Posted by Melvin on August 16, 2002 at 06:42:40:
In Reply to: Re: Plunder and Pillage posted by Max Bottomtime on August 15, 2002 at 19:15:12:
Thank you for your articulate response. It is nice when two people can discusse their revelative positions based upon their preceived merits of the case and not result to verbal assault, as is the case with all too many post on this board.
I appreciate your point, and I am sure the thrill of finding somthing and bringing it to the surface is exciting. But I must agree with Jon, seeing the stuff sitting on a table is not the same thing. I would like to be affored the same opportunity you and the divers before you had to see it in the water where nature places it. I know we are not talking gold laden wrecks here (and I will be the first to say, if you find gold dabloons, then salvage those puppies)but we are talking the fantasy and the beauty.
To put it another way, what was it about the idea of diving a wreck that got you to go to the trouble to learn how to dive one? This is way back when you first started.
As you said about diving the Moody, the wheel was rusting and missing a few spokes, yet I bet you enjoyed seeing it sitting in the wheel house with a fish or two swiming through it. On your return visit, was not the visit to the wheel house was somewhat less for the lack of the artifact?
I hope to dive a wreck in the future. At present I have only loged 51 dives (since Jun 01)and while I feel I am a conpentent diver and my Surface Air Consumption Rate (SCFM) is calculated at between 0.42 and 0.5 depending on conditions, I am not yet ready for this environment. But I gain experience weekly and in the next few months, I want to visit a wreck. Just to dive the exterior and peek into the openings, for now. But even when I do get the appropriate training, I will still take only memories and perhaps a picture or two. Assuming I don't see any gold dabloons, I mean after all, lets be reasonable, I will not fault anyone for bringing up gold.
Enjoy diving, and how about leaving the view for the next diver too.