sunk on purpose....no appeal?

[H2O 70]

Okay James, you can't post that without an explanation.

I did some looking after his post. Basically it is one big grave.

 

[fdog]

Okay James, you can't post that without an explanation.

The vessel sank with hundreds still on board - IIRC the death toll was ~1600 - with only ~180 survivors, most were trapped inside.

There is a decent write-up here.

Although many efforts were made to recover the bodies, eventually the mental drain on the recovery divers caused recovery efforts to be ceased, and the doors to the passenger compartments were welded closed, with many bodies still inside. The numbers quoted to me were in the range of 400 still entombed in the vessel.

A dive to the site is at first exhilarating. We were on scooters, and the vis was spectacular, almost 200'. The vessel is huge and intact, and a joy to fly around. This joy quickly evaporates as you scooter slowly over the bottom, and discover shoes, luggage, personal effects; a capsized life boat; and finally, as you find the doors to the passenger lounges firmly welded closed and the windows covered.

Nope. I won't go back. Too somber.


All the best, James

 

[deepstops]

The vessel sank with hundreds still on board - IIRC the death toll was ~1600 - with only ~180 survivors, most were trapped inside.

There is a decent write-up here.

Nope. I won't go back. Too somber.

All the best, James

That's quite the story and a lot of history behind that ship.

 

[SDE Dennis]

I find the way a wreck ended up on the bottom makes little difference to me. I enjoy the history, but for me it is the whole atmosphere that the wreck makes around itself. I will admit that new wrecks have little apeal to me. The Aeolis is one of my favorite wrecks off NC. Is it the size, or the fact that I dove it one year and it was intact and the next year it was broke into three sections from a hurricane?

Off the coast of Del many of the wrecks are natural but deteriorated to the point of skeltons with little mystery. I still really enjoy diving these, but for me an artificial wreck that has been down for many years has more to offer.

 

[theduckguru]

I have completed my 5th and last dive on wrecks. Haven't found any of them to be much interest.

 

[captndale]

I put diving an artificial reef, diving an aquarium or doing a shark feeding dive all in the same category. They may be good training exercises or better than nothing if the real thing is not available. I would rather dive a real wreck, a real reef or dive with sharks acting in their normal manner. The difference is like walking down the streets of Las Vegas vs. walking a natural mountain trail.

 

[RJP]

I have completed my 5th and last dive on wrecks. Haven't found any of them to be much interest.

You're diving the wrong wrecks dude...

 

[bell47]

RJP.....that's way cool.....that's why I like real shipwrecks. Actually if a ship is sunk on purpose why is it called a "wreck". It didn't wreck...it was just placed there.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I prefer to dive wrecks. It doesn't matter if they are natural or artifical, as long as you can still see what it was not just a pile of boards on the bottom. I enjoy the natural ones for the history and the artifical ones because they are almost totally intact. I get bored diving on reefs after a couple of dives.

 

[RJP]

I dive wrecks for the life that is on them, and a little bit for the cool views you can get looking up at or through the structure, so I don't mind if they were deliberately scuttled.

But I have to say that diving the Thistlegorm, after seeing photographs of it and hearing the story of how it sank, was a whole different emotional experience.

Lynn, you have to go to Truk Lagoon.

I did three dives on the Thistlegorm when I was in Egypt last year. They were great dives for sure. Now imagine those being the three most BORING dives of your trip...

I spent 17 days diving in Truk Lagoon. 57 dives. More than 54 hours underwater. The least of those dives were as enthralling as the Thistlegorm. Being from the same era, there's as much historical significance; as much hardware/trucks/tanks/motorcycles/etc on the Truk wrecks. However, there are far more "human artifacts" in Truk. Not "remains" per se (though there are remains) but rather finding a tea cup that is completely intact buried amid the utter destruction of a ship that was bombed so badly that fully 1/3 of it is simply gone. Swimming through a torpedo hole into the engine room of a wreck where the machinist's wrenches are still hanging, in order, as if he's going to walk back in nearly 70yrs later. Seeing a light bulb in a light fixture at 175' that not only looks brand new, but the filament is intact...and looking beyond that bulb through a hole in the ship through which a Mack truck could be driven. Part of the Fumitzuki (destroyer) had recently broken open and we found a book inside. Opening it, we were able to flip through the pages as if it had been thrown in the lagoon earlier that day.

In terms of life on the Truk wrecks...

More than half of the dives I did in Truk made the Thistlegorm look like a cruiser sunk in 65' of water at a local quarry five years ago. Simply amazing during the day, with many being even more spectacular at night. Picture doing 20 minutes of deco on the top of the Fujikawa Maru king post at 15' with more stuff to look at than on many Caribbean reefs.

The best part about diving the wrecks in Truk - from the Odyssey especially - is that it's highly unlikely that there will be more than 16 divers on any wreck you're on. In fact, since there's no set "dive times" on the Odyssey you can easily ensure that you and your buddy are the ONLY divers on that wreck. Don't report me over in the DIR or Tek-2-Tek forums, but I did more than one solo dive in Truk. Being the first person in weeks - maybe months - to descend on a 300'-400' wreck with 100+ feet of visibility, finding it teaming with sharks, rays, even a turtle or two. Cruising atop the deck in total silence, total serenity, then coming upon the telegraphs on the bridge, encrusted with hard corals of every color, yet seemingly still operational. Continuing on to the bow gun, which might still rotate on its turret with a little maintenance. Dropping down to the sand, and following the contour of the hull to a hole not big enough to drive a Mini Cooper through...which hole was the proximate cause for the ship being currently situated at the bottom of the Lagoon. Entering the engine room, a cathedral of order and disorder at the same time. Light peering through not just from above, but from the sides and below; places where light shouldn't peer in if you know much about boats. Working your way up through companion way and stairs, through crew quarters, into tiled bathrooms, through galleys where there are still pots on the stove. Finishing your dive by doing your deco at 15', midwater, motionless, alone, while looking down at a wreck that you can see in its entirety. It's truly awe-inspiring.

Put it on your list Lynne. Put it on your list...