Top 10 wreck dives in the world?

[Thalassamania]

Lists of "dive shop" wrecks, hardly lists of the best wrecks in the world.

 

[Diver0001]

Blatant attempt to make first post look pretty by including picture
from the SS President Coolidge.

I was doing a bit of research online for the Wikipedia article on (a bunch of bull****)

Frankly, *what* is a decent wreck?

In my opinion the people from dive rags who tell us "which wrecks are cool" are the same people who tell us which "hotels are cool". They're the people who are either (a) given pussy and/or alcohol in exchange for a favorable mention in a major travel guide, or (b) are "tourists" (as opposed to divers) who think that an arificial reef in 8 metres of clear warm water is a "wreck" because they've never been in 35 metres of turbid and cold water on a ship that sank against its capitain's will ..... Some journalists are noobs but they shouldn't be the ones to "tell us how it is...".

To my way of thinking, the "real" wrecks in this world are the ones in the North Sea. The whole North Sea was laid down squarely, confidently and assertively by God for divers...... it's between 25 and 45 metres deep (until near the shore of Scotland) and there are 10,000 divable objects between the UK and the coast of the European mainland.... Maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of those are wrecks but even at that, a few hundred exposed wrecks are the ****! These are the most challenging, the most interesting and historically the most meaningful wrecks in the northern hemisphere. They are not easy to dive, they are hard to identify, they are not photogenic and interestingly, they are NOT the wrecks that warm water dive journalists talk about between drinks.

You'll never hear about them in your "cool" rags because babes in bikinis don't girate to this **** ... but the best divers in Europe will be out there diving on them every weekend without thumping their chests or thinking that theirs are bigger than the other guy...

R..

 

[Kevrumbo]

A "decent" wreck is one that tells an epic story. Examples:
Battle of Sunda Strait - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ship of Ghosts
Captain Albert Rooks USS Houston
Captain Hector Waller HMAS Perth

The allure and fun of wreck diving is not just merely researching the history for academic sake (or some other totally different opinionated rhetorical scatology [i.e. "troll"] like that posted above by Thal & Diver0001 ), but actually diving down yourself and vicariously reliving the history as you would imagine how it might've actually happened. . .

 

[vladimir]

They're the people who are either (a) given pussy and/or alcohol in exchange for a favorable mention in a major travel guide

Nice and classy, Diver0001.

...but the best divers in Europe will be out there diving on them every weekend without thumping their chests or thinking that theirs are bigger than the other guy...

No need..they have you to do it for them, it seems.

I am glad to hear about all these great wrecks in the North Sea, and I hope you guys enjoy them. (And I will concede that you cold-water guys are much better divers than I am, just to get that out of the way--not that there was any question about that, but it seems to motivate your posting.) I suspect that many of those who dive them do so because they live nearby. The same reason I used to dive wrecks off the coast of Long Island--I couldn't afford either the time or the money to go to Truk.

I suppose it's true that these magazine writers tout the easily accessible tropical wrecks to avail themselves of all the gratuitous sex and booze that is normally associated with journalism, and dive journalism in particular. But isn't it possible that they are just writing for their audience? Divers who read their magazines and would actually be interested in visiting wrecks they are qualified to dive? Just a theory, of course.

 

[Thalassamania]

You don't relive history going to Disney, there's no adventure in Adventureland.

 

[diver 86]

If the Oriskany is #3, I can skip the rest of the list. With nothing but the top of the tower in rec limits, it was a been there done that got a t-shirt dive. I actually enjoyed the nearby army tanks a lot more.

 

[vladimir]

You don't relive history going to Disney, there's no adventure in Adventureland.

I agree, and "wrecks" that were deliberately sunk as tourist attractions hold no interest for me beyond what marine life they might attract.

Wrecks that were sunk in relatively shallow water during one of the most historic battles of WWII, on the other hand, have everything going for them--they are historic, photogenic, blanketed with marine life and, often, artifacts, and they are accessible. Oh, yeah, and they attract promiscuous women in bikinis, apparently, although I missed that on my trip to Truk. Of course, I went on my own dime; maybe if SkinDiver had sent me...

The only thing they lack is exclusivity--you can't brag about having done the dive because plenty of others have too. Kind of like a VIP room without velvet ropes.

 

[Thalassamania]

It's not that prepared wrecks can be good fund, the Thunderbolt is one of my favorite dives, but I have trouble calling it, "a wreck dive," it's just a dive. Now the Wilkes Barre, that's a good wreck dive.

 

[Centrals]

You'll never hear about them in your "cool" rags because babes in bikinis don't girate to this **** ...
R..

I must be missing something!!!
Having done a lot of divable wrecks in Philippines, some along the East and West coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Palau and Truk. I yet to meet any divers in bikini inside/outside any wrecks.

 

[Ste Wart]

I must be missing something!!!
Having done a lot of divable wrecks in Philippines, some along the East and West coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Palau and Truk. I yet to meet any divers in bikini inside/outside any wrecks.

They were probably waiting to get their tetanus shots.