I S S U E 4

Dan Berg with a propeller he recovered from the Bronx Queen sunk in December, 1989. On January 6, 1990, less than a month after her sinking, Dan Berg became the first sport diver to reach the wreck. "What I found was what every wreck diver dreams of, a 'virgin shipwreck,' " he says.

NYC24: Why did you begin writing these books?

Daniel Berg: Well, I got started in 1978 and 1979. There was no information on any of the wrecks we were diving. You would go on a charter boat and they wouldn't even know where the wrecks were,or they would take you to them but every time you went, you would get a different story from the captain. You would have no clue what the real history of these shipwrecks was. So I started to research the wrecks and accumulate the information for my own curiosity.

Four or five year later, I had a big box of information and photographs and historical images of the wrecks. A friend suggested that I put it together in pamphlet form for the local divers and it has just continued from there into book form.

NYC24: So what is it about these wrecks that makes people want to see them?

DB: Different people have different reasons for diving and even amongst wreck drivers there are different reasons. Some people like to search the wrecks for artifacts or to identify a shipwreck that we don't know the history to. Other people are attracted to wrecks because of the marine life. When these wrecks sink, they become, very, very quickly, an artificial reef. Each of these wrecks becomes its own thriving little ecosystem. Of course divers might want to go spear fishing. Other divers might want to search for lobsters. Other divers might be interested in photography or videography, so there's a bunch of different reasons why people might enjoy these shipwrecks. We're not the Caribbean. We don't have beautiful walls and coral reefs. What we've got is all right around the shipwrecks.

The Andrea Doria sinking in 1956. The luxury liner collided with a Swedish freighter, Stockholm. The Doria began to sink immediately while the Stockholm remained afloat. Today, with parts of the Doria at a depth of 240 feet, it is called "The Mount Everest" of wreck diving. PHOTO: National Archives

NYC24: From what I understand the Andrea Doria, the Italian luxury liner that sunk in 1956, is the big dive for people to do around here.

DB: Well, different people have different motivations. I personally have never been to the Doria and have no plans on going. But, the Doria is considered the Mount Everest of shipwreck diving. It's a deep, cold water dive. It's a minimum of a two-day expedition, more likely a four-day expedition. But it's in 240 feet of water and that is very, very deep. You've really got to be a very experienced technical diver to make that type of dive.

NYC24: Your average recreational diver might not want to dive in New York at all. It's cold and dark…

DB: A lot of people who get certified only get certified to go diving on vacation in the Caribbean. That's wonderful. They can enjoy the sport that way. But what you find locally are the divers that are in the water two and three times a week. These are really Northeast wreck divers. These are the guys that like the exploration, that like the adventure. Of course they like the marine life and the history and everything else. There's so much maritime history here that you could spend a lifetime and never explore every wreck that's out there.

NYC24: Someone told me that the U.S.S. San Diego, a giant warship, is cursed:

DB: No, absolutely not. There have been a number of fatalities on the San Diego, but the San Diego is kind of a strange dive. I consider it a very easy dive. If you are a competent diver, you can hit the top of that wreck in about 70 feet of water. The deepest spot is about 110 or 115 feet, but it's a massive wreck. It's a huge warship and it sits upside down and at an angle at the bottom. The problem with the San Diego is people get in over their heads. Instead of diving within your own comfort level, a lot of people try to do these deep penetration dives. If they have not been properly trained-it is a labyrinth, a murky, silt-filled maze-you could very easily get turned around and not be able to find your way out. So is the San Diego cursed? No. Have some people gotten lost inside and unfortunately passed away? Absolutely, they have.

NYC24: Are the waters more dangerous here than somewhere like the Caribbean?

DB: I would say not. I think that some of the deeper technical diving that goes on here is much more advanced than anything you would find in the Caribbean. If you're a recreational diver and you want to go experience shipwreck diving and you stay within the recreational limits, I think it's just as safe here as anywhere else in the world.