Titanic Month

To honor the Titanic centennial, the Captain's Table will be dedicating the whole month of April to the infamous disaster.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Down to the Andrea Doria

Down to the Andrea Doria was filmed shortly after the Italian ship sank on July 26, 1956. A team of divers used state-of-the-art equipment to go down and document the wreck site for posterity. Although a rather short expedition, it was nonetheless a success.

Recent underwater images of the Costa Concordia reminded me of this little film, and I felt compelled to share.

"We're holding our own."

The ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald went to the bottom of Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 after encountering a fierce winter storm. When she sank, the ship took all 29 of her crew with her - leading to a major search and rescue operation by the United States Coast Guard. The wreck was found four days later by U.S. Navy aircraft; it was less than 20 miles away from the safety of Whitefish Bay.

Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot released "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" a year after the sinking. Although some of the details are incorrect (he has since fixed them in live performances), it nevertheless immortalizes this grand old freighter and has made her one of the most famous shipwrecks in North American history. Not to mention it's a personal favorite of mine.

Snapshot: The Titanic Wreck

This ghostly image shows the forward section of the Titanic as it is today. Several survivors had claimed that the ship broke apart on the surface before sinking, but these were unconfirmed accounts until Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel discovered the wreck site on September 1, 1985.

While the forward section of the Titanic was in remarkable shape, the stern looked as if it had exploded upon hitting the ocean floor.

Today, the ship sits decaying on the bottom - a monument to all those who died on that tragic April night in 1912.

The Ever-Changing Wreck of the Andrea Doria

Ken Marschall's painting of the Italian liner Andrea Doria laying on the seabed is perhaps one of the most iconic images in maritime history. While wrecked, one can still see glimpes of the beauty and elegance that made her one of the most lovely ships afloat.


That was quite a while ago, however, and is a far cry from the condition of the Doria today. Time and the elements have certainly had their way with the old ship.


An article from the Association of Underwater Explorers explains:

The wreck of the Andrea Doria has evolved throughout the years. Where she once appeared very much as an elegant liner peacefully resting on the seafloor, now she has aged and deteriorated, her hull has fractured and collapsed. Her upper decks have slowly slid off the hull of the Doria down to the seabed below. As a result of this transformation, a large debris field flows out from the hull of the liner. Access points frequented by divers, such as Gimbel's Hole, no longer exist. However, new areas are constantly opening up. The wreck is ever-changing, and presents new options for future explorations.

References: "Andrea Doria: A Wreck Undergoing Both Decay and Rebirth," Association of Underwater Explorers, http://uwex.us/ADwreck.htm (accessed January 28, 2011).