Is the Doria the "Everest"

[Dr Scuba]

Reading one of the posts and someone refered to the Andrea Doria as the "past" Everest of deep/tech
Is this still the case - if not what is the Everest for Tech'ies

[efattah]

Everest is the highest point above sea level. To reach the 'Everest' of the ocean, you must dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, some 10,000m down, the lowest point below sea level. Pretty simple!

The next challenge was to climb Everest without oxygen. So, in the ocean, the same challenge exists; dive to the bottom of the Mariana trench without oxygen!


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada

[Dr Scuba]

following that logic - i wait for the freediver to do the trench - everest without o2 - the trench without gas

[JMD]

I thought, and someone more knowledgeable can correct me, that the reference to the doria as the "everest of diving" was related to the relative difficulty and number of fatalities related to reaching either destination. Also the parralel between the variety of technical skills required to reach each...

[Dr Scuba]

Thanks James - you hit it on the head - the question re Doria i posed was in that vain. For many years the Doria has been regarded as one of the hardest (well known) wrecks to dive, just as Everest has been climbed whilst not being the hardest climb it is the pinnacle - there is nothing higher
I was just interested to find out with the inprovements in Equipment and training - gas mixs et al - is the Doria still regarded as an ultimate acheivement for tech divers - if not what other dives are now regarded as pushing to the limit?

[TRITON]

How deep is it?

[JMD]

It lies in 250 ftsw, but I don't think the depth is the only challenge that must be overcome. Conditions in the open ocean can be perilous, heavy current, waves etc...

[efattah]

The norwegian/croatian diver 'Kike' (Kristian Curevic) freedove the Doria (in constant weight!) If it can be freedove, it can't be all that hard for the scuba guys.

The 'death' stories I've heard are about guys 'going it alone' in hopes of finding china (porcelain collectibles).


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada

[TRITON]

People can easily go there on air .
Here in my country it's pretty "normal" to go to that depth on air.

[pferreira]

I dove the Andrea Doria 4 times to date. Depending on the tide you can reach the bow at 275 feet and I have gotten to the sand at the 300 feet mark. The bigest chalange I encountered there was the currents and the collection of fishing nets and monofilament. It is a dive that requires many hours of preparation, phisicaly, mentaly and lots of reading.
On my last dive to the Doria, 1 diver lost his life because he got traped on the boat due to lines, resulting in drawning.
Visit my web site: http://www.peterferreira.com

[mixedgasdiver]

Well, I haven't dived the doria, however, I was diving with a couple of divers in Narvik this year Mike Boring & Brad Sheard, they both have done the Dori quite a few times.

It's not so much the depth of this ship, but the planning, tidal currents and the urge to find something, with so many false trails that have duped divers into the wreck and got lost by not laying lines etc.

The everist I would think would be the Carpathia but I would't want to do it on oxygen as this would kill ya.

tata

[redhell]

Well the Andrea Doria -sunk in the 60s- claims the title of the "Mt Everest" of wreck diving (not generally scuba diving , actually) because of the death toll of divers visiting the wreck for a good souvenir. Portholls, china, and other stuff from the luxury liner are the most wanted items a wreck diver can get. (That depends on the diver allthough - I personally prefer an Enigma machine )

Anyway I'll dive the Doria in 2005 with the Wahoo, and if everything goes well, it won't be as challenging for me as it is now, because (I hope) I'll be part of the 2004 Britannic Project, which TDI Greece will host in the Aegean.
The Titanic's sister which lies her thousands of tons in 120m of water some kms out of Athens...

[TRITON]

Three men from my diving club organized an operation of making a documentary about a Austro-Ugarian wreck "Zenta" which is lieing at 75 meters 3 miles south-west of Petrovac (Montenegro).
They used air for their dives and there were no problems.
They stayed 15-18 min at the bottom and did 80-90min decompression. I want to say that with good organization and
preparation you could easily go to Doria on air.

[oze_scuba]

I also know of the title "Everest of deep/tech " and yes, I myself refer to the Andrea Doria as that.
The Andrea Doria is in its self not outwardly a hard dive (IF YOU ARE PROPERLY TRAINED), however several things make this a dive that requires detailed and meticulous planning, its main factor being its depth, and here is where I am sure I will draw much criticism for my comments: - Deep Diving on Air as we all should know is extremely dangerous and as we all know that diving on air beyond a depth of 60 meters (195 feet) can and will induces CNS toxicity, plus the effects of narcosis (the martini effect) at these depths become extreme.
The second factor of course is the fact that divers who dive the Doria Will/Do and Want to enter the wreck which returns to my point of narcosis…narcosis can disorientate even the most experienced of divers (of which I do not even pretend to be one), which leads to my third point… use of a real and line on the Doria should be considered a must…
My point to all this…Diving on any Wreck, Reef or any dive site beyond the PP (partial pressure) of 1.6 of O2 is a deadly combination.
But that’s just my view.
And too my final comment… anybody who has dived the Doria weather it be on Mix, Air or even to my complete and utter shock... free dived, I have the great respect and admiration for.

[TRITON]

Oz...man did you hear about adaption on narcosis.
With adaptation dives you can easily do some "work" underwater to some 60-70 meters of depth and it's proved.