Is Andrea Doria worth it?

[Akimbo]

... I had one of those Frenzy BC's in 1972.

I'm pretty sure that the older model Bouée Fenzy in Bernie's photo was mine (on the left). If I remember correctly, all the others onboard were the newer ones like Bob Hollis (to the right) is wearing.

This vest was an amazingly generous gift to me from the guy who first imported them into the US. It just showed up in the mail about a week after I met him with a note that something like "I thought you could use this". I wish I still had that note even more than the Fenzy itself. I was just a high school kid about to join the Navy. I met him on the same trip to San Diego where I met Bev Morgan described in this Bio.

The funny part was almost none of the Navy guys onboard had ever seen a Fenzy before. Mine and the photo teams' were the only ones onboard. We heard a bunch of "what do you need that for" kinds of comments from the hairy-chested Navy deep sea divers... until we explained what it could do to George. Nobody went in the water without one after that. I think it is fair to say that we all learned a lot from each other.

 

[Jared0425]

Why so determined to get stuff off a wreck?

Perhaps my response is partially to being a minimalist when it comes to stuff and the fact that Great Lakes wrecks are protected by both state and federal law. You're not going to be legally taking anything off a wreck around here.

Pictures are my souvenir and proof I've done a particular wreck.

Marie I am also from the Great Lakes region, and let me tell you thatnis absolutely not true. The Abandoned Shipwrecks act only applies to abandoned and EMBEDDED wrecks on state lands. Many wrecks in the lakes are still owned. I point you to Ehorn V Michigan, Ehorn V Wisconsin, and Zych V Illinois. There is a perpetulant myth here that the state owns the wreck and they are time capsules that are preserved for ever. Let's get that bullsh!t out the door. I do not recommend people stripping the wrecks and then doing nothing to preserve or display said artifact. I put a ton of time, money, and effort in locating lost ships and leave 99.9% of the items on the wreck. Anything that is taken off the wreck is preserved and displayed in some form. We donated a big compass to a local museum from one of recent discoveries. The cost of having it restored ran $2000 a price well worth it. Everyone gets to see the item first hand and we get to keep the wreck location under wraps.

The wrecks in the lakes are deteriorating faster than ever before. Sunlight, zebra mussels, and marine growth at depths never imagined has caused irreversible damage. I saw a thread that you posted in the technical divers section about taking things up a notch when you are skilled enough to complete the training. Now is the time to do while the wrecks are still standing. The wrecks off the Thumb and Preseque Isle are not the same one that we located back in the 80s. They have changed drastically and not for the better. So the next time you hear people ranting about how great preserves and national sanctuarys are, you tell them that they do nothing but allow control over a resource that will be destroyed along with it's artifacts forever.

Alright end of rant.

 

[Akimbo]

... Many wrecks in the lakes are still owned...

Most wrecks, even in international waters, are as well... including the Doria. We received a letter from the insurance company that owns (owned?) her within days of the story of our dive hitting the news in 1973. We expected to lose about half of the salvage in admiralty court. Unfortunately we didn't have to deal with that problem.

Edit: This is true even when the owners have no idea where the wreck is. The admiralty court will take locating the wreck into consideration along with other factors when determining how much is awarded to the salvors. Traditionally, the salvor will get their expenses plus a percentage depending on the difficulty and financial risk involved.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

View attachment 431341

Bernie Campoli - 1973 Expedition to the Andrea Doria

(photo from VDH website/Forum)

the guy in the front looks focused and intense. The guy on the left looks scared s**tless .

 

[Michael Guerrero]

Since there are a bunch of old guys lurking on this thread, what are your thoughts about where diving is today from an excitement, exploration, and risk-taking perspective as compared to yesteryear?

 

[undrwater]

Amazing thread. Thanks everyone!

 

[Akimbo]

the guy in the front looks focused and intense. The guy on the left looks scared s**tless .

I was there. Trust me, he wasn't. Physically exhausted for sure.

 

[wcs563]

Good question. I am a very new comer and dived it for the first time in 2011, then returned last year on two trips aboard the "Ol Salty II", a veteran captain and vessel that had been there several times over many years past. I am headed back there again this summer on two more trips. There are still artifacts to collect, I located a bunch of china last years and a winery in 2011, so, for the artifact hounds there is potential. One has to search the debris field primarily now to locate small pieces. You can penetrate the wreck still, we are going to the stern section again this summer. We tied in midship last year. It is a challenging wreck, due to being 110 miles from Montauk, in shipping lanes, with current usually, if not the surface, midwater and the bottom, sometimes going in different directions, lower visibility is the norm, cold water and rough seas often with fog. Due to all these circumstances, the wreck is usually dived in July and August only. There is a narrow window of opportunity, and the expeditions (they truly are) last three days. It is dangerous, as last year, on the second trip, we had a death. First customer in the water, died after 1/2 stay on the bottom at 230' and sudden ascent to the surface resulting in rapid decompression that killed him while he was climbing the dive ladder, right in front of me. There was nothing we could do to save him, in spite of 2 hours on continuous CPR. This the a risky trip, and expensive, and no guarantee you will dive the wreck at all....

 

[Jared0425]

Isn't there one more bell down there? I remember one being recovered not too long ago by sheer happenence.

 

[Billy Northrup]

Good question. I am a very new comer and dived it for the first time in 2011, then returned last year on two trips aboard the "Ol Salty II", a veteran captain and vessel that had been there several times over many years past. I am headed back there again this summer on two more trips. There are still artifacts to collect, I located a bunch of china last years and a winery in 2011, so, for the artifact hounds there is potential. One has to search the debris field primarily now to locate small pieces. You can penetrate the wreck still, we are going to the stern section again this summer. We tied in midship last year. It is a challenging wreck, due to being 110 miles from Montauk, in shipping lanes, with current usually, if not the surface, midwater and the bottom, sometimes going in different directions, lower visibility is the norm, cold water and rough seas often with fog. Due to all these circumstances, the wreck is usually dived in July and August only. There is a narrow window of opportunity, and the expeditions (they truly are) last three days. It is dangerous, as last year, on the second trip, we had a death. First customer in the water, died after 1/2 stay on the bottom at 230' and sudden ascent to the surface resulting in rapid decompression that killed him while he was climbing the dive ladder, right in front of me. There was nothing we could do to save him, in spite of 2 hours on continuous CPR. This the a risky trip, and expensive, and no guarantee you will dive the wreck at all....

Any reason (or speculation) as to why ?

I'm diving it in July, and train daily for it until then.