Quote:
Originally Posted by Venatore
The Submarine is at a depth of approximately 100m, achievable dive for most experienced divers. It's good news for those families who never really knew there exact whereabouts (MIA); now at least they know where they are. Hopefully none of the divers will make fatal mistakes as the three experienced divers who perished diving to find the identity of U869.
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"Experienced" is in the eye of the beholder. I don't mean this to counter your point, but to enhance it.
100m is well beyond the recreational limit of diving, and would require a technical kit and training that exceeds what most divers can afford and are willing to spend. I notice in the pictures of the wreck, the people who found it were using an ROV or possibly a manned submersible. They weren't diving on the wreck.
I'm an experienced diver with a Master Diver rating, and I've yet to exceed 30m in depth. The idea of going to 100m blows my mind, and I'm a mixed-gas diver. Also, the colder, darker water where this was found is far different than the warm, clear, tropical waters where -most- divers dive. That change in environment makes it much more intense diving.
The people who do dive to these depths are out there on the fringe of the diving community. I would say they have skills well beyond "experienced". To me, they are more like "god-like".
While I would love to dive down there and touch a piece of history like this, I think at the age of (almost) 40, I will have to sit on the boat and wish. To those who can make this dive, and return alive and unharmed, I salute you. And to the crew as well.
As a final though, I thank Dive Magazine for bringing this here. I think many people fascinated by submarines in history are divers, or potential divers, and I see no conflict of interest at all in cross-posting excellent information like this. I had not heard of this find. Thanks, DM!