so I reset the goal as a "do" goal and got more training and started rehearsing all the "open water" skills such as shooting lift bags, doing deco on a descent line, carrying tools and goodie bag, etc. until I was sure I was ready for the dive.

The first charter I booked got cancelled, and then I had the good fortune of booking a second that made the trip and fulfilled my goals. I would have liked to have come back with a souvenir, but it was not a "do" goal, so when nothing interesting was within my reach on my dives I gave up on that one and settled for my memories and photos. I was 46 when I did the dive, and very fit due to nearly daily exercises including weight lifting, Yoga, swimming, cycling, and diving.

Happy diving,
theskull

 

[Gilldiver]

I see you are up in Boston. Start going out with Dave & Heather on the Gauntlet and let them know what your goals are. They can mentor you through the summer on a series of wrecks to build your skills for what you will need to handle the Doria's problems. You may even be able to hook up with some other divers who want the same goals and form up a team.

As for the Doria, On a good day anyone can touch her, on a bad day you just want to get back on the boat. The problem with the Doria is that a good day can become a bad day with the change of the tide. It is how you train to handle these rapid changes that make the difrence between a well trained deep diver and a well trained NE wreck diver.

Pete

 

[nadwidny]

The only difference my buddy and I have regarding the Doria is that he wants to collect some form of memorabilia and I want to leave it where it is.

Find a different buddy. Really. Deep wreck diving is no place to dive with someone that doesn't agree 100% with your own goals.