Someone in a recent thread described the Andrea Doria as one of the most significant wreck dives one can do. I'm wondering what people think is the equivalent in Puget Sound and the west coast more broadly. What is the wreck that comes with bragging rights for the top left corner?
The Govenor?
SS Bunker Hill?
Something else?
Step 1, nobody cares about "brags"
I've done the SS Governor - on the 3rd try. If you have a good skipper (good luck they all went out of business or retired years ago), have help from someone with the extensive experience to time the tides and dictate your splash moment on your behalf, have a modern scooter and gases, it's not
that difficult. At some level, the Al-Ind-Esk-a-Sea is actually scarier because its laying on its side in terrible vis (6ft would be a good day) at 220+ with nets, cables, and crap everywhere.
If you are doing the Governor "from scratch" there will be some extremely challenging trial and error involved. And there may be a few moments where you're fighting for your life, question your sanity, or both. And it will be expensive, on OC its $1200-ish per attempt/dive.
I have not done the Bunker Hill or the Admiral Samson. Both are deeper than SS Governor, but slightly less complicated current-wise. The Governor and the Sampson definitely require significant luck that 1) the weather will cooperate and 2) the Coast Guard won't cancel your dive due to VTS traffic that's can't be routed around on that particular day. The Bunker Hill is also in the VTS lanes but Rosario Strait is a lot less busy than Admiralty Inlet.
