Dear Pierette:
The Marine Forensic Committee that I chair opened the Technical and Research Session of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers at its national meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. Our one-hour part of the program as certainly was successful as we filled up the 75-seat room and had people standing at the back and in the doorway. Phil Sims opened our session with a paper on the Decay of the Andrea Doria that had John Moyer and Steve Gatto as co-authors. Steve and John were unable to attend. The Society charges authors for attending meetings now due to the costs of meeting rooms in the Westin Hotel. Years ago things were different as authors went free. Times have certainly changed. Nonetheless, Phil did an excellent job of presenting the paper and attached is the current version of the Andrea Doria paper. I think you will find it interesting as there is a picture of Steve Gatto when he was much younger.
The rest of our session was also successful as there was a brief presentation of some research done on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, followed by a presentation on the Guidelines for Investigating Shipwrecks that is being prepared by the Committee for possible publication in the near future.
I hope you will the attachment of interest and useful. Certainly the ship is decaying with the aluminum superstructure all but gone – a sacrificial anode that keeps the hull fairly intact. However, Phil Sims mentioned that in the visit to the wreck site this year, the bow is beginning to fall to the seabed as the hull now begins to decay. It is interesting to note that the HMHS Britannic in the Aegean Sea is in much better condition than the Andrea Doria even though that hull has been underwater for 93 years!
Bill Garzke
NB. Garzke is the chairman of the Marine forensic panel for the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
*Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
Filed under: Serving Our Seas, Survivor Stories | andrea doria, John Moyer, shipwrecks, SNAME annual conference, Steve Gatto, The Decay of the Andrea Doria, William Garzke|No Comments
Deep sea diver, Tom Packer called me recently. I had written e-mails nudging him to share with me the details of his summer dives to the Grande Dame of the Sea.
As usual, Tom was as excited as a teenager getting his first new car—yet he has dived the Doria for 30 years! Time and expenses, couldn’t keep Tom and his other diving friends away from the Doria too long. In fact, they didn’t just take one excursion, but three in one summer. Tom explained in his usual gracious way, “It [3 trips] happened thanks to Joe and his regular crew for providing a spare fuel bladder and working on Gene Holmes’ boat HomeWrecker. They made several other modifications to the boat during the winter months.
The regular crew consisted of Joe Mazranni, Steve Gatto, Pat Rooney, and John Butler. On the first trip, Tom and Steve wanted to dive the bow, but it was extremely challenging due to an unusual currents from stern to bow and from the keel to the superstructure. Although it was a short excursion, a long decompression was pleasantly enhanced by 80° water inhabited by tropical fish: wahoo, mahi-mahi and hundreds of blue fin tuna.
Trip two yielded some memorable finds: artifacts such as cage lights, globe lights and bottles. Although the divers didn’t know their origin, they were quite pleased with these 15 or so pieces of history. Dinner on the dive boat was also exciting thanks to Steve’s amazing catch—a 4 ½ foot long mahi-mahi!
The third trip of the summer took place at the tail end of hurricane Bill. The divers knew something was amiss when they couldn’t even hang on to the dive line, being swirled about by forceful currents. They made the wise decision to leave the scene after only one dive.
Unfortunately, none of the dives to the “Mont Everest of the Deep”, as the treacherous site is called, yielded great photographs or video footage. “There were below average conditions for shooting pictures and video, but it was exciting, just to be back!” Tom and Steve’s last dive to the Doria was in 2006 for the 50th anniversary of the sinking.
Knowing these fervent shipwreck divers personally, I know that the lack of pictures and aborted dives are great excuses for a trip next summer. Tom summarized it with his youthful laugh, “It just fueled the fire for how much more we want to do. In fact, we’re all looking forward to next year. After all, were not getting younger, you know.”
I asked how him what is considered the average age limit, and his only response was, “I’ll know when the time’s up.” I wish my friends Tom and Steve many more safe expeditions in search of treasures from an era gone by.
Joe’s last name is spelled Mazranni, and he’s not the boat owner. You may want to say he organized the trips on his friend, Gene Holmes’ boat HomeWrecker. Also, I would suggest leaving out anything about the expenses, but that in addition to the fuel bladder, his regular crew made several other modifications to the boat during the winter months.
Filed under: Andrea Doria, Serving Our Seas, Survivor Stories | andrea doria, Mt. Everest of the Deep, shipwreck diving, Steve Gatto, Tom Packer|No Comments
On October 22, my friends John Moyer and Steve Gatto are heading to the SNAME (society of naval architects and marine engineers) conference in Rhode Island. Their friend, naval architect Phil Simms, will be presenting a scientific paper co-authored by Moyer, Gatto, and Simms called “The Decay of the Andrea Doria”.
The collaboration has come about after hundreds and hundreds of dives the 250 foot deep wreck which was once a luxurious liner. Now, the dive is known as the Mount Everest of the Deep, not only because of its dangerous depth, but because it is in the epicenter of turbulence, one of the reasons for the danger-imposing decay. Only the most experienced shipwreck divers usually attempt the site, which is filled with lurking dangers: cables, collapsed floors and walls, fishermen’s nets to name a few. (See chapter 12 of Alive on the Andrea Doria for more details.)
I will be sharing details on this blog on the decay of the Andrea Doria, after the presentation. The three presenters have done extensive research on this topic, which will offer scientific data for use in marine forensic science.
The scientific report on the Decay of the Andrea Doria will be presented at a special session of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers in Providence, Rhode Island on 22 October 2009 at 12 PM in the Convention Center there.
Filed under: Andrea Doria, Serving Our Seas, Survivor Stories | John Moyer, Mont Everest of the Deep, SNAME national convention, Society of Naval Architects, Steve Gatto|No Comments