Trip Report

Adrian VanderKroef

Headed out Sun. morning into fairly calm seas. Arrived over the wreck late morning and tied in on our second attempt by early afternoon. After lunch we hit the water.

Our tie in point was about three-quarters aft the length of the ship. The Doria is absolutely the biggest and probably most magnificent thing I've seen underwater. To imagine that even lying in 250ft of water, if the wreck were stood on end it would stick out of the water almost another 500 ft.

Incredible dive. Our tie in point was high on the hull near the edge of the deck and approaching it down the descent line one could see the long sloping field of portholes as the hull rolled off gently to the sand on the keel side of the wreck. The hull is apparently kept scrubbed clean of hydroids and such by the ocean movement and helped make my first view of the wreck that much more impressive.

Touring from our point of tie in and heading forward,  I could see the decks are beginning to pull away from the hull at the top / starboard side as well as buckle out at the bottom. This has caused the wreck to open up somewhat so that traveling horizontally midway down the decks I could see into a couple of passageways. From this mid deck position the 30-40ft vis allowed me to see the gathering debris on the sandy bottom, as well as the impressive fish life. Absolutely beautiful.

By Monday morning the seas had started to kick up, propelled by a growing wind, so we got in early for our final dive. Although a bit darker than the previous day, the visibility and general light penetration were still impressive for a wreck this deep and only a slight current could be felt sweeping over the hull.

Overall this was a great trip; good people, food and accommodations, and the boat is fast. Heather and Dave run an excellent trip and I look forward to diving with them again.
Adrian