Andrea Doria Discussion

[PRR 5406]

At the time of the sinking the technology to salvage an ocean liner at that depth, I believe reported at the time as 400'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but working in open ocean at the turn of the 20th Century in a hard hat suit was risky if not impossible.

 

[TravelGas]

Didn't I read that the RMS Republic Divers in 1981 discovered the wreck and explored it on air? Is that even possible at that depth ?

 

[PRR 5406]

On air, at that location, it would be at best to touch the wreck. Considering the dangers Gimbel and Fox faced in their 1956 dive on a known ship.

 

[Akimbo]

The Republic went down 1909 and the SS Egypt 13 years later with £1 million in gold (around £200 million at the 2012 gold price). She was found in 128m/420' and most of the gold was salvaged with technology that existed in 1900.

If the Republic really had about 5x as much gold onboard, you can be sure that whoever lost it would try to get it back.

 

[acxc]

Here is some GoPro footage one of the guys shot during our last dive. Pretty dark, but gives you some idea of what the debris field is like:

 

[TravelGas]

Great video, yes plenty dark for daytime. Thanks for sharing. You should post some more Tech' wreck videos.
What was the water temp at the bottom and your max depth?

 

[acxc]

Great video, yes plenty dark for daytime. Thanks for sharing. You should post some more Tech' wreck videos.
What was the water temp at the bottom and your max depth?

48 on the bottom, 68 at the top. I think 240' or so was the max depth. All dives were 25 min BT and around 110 min total run time. Current was as advertised, constantly changing and inconsistent throughout the water column.

 

[PRR 5406]

Here is some GoPro footage one of the guys shot during our last dive. Pretty dark, but gives you some idea of what the debris field is like:

Superb video of how little white light trickles to the bottom. The Atlantic is blue at the surface, but near black at the bottom. I think he found a promenade deck window towards the end, but whether is was port or starboard is difficult to ascertain. While the stern is somewhat elevated y the curvature of the hull, I believe her starboard side has been well buried in muck since the sinking. If that's the case, her interiors must be likewise filling with mud.
The wood debris which remains is from cabin furnishings, deck chairs, or interior walls?
When was this dive? I want to see more video and stills of the "Doria" today.

 

[PRR 5406]

Not to deviate too far, try researching the R.M.S. Republic using R.M.S. Google. One site shows the hull more or less retaining its shape and a debris field much like the Doria's. To add to that, the gold is estimated to have accrued values of up to $7 billion. If that was the case, I would think salvage crew would bring barges and derricks with scooping jaws to recover everything for sorting.
I agree with Akimbo regarding validity of the claim. BUT if it's on the internet it must be true. You can't lie about that kind of thing!

Back to the "Andrea Doria", please! Who else has dived recently?

 

[Eric802]

Here is some GoPro footage one of the guys shot during our last dive. Pretty dark, but gives you some idea of what the debris field is like:

Love the Trash Panda videos.