What is the draw of wreck diving?

[tomfcrist]

Wreck diving to me is being able to see history. The backstory of the wreck is interesting to me, and i like that wrecks change over time. Caves are cool too, but for me I can only see so many rocks on one dive. I understand the draw of caves, but its just not my lane. Wreck diving is available to anyone that lives on any coast, and even some lakes....Caves are far fewer and far between. I think people dive sites that are more available and whatever sparks thier interest. Everyone is different.

 

[Oldbear]

+1 for historical intrigue.

I am a big history fan. I love to research a wreck as much as possible before/after a dive as possible. I now have the great pleasure of working on-site of a major WWII battle sites and the wrecks are numerous. I am constantly in awe when I dive one of these historical sites.

Wrecks that are purposely sank I still enjoy but just differently. Just like I enjoy Spaghetti-Os and I enjoy Homemade Pasta with a Pesto sauce, they are not both the same caliber Italian foods (if Spaghetti-Os ever was Italian food) but different types of goodness.

 

[Doc Harry]

They seem to have death written all over, with many sharp protrusions ready to rip you to shreds.

That's exactly the draw.

 

[TSandM]

I am absolutely not a wreck person. Especially where we live, they don't attract much diversity of marine life. I don't know much about ships and often don't even know what part of the ship I'm looking at, so there's not much sense of impact.

But, a number of years ago, I did a dive on the Thistlegorm wreck in the Red Sea. We had a FABULOUS briefing, which included a 3D model of the ship on the computer, which the guide could rotate and zoom in on, to show us the things that we might find interesting. The ship is a "real" wreck, sunk during WWII, and not a hulk prepared for divers. We went down and began to circle the ship, and I saw something odd -- two circles with a straight line above them. We all know straight lines are rare in nature, so this was something else . . . and as I stared, I realized I was looking at a tank, lying on its roof, just as we had been briefed. Suddenly, I was there the night the ship sank. I could see the ship on the surface, hear the bombs falling and explosions. In my mind's eye, I could see men running and hear their voices, shouting and crying out.

I got goosebumps. For one amazing, intense moment, I understood why people dive wrecks.

They went back to being rusty, silty metal on the bottom after that, though . . .

 

[covediver]

For some it is the thrill of discovery, even if is an old boat at the bottom of a quarry that everyone else has been to. That is why I object to people who take artifacts, they deny to people who come behind them the very expereince that they so highly prize. It is something different than a natural swim through. For others, it is a connection with history. For still others, it is a unique habitat symbolic that the sea always bats last. For others, it represents an accomplishment, either public admiration (think about the motivations of the dish-a-holics described in detail of all of the books that have come out about diving the Andrea Doria in the last 15 years) or personal achievement (I made it down, in, out, and back up in a well choreographed and somewhat dangerous).

Professor Trevor Norton, in his book Underwater to Get Out of the Rain eloquently addresses the nature of shipwrecks and wreck diving in the following passage from the Lost Ships chapter.

"On land, castles may crumble into romantic ruins, but if they remain reasonably intact we mend the roof then fill them with story-boards and exhibits so that paying customers can shuffle over the ancient but newly swept floors. Sound effects and atmospheric lighting help to create an ambience of ancient times.

Wrecked ships need no such help. They ooze atmosphere and are the eeriest places on earth. The surrounding haze creates mystery and a feeling of discovery. Sometimes snagged nets wreathe hulks in aquatic cobwebs that add an air of witchery. But it is the gloom inside that generates unease. It is impossible to venture into the black heart of a hulk without feeling the below is the darkness something awaits you.

They may also retain the feeling of sudden abandonment. In the cabins of the Hisperia I found a cup with a broken handle, a scrubbing brush beside the bathtub and a lone shoe slowly filling with silt. Down there, these mundane objects became imbued with a poignancy that they could never possess in a museum case. It never occurred to me that they were merely artefacts or souvenirs to be collected; they were still personal items belonging to the crew."

“The unease" he writes, "is stoked by the knowledge that wrecks are dangerous places to be. It is easy to become disoriented in a confusion of corridors and decks even when a ship is well lit and afloat, but down here in the darkness amid clouds of silt, it is possible to get lost in the labyrinth where there is no easy escape to the surface. The tenuous artificiality of your existence is emphasized by the precious air expelled with every breath to accumulate as quicksilver pools on the ceiling. The trapped diver is unique among the condemned in that he can see his last breath.”

 

[Akimbo]

Cave I can understand...<snip> ...I would like to understand the appeal of wreck penetration or even wreck diving...

Easy, caves don&#8217;t have brass fixtures. You don&#8217;t have to dive at all if all you want is some rocks on your mantel.

Seriously, I have always found caves and fresh water terminally boring. Keep in mind my perspective is that of a recovering brassoholic. I think most divers are attracted to large pinnacles, walls, and deep ravines. I suppose they provide some connection to a third dimension that we can &#8220;fly&#8221; though that can&#8217;t be experienced on land. Both wrecks and caves provide some of that 3D component, but that doesn&#8217;t explain wreck penetration.

It is hard to be really interested in wrecks unless you have an interest in ships and maritime history. I almost always enjoy a war vessel more than a merchantman or fishing boats. Yeah, there is more brass, but there is also a lot higher density of &#8220;stuff&#8221; that the curious can try figure out what it was used for. One thing that sets dedicated wreck divers apart from wreck tourists is research&#8230; lots of it. Without that interest wrecks are mostly deteriorating piles of scrap. I doubt that a significant percentage of wreck divers are motivated by &#8220;treasure&#8221;, at least after a few real life experiences.

 

[mathauck0814]

1. History of its service and the story behind how it got there.
2. They're tangible things that can be identified uniquely.
3. Because of #3, when they're exceptionally difficult wreck it's easier to verify their exclusivity. One of our wrecks we strongly suspect has had fewer visitors than the moon.
4. Spearfishing - game fish love wrecks more than caves
5. There's something fun about coming out of the water covered in rust
6. No deck guns mounted in caves
7. Swimming with a prop that's taller than you are is pretty awesome
8. Artifacts that you can dig out of wrecks from when people inhabited and employed its use
9. There's good fun in studying bathymetry and discovering new ones
10. Wrecks change as they age, if you visit the same wreck over time you can observe the differences as outer layers peel away to reveal new access points
11. Wrecks are more ubiquitous. If there is water, odds are there's a wreck. Caves are more geographically specific.

 

[bada3003]

Cave I can understand. Caves are such beautiful natural structures and I love diving in swim-throughs. ...

Caves in Florida tend to be quite different than those in Mexican cenotes. Some may like the latter but not the fomer, and vice versa. Similarly for wrecks. There are some wrecks are not well-preserved and very little (if any) penetration. History buffs might like them; I don't. Then there are others where you can dive many times while only sampling parts of its internal structure. Gloomy? Sure. Some are graveyards where people have drowned. Just think of the ferry that sunk in Korea recently and what fascination, if any, one would have diving it 20-30 years from now. I wouldn't; but to each his/her own within civilized norms.

 

[Tigerman]

A 6-minute summary of why wrecks are cool...
This particular one was bombed on october 6th 1941 by a german Heinkel HE III bomber. 2 days later they came back and bombed the Rosalie Moeller not far away from it
[video=youtube;nrmtgHUEYio]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrmtgHUEYio[/video]

 

[muzikbiz22]

Wrecks/Scuttled Ships Rule !! At least for me, and here's why;

1 - Wrecks are big apartment buildings for life, both large and small. What was once a barren sand patch, is now a community.
2 - Wrecks have a story to tell.
3 - For us UW photographers, there is an architectural aspect to shooting wrecks underwater.
4 - Big life hanging around. Nothing beats a Goliath Grouper, shark, ray, turtle, etc.
5 - Someone said it earlier; the history and the mystery.

Personally, not a huge penetrator of wrecks. For me, the fun is outside. Hence my unfavorable opinion of caves.