Shadow Divers

[yknot]

Just finished reading "Shadow Divers" which is based on John Chatterton and Richie Kohler's obsession with identifing a German U-boat, discovered in the early 90's off the New Jersey coast. While I will say the book was an entertaining read, it is quite devoid of any of the technical specifics pertaining to the gear these guys used. One of the issues discussed was a transition to trimix during these years , roughly 92-97 and also mentions the death of the Rouses while diving this wreck. The reason given for why the Rouses' didn't use trimix on their fatal dive was the cost, as they were both trained and experienced in using mixed gasses. In that time frame, what would a set of doubles consist of (size wise) and what would it have cost for a trimix fill on the East Coast? How does this compare to today? Per what the book says, a dive trip to the wreck would have left at midnight or so, run out to the wreck (6 hours) for two dives and then back to the dock, same day. They also mentioned at one point that a spot on the dive boat cost $150. Is that a lot of money for a tech charter of this nature? The wreck bottoms out at about 250 feet, per the book.

 

[Hyper-limits]

I just finish "Shadow Divers" I really like the book. it expend a lot on some of the stuff in Bernie C. the last dive. John et Richie had to work a lot harder than I thought to find which U boat it was. Trimix fills can pretty cheap if you do it yourself, but if you get your LDS to do it. You could pay upward of a 100$ for a set of double. I don't of much a charter would charge for a dive to U-869 but if it is only a 150$ sign me in.
I know a charter to the Doria can be as much as 1000$ for 3 days.

 

[yknot]

The book made $150 for a ride to the wreck sound expensive for 1992 or so. I had more money then to throw around then I do now. It doesn't sound that steep for a basically 20 hour trip. I assume the boat isn't providing anything but the ride and a spot to store gear and sack out on the way. In reading "The Last Dive" I got the idea that the Doria is a lot further out than this U-boat also.

 

[MAK52580]

"The Last Dive" goes into the reasons why they chose not to dive mix a little deeper. I think it even mentioned the cost, and $100 for a set of doubles rings a bell, although don't quote me. I just know it cost a lot more than it does now and judging by the financial problems mentioned in "The Last Dive" that the Rouses were having, they could not afford it. That being said, if they couldn't afford the mix for a dive at that depth, the responsible thing would have been to stay home.

 

[yknot]

My point is absolutely not to second guess their decisions. In fact, in "Shadow Divers" I got the impression that the East Coast wreck diving community wasn't as quick to accept mixed gasses in the early to mid 90's as some other regions. They even referred to it as "voodoo gas". I can't fault people for not using a gas they didn't understand at the time-at least they all had experience with deep air and knew the risks going in. I was just wondering what the cost would have been at that time in New Jersey. The only reason I've seen why the Rouses didn't dive trimix on their fatal dive was cost.

 

[AADiveRex]

The book made $150 for a ride to the wreck sound expensive for 1992 or so. I had more money then to throw around then I do now. It doesn't sound that steep for a basically 20 hour trip. I assume the boat isn't providing anything but the ride and a spot to store gear and sack out on the way. In reading "The Last Dive" I got the idea that the Doria is a lot further out than this U-boat also.

These aren't open spots on a trip, it is a charter cost. It would depend on the number of people. Fewer divers = more money per diver. As the wreck reputation grew, fewer wanted to dive it.

The U-869 is about 80 miles south of Long Island, and 60 miles east of New Jersy. The Doria is more than 200 miles from New Jersey. From our slip in western Long Island, it is more than a 18 hour trip. For the Seeker, close to 20.

 

[AADiveRex]

My point is absolutely not to second guess their decisions. In fact, in "Shadow Divers" I got the impression that the East Coast wreck diving community wasn't as quick to accept mixed gasses in the early to mid 90's as some other regions. They even referred to it as "voodoo gas". I can't fault people for not using a gas they didn't understand at the time-at least they all had experience with deep air and knew the risks going in. I was just wondering what the cost would have been at that time in New Jersey. The only reason I've seen why the Rouses didn't dive trimix on their fatal dive was cost.

The cost of mixed gas here in those days was high because it was new and relatively hard to get. The training wasn't readily available, and the whole practice was considered very experimental, simply because the tables we had were untested, and computer programs to generate custom tables didn't exist yet. Those of us who dove it either mixed it ourselves, or paid a high price from one of the few shops who would mix it for us. It often came down to:

Air = Narcosis + Known Quantity of risk
Trimix = Less Narcosis + Unknown Quantity of risk

The Rouses were trained in Florida, where tha practice was also new, but was gaining momentum faster, and had many more proponents.

In those days as well, the Florida cave diving community and the North Atlantic wreck diving community were both "inventing" technical diving as it went along, but they were often at odds with each other. NE wreck divers were less likely to accept FL cave diving ideas, and vice versa, which also hindered the widespread acceptance of Trimix. For example, as strongly as cave divers feel about continuous running guidelines in all overhead environments, NE wreck dives opposed the practice with equal passion. Although this particular debate rages on even today, for the most part, the exchange of ideas between the two technical communities has at least become much more open.

I read the book and loved it. It did a good job of characterizing the diving community up here at the time, although I think that the Atlantic Wreck Divers were portrayed a bit harshly. I know several of them, and they agree. For the most part, they were just like most of the serious wreck divers up here, they just wanted to dive and have fun. They may have been viewed as clique-ish because they chartered boats, rather than going out on open charters, but that was simply because there were enough of them, and they wanted to choose their destinations. Perhaps I'm biased, but that's MHO...

Dive Safe
Adam

 

[yknot]

Sounds like, in the case of the Rouses, the trip would have cost them $300 (2 @ $150 each) and the trimix could have been another $400 (2 dives X 2 divers @ $100 per fill for a set of doubles). How does this compare to today? What does a trimix fill for a dive to 250' cost now on the East Coast?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I just finished reading it too, quite a good read. Unfortunatly the author is a little fuzzy on his technicalities, but most are. I'll have to re-read my copy of Last Dive now

It was also an interesting look at Bill, some of which I didn't know about.

 

[hantzu701]

Is a good read. The book goes a long way toward explaining their mindset and wreck dive philosophies.

While the book talks about the initial animosity between Richie and Chatterton, and talks how they became good friends, I had a hard time understanding how they bridged their differences.

I also had a hard time understanding Richie's motivation for contacting the relatives or families of the dead crew. There may have been something altuistic about it, but I didn't feel that it was clear.

The book also doesn't talk about the rest of the team who were on the boat. I got the feeling that there was very little teamwork in their team. There might have been, but there are no details. For instance, there might have been a team of safety divers at shallow depths to relay information, to stage deco bottles, provide food/drink, etc. But, no mention is made of them.