What is the draw of wreck diving?

[Wingy]

I used to say I had no real fascination with wrecks after quite a few in PNG until I became involved with maritime history with a crewing position on a tall ship replica. I had actually dived her route which was full of wrecks without meeting the ship years before but am more of a fish and critters person than a structures person so I ignored that side of the area. I did a couple of wreck dives in Sabang this year and enjoyed the critters and the little nooks and crannies. Ive recently signed on for a LOB trip where the others will be looking at WW2 wrecks..i will be looking for anything much older.

Its the history and mystery - I love that comment.

Their story is what has peaked my interest again. Ive done ocean crossings on modern sailing vessels and crew on a very authentic (pre helm) tall ship so I now ''feel'' the vessel and try and find her story. Maritime archaeology has become a bit of a passion, who was onboard? where were they going? what happened...i like that mystery. Then feel compelled to find out her story if its available.

Actually looking forward to a wrecks trip.

 

[j2s]

It's the unknown wrecks and caves we seek !!!!.......A never before found tunnel/room or never before 'picked' over wreck !!!!....Finding something that may change the established 'time-line' or perceived historical belief system.......A fossil collector found a mammoth bone in Vero Bch. w/caveman drawings on it.....Completely changed Florida's history !!!!!.......

 

[Randy g]

Get on some big wrecks (400-500"+) and get a scooter. It's a blast ripping around from stem to stern and seeing the sea life. We see more cool stuff on wrecks with the scooters and I believe its simply because we cover more ground. But then again, I will dive almost anytime/anywhere from blackwater fossils to reefs and I like wet rocks as well.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Once I sold my scooter and bought a camera I was amazed at the marine life I missed by scooting from point A to point B. I rarely cover more than fifty feet on a dive these days and find something new quite often.

 

[Kevrumbo]

A great historical wreck site is one that tells an epic story. Examples:
Battle of Sunda Strait - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Houston_(CA-30)
Captain Albert Rooks USS Houston
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Perth_(D29)
Captain Hector Waller HMAS Perth

Great and sobering WWII histories about the last stand against an overwhelming Japanese surface invasion fleet, of these two doomed warships HMAS Perth and USS Houston, the last of the ill-fated & short-lived ABDA (American-British-Dutch-Australian) Fleet. The survivors were taken as POW's by the Japanese to work on the most infamous civil engineering project in history --The Thai-Burma Railway-- and where most of them tragically perished in hellish conditions. . .

The allure and fun of wreck diving is not just merely researching the history for academic sake, but actually diving down yourself and vicariously reliving the history as you would imagine how it might've actually happened. . .

http://www.asiadivers.com/technical...techasia_diving/expeditions/Java_MoreInfo.pdf

 

[KeithG]

And for some people the wreck becomes a visible focal point of the dive.

I once dove with a group that complained there was nothing to see down there. Until the wreck dive.

The wreck provided an easily identifiable man made artifact that they could relate to. Without it, they wandered randomly over the reef looking for something familiar. They were unable to identify and associate with the numerous coral formations.

No wreck? then nothing down there!

 

[Oldbear]

A great historical wreck site is one that tells an epic story. Examples:
Battle of Sunda Strait - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Houston_(CA-30)
Captain Albert Rooks USS Houston
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Perth_(D29)
Captain Hector Waller HMAS Perth

Great and sobering WWII histories about the last stand against an overwhelming Japanese surface invasion fleet, of these two doomed warships, HMAS Perth and the USS Houston. the last of the ill-fated & short-lived ABDA (American-British-Dutch-Australian) Fleet. The survivors were taken as POW's by the Japanese to work on the most infamous civil engineering project in history --The Thai-Burma Railway-- and where most of them tragically perished in hellish conditions. . .

The allure and fun of wreck diving is not just merely researching the history for academic sake, but actually diving down yourself and vicariously reliving the history as you would imagine how it might've actually happened. . .

http://www.asiadivers.com/technical...techasia_diving/expeditions/Java_MoreInfo.pdf

Well said sir...

I visited the The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery near "the bridges" over the river Kwai. Very solace and moving that words can never convey the spectrum of emotions. I had my 23 year daughter with me and she was equally moved. My emotional base was that of a soldier, hers was these young men killed were her age.

So when I dive a wreck I am constantly reminded that lives, young lives, served and possibly died on this wreck. So I always approach wrecks with respect.

Some might say that man-made reefs did not take a life, but young men did serve on them, military or not...these ships were someone's homes and livelihoods at one time.

 

[jadairiii]

Certain amount of pleasure of the history of the wreck along with moving through the interior. But really for me it is the fish around it, big and little. When you look up from the deck of the wreck in 260' and watch to fully grown porpoise swim through the king posts 20' above you....well....not going to see that in a cave.

 

[Hickdive]

Wrecks have everything;

history
technology
mystery
marine life
deep or shallow
penetration or no penetration

I look at the big guns on a battleship like the Kronprinz Wilhelm and I can practically feel the history that oozes out of them. The history of most of the twentieth century and consequently the world as it is today are directly linked to those guns. As a diver I am in the privileged position of seeing them.



*nmp.

 

[AfterDark]

A great historical wreck site is one that tells an epic story. Examples:
Battle of Sunda Strait - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Houston_(CA-30)
Captain Albert Rooks USS Houston
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Perth_(D29)
Captain Hector Waller HMAS Perth

Great and sobering WWII histories about the last stand against an overwhelming Japanese surface invasion fleet, of these two doomed warships, HMAS Perth and the USS Houston. the last of the ill-fated & short-lived ABDA (American-British-Dutch-Australian) Fleet. The survivors were taken as POW's by the Japanese to work on the most infamous civil engineering project in history --The Thai-Burma Railway-- and where most of them tragically perished in hellish conditions. . .

The allure and fun of wreck diving is not just merely researching the history for academic sake, but actually diving down yourself and vicariously reliving the history as you would imagine how it might've actually happened. . .

http://www.asiadivers.com/technical...techasia_diving/expeditions/Java_MoreInfo.pdf

This post reminds me of one of the many dives I made on the U853 the last German U-boat sunk during WWII. I guess that day I was more introspective than usual. Post dive I was eating lunch and marveling at the balls this capt. had to bring his sub so close to land, alone, far from home and any backup or help. He really did put his sub in a trap of shallow water with few options for egress basically points south. The USCC was on the scene from Point Judith in minutes dropping depth charges. Then the USN arrived and the U853's luck ran out. Hard to imagine the terror those guys must have felt with those depth charges exploding all around them with who knows what breaking inside the sub and no place to run or hide. How would I be in that situation? I've looked death in the face but that situation I think what be quite different.