This is from the Wikipedia on the Andrea Doria
website.
The entire web page is too much to put here, but a
very interesting read. In addition, the location of the sunken ship is much closer to Martha's Vineyard than to Long Island, NY, but it is associated more to NY as that was the ship's destination. The numbered references as listed here refer to the wikipedia entry, for those interested. I thought that this would help for readers of this thread such as myself, who have known about the AD, but not specific information. I strongly recommend folks look at the info on the actual collision with the Stockholm, the heroism of the rescuers and the events of the 12 hours following the collision on the wiki. It's very informative. I google mapped the coordinates to find the spot in the ocean of the wreck.
"Diving on the wreck site (exerpted from the Wikipedia)
A painting of the decaying SS Andrea Doria circa 2005, with its superstructure gone and hull broken after 50 years of submersion in swift North Atlantic currents.Due to the luxurious appointments and relatively good condition of the wreck, with the top of the wreck lying initially in only 160 feet (50 m) of water, Andrea Doria is a frequent target of treasure divers and is commonly referred to as the "Mount Everest of scuba diving." The comparison to Mt. Everest originated, after a July 1983 dive on the Doria, by Capt. Alvin Golden, during a CBS News televised interview of the divers, following their return from a dive expedition, to the wreck, aboard the R/V Wahoo. The wreck is located at 40°29′30″N 69°51′00″W / 40.49167, -69.85.[10]
The day after Andrea Doria sank, divers
Peter Gimbel and Joseph Fox managed to locate the wreck of the ship, and published pictures of the wreck in TIME magazine. Gimbel later conducted a number of salvage operations on the ship, including salvaging the First Class Bank Safe in 1981. Despite speculation that passengers had deposited many valuables, the safe, opened on live television in 1984, yielded little other than American silver certificates and Italian bank notes. This disappointing outcome apparently confirmed other speculation that most Andrea Doria passengers, in anticipation of the ship's scheduled arrival in New York City the following morning, had already retrieved their valuables prior to the collision.
The ship's bell, often considered the 'prize' of a wreck, was retrieved in the late 1980s by a team of divers led by Bill Nagle.[11] The statue of Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria, for whom the ship was named, was removed from the first-class lounge, being cut off at the ankles to accomplish this. Examples of the ship's china have long been considered valuable mementos of diving the wreck. However, after years of removal of artifacts by divers, little of value is thought to remain.
As of 2007, years of ocean submersion have taken their toll. The wreck has aged and deteriorated extensively, with the hull now fractured and collapsed. The upper decks have slowly slid off the wreck to the seabed below. As a result of this transformation, a large debris field flows out from the hull of the liner. Once-popular access points frequented by divers, such as Gimbel's Hole, no longer exist. Divers call the Andrea Doria a "noisy" wreck as it emits various noises due to continual deterioration and the currents' moving broken metal around inside the hull. However, due to this decay new access areas are constantly opening up for future divers on the ever-changing wreck.
Deaths
Artifact recovery on the Andrea Doria has not been without additional loss of life. Fifteen scuba divers have lost their lives diving the wreck,[12] and diving conditions at the wreck site are considered very treacherous. Strong currents and heavy sediment that can reduce visibility to zero pose as serious hazards to diving this site. Dr. Robert Ballard, who visited the site in a U.S. Navy submersible in 1995, reported that thick fishing nets draped the hull. An invisible web of thin fishing lines, which can easily snag scuba gear, provides more danger. Furthermore, the wreck is slowly collapsing; the top of the wreck is now at 190 feet (60 m), and many of the passageways have begun to collapse.
1985 — John Ormsby died after being caught in wires and drowning.[13]
1998 — Craig Sicola, Richard Roost and Vincent Napoliello all died diving on the Andrea Doria.[13]
1999 — Christopher Murley and Charles J. McGurr both died of apparent heart attacks preparing to dive.[13][14]
2002 — William Schmoldt died from decompression sickness.[15]
2006 — Researcher David Bright died from decompression sickness.[16]
2008 — Terry DeWolf of Houston, Texas dies during dive on wreck, cause of death is still undetermined. This death raises the total to 15.[17] "
Edited by secretsea18, 07 August 2008 - 11:51 AM.
