The "Mount Everest of Scuba diving"

[audission]

I'm referring, of course, to the Doria.

Keep reading this phrase everywhere.. just wondering why the Andrea Doria has this reputation?

Is it the biggest shipwreck - No, although it's obviously up there with the biggest
Is it the deepest/diveable - I'm not a tech diver but I'm quite sure there are deeper diveable wrecks (correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Britannic in about 400ft as opposed to the Doria's 250)
Does it have the highest body count - Possibly, for a wreck at least.
Is it the most beautiful - Maybe, china fever seems rife anyway.
Is it the most famous diveable shipwreck - Debatable but personally I'd say no, it's not as well known as the Lusitania for example.

Does it deserve the accolade?

 

[Jimmer]

I could be wrong, but I think a lot of the reputation is based on the rough conditions divers have to deal with there, meaning it's a substantial challenge to dive it. I'm sure more knowledgable divers will chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Emund Fitzgerald Not sure if it meets all of your criteria. There are also some Submarines that I would also like to Dive.

 

[Gilldiver]

You have to remember that the Doria got that name back in the 80's. This was Before Trimix, Before NITROX, and Before most dive computers.

So 200-250' on air with not much else, throw in the problems with the area conditions - limited vis, curents that can change directions while you are down, nest, maybe getting blown off the line and surface into fog and Ya it was a tough dive.


This is before you put in the factors of the wreck on its side and long penetrations.

Pete

 

[Scuba Brian]

Unfortunately, you can't dive the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's protected by the heritage act. Diver's cannot be within a mile of the wreck. With the fine of up to one million dollars. 574ft could make it everest though.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I wonder where the name "The Mount Everest of Diving" really came from and what it's really inteded to mean. Haven't a lot of green horns baught trips up Everest? Why Mount Everest? Was the rout they were taking really the hardest climb or was it just a way up a big name mountain? Back before trimix there were certainly some challenging wrecks and caves being dived all over the place. In the case of the caves some were deeper and the dives were a lot longer than the 20 or 30 minutes most are probably doing on a wreck. The Doria seems to stand out as being more of a circus than some of the other famous dives. To me, the name says more about how certain divers saught out the dive than it says about the dive itself.

Once I was getting a class into a local quarry and another instructor stood there belly deep at the entry area with his octo and consol dangling and just generally a mess bragging to his students about how he had dived the "Mount Everest of Diving". I sort of wondered if he or his students were going to survive their quarry dive but he's the guy that comes to mind when I hear the name "The Mount Everest of Diving".

Now we get e-mails from certain people who run trips to the Doria. I'm holding out for the blue light special.

 

[ShallowDiverDave]

I could be wrong, but don't most climbers consider K2 to be the toughest? So, if this were true, ironically, maybe the Doria is the Everest of diving. Heh!

 

[Scuba Brian]

Once I was getting a class into a local quarry and another instructor stood there belly deep at the entry area with his octo and consol dangling and just generally a mess bragging to his students about how he had dived the "Mount Everest of Diving". I sort of wondered if he or his students were going to survive their quarry dive but he's the guy that comes to mind when I hear the name "The Mount Everest of Diving".

Now we get e-mails from certain people who run trips to the Doria. I'm holding out for the blue light special.

Nothing worse than a instructor that glorifies dangerous dives to students.

I agree now with technology,trimix and training the once seemingly impossible dives are alot more accessable to a greater number of divers. The doria on air years ago was a dive for those with huge b***s. Now with tech diving it doesn't have that insurmountable reputation similar to everest before nylon rope, north face clothing, etc.. I guess if you really had to find a wreck that would have the same reputation as everest when they were climbing with hemp rope and animal skin cloths, and a expedition of 20 and only a few would come back, with todays technology i'd say the Titanic.
Hey it's only 12600ft to the wreck

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Thanks for the info. I was really just participating for the "Fantasy Diving" part of the thread.

Unfortunately, you can't dive the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's protected by the heritage act. Diver's cannot be within a mile of the wreck. With the fine of up to one million dollars. 574ft could make it everest though.

 

[Scuba Brian]

Thanks for the info. I was really just participating for the "Fantasy Diving" part of the thread.

Sorry i didn't mean to be a party pooper. I just wanted to let people know it was off limits, unless you have a huge checkbook.