Doria question

[DA Aquamaster]

"The Last Dive" is a great book if you want to read up on the accident. As well as can be pieced together, some shelving fell on the son while he was digging around on the floor in the captains cabin on the U-boat. He panicked and started screaming and flailing around and the father went in after him to free him. He did manage to free him but they both lost their bearings in the silt and had trouble getting out. When they did exit it was from another part of the U-boat and they were not able to find their way back to the original entrance where the stage bottles with the deco gas were located. They started deco with what they had left but then had a regulator problem and the dad went to the surface to arrange for more gas. The son however quickly followed and both were badly bent by the time they surfaced.

The dad died in a very short time and the son survived long enough to make it to a recompression chamber but there was not a lot they could do for him as he was way beyond what could be done in a chamber with a 165' depth capability. (We are talking trying to draw a blood sample and getting nothing but foam.)

The dive was done on air and nitrogen narcosis was definitely a contributing factor to the accident. It was speculated that on the one hand, trimix would have helped both in the U-boat and again once outside in finding their way back to the stage bottles. On the other hand the higher gas consumption associated with trimix may have resulted in them running out of gas in the U-boat. Who knows. It was however a very aggressive penetration and a very dangerous dive under any circumstance.

 

[Danny D]

Yeah that sounds more like it.. I could actually picture the show step by step with the way you poetically described the book ....lol

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Most of the book is about the Rouse's dive history with a much more interesting side plot involving the author, Benie Chowdhury, and his own accident where he missed about 90 minutes of deco. The actual coverage of what happned in the U-boat is found near the end and is fairly brief. It's followed by Chrissy's really horrible death which is a lot longer.

That part of the book would make a great "Scared Straight" program for tech divers. " If you f#%* up this is what will happen to you..."

 

[ScottyK]

DA Aquamaster once bubbled...
That part of the book would make a great "Scared Straight" program for tech divers. " If you f#%* up this is what will happen to you..."

It definitely shook me up, and upset me also. The author does almost too good a job of showing you the real people behind the story. I felt like I lost two friends by the time I reached the end of the book.

 

[Curly]

Those guys dove out of (and the son worked at) our LDS. Some of their Doria stuff is in the display case there, along with other artifacts. Tragic story.

 

[DeepScuba]

Curly:

I'm curious, is there any talk about them still today?

And pics, memorials etc in the shop?

I assume the home they built is still there and is occupied by someone else? Do they know the story?

So much to wonder about.

Is anyone else at the shop that dove with them still there?

 

[Curly]

Curly:

I'm curious, is there any talk about them still today?

And pics, memorials etc in the shop?

I assume the home they built is still there and is occupied by someone else? Do they know the story?

So much to wonder about.

Is anyone else at the shop that dove with them still there?

I've heard them mentioned from time to time, more anecdotal than anything else. Sometimes someone in a class who has read Bernie's book will ask. No pictures, memorials or anything else. But a few of the artifacts in the display case are labeled as found by them. No idea if the wife & mother is still in the area. Many of the folks from the shop have been there a long time, and no doubt knew them. I know of one wreckvalley regular who has also done business with that shop, and perhaps even taught some classes through it.

In the end, it's a sad and tragic story about two guys who pushed the proverbial envelope and paid the ultimate price.

 

[wrekdiver2]

No idea if the wife & mother is still in the area.

I believe Sue moved to Florida.

 

[DrySuitDave]

How difficult is it for one to get loose artifacts off the Doria?

 

[grouchyturtle]

Are there even any left?