Plunging Deep (in Pockets) to See Titanic at 100

[Gerald]

A Mir submersible, with room for only three people, can travel far undersea. One popular destination is the site of the Titanic.

Down, down, down you go, for two and a half hours, jammed with two other people in a tiny submersible, all the way to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean — and all for a glimpse, through a five- or eight-inch porthole, of the ravaged remains of the once-grand ship where the Astors and the Strauses played, dined and, in some cases, died.

The trip is not for the claustrophobic, nor the 99 percent: a two-week cruise that includes one dive, lasting eight to 10 hours, costs $60,000. But for fans of the Titanic, no price or privation is too great — especially with the 100th anniversary of the sinking coming up on April 15. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Renata Rojas, a banker in New York City, said of diving more than two miles down to the muddy seabed. “I’ve been obsessed with the Titanic since I was 10 years old.” With the centennial in mind, at least 80 people are expected to take the plunge down to the wreck, according to the company that runs the trips, Deep Ocean Expeditions. And while this may be the most extreme observance in the works, there are myriad others: cruise ships will sail to the exact spot in the Atlantic where more than 1,500 Titanic passengers drowned; people will hold Titanic-themed dinner parties, complete with napkins bearing the flag of the White Star Line; and the Titanic Historical Society will hold a gala dinner at which people are welcome to dress as an officer, a crew member or a passenger “to create the ambience of a festive maiden voyage.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/sc...it.html?ref=us

Note: December 4, 2011