Exploring Shipwrecks:Treasure, Marine life, Adventure.
The word "shipwreck" challenges the imagination ia a way that few other words can achieve: the history of the ship itself; the drama of its sinking; the dream of its rediscovery; then the underwater exploration of holds and companionways now inhabited by exotic marine life where once people would have walked; and, of course, the hope of discovering lost treasures of the past.
Exploring Shipwrecks illustrates the stories of seven very different wreck sites across the world. They represent the most fascinating and diverse experiences of underwater exploration. The deep, sandy sea bed off the Mediterranean Island of Giglio yields treasures and artefacts of a civilization dating back 2.500 years. In contrast, the calm, clear waters of the Caribbean provide one of the most popular scuba diving sites in the world where tropical marine life has colonized the sleek hull of the Rhone. The vast inland waters of the Great Lakes in north America yield historic evidence of the heyday of the shipping trade into the interior of that vast continent. The reefs of Port Sudan are the resting place of the Umbria - a second world war casualty that has become one of the most famous marine life research bases in the world. Another casualty of that war was the Royal Oak in the cold northern waters of Scapa Flow off the Orkney Islands, which is now an awe inspiring memorial to the hundreds of lives lost in one of the most controversial naval actions. The wrecking of the passenger liner Cristobol Colon was the result of a navigational error, but her remains provide one of the most exciting experiences for underwater divers - combining visually dramatic structures to explore with a wide variety of beautiful and sometimes dangerous marine life. And finally, the legendary wrecks of the Japanese fleet at Truk Lagoon in the northern Pacific are a mecca for all divers. Perfectly preserved, these wrecks are a fascinating and sometimes grizzly underwater museum and laboratory.
The stories of these wrecks, the accounts of diving om them and the hundreds of marvellously evocative photographs have been collected up by qualified diving instructor and professional photographer, Keith Morris, and by Peter Rowlands, a professional underwater photographer and proprietor of a trade magazine specializing in the field. Their own experience and love for their subject is reflected thoughout this original and compelling book.
By Keith Morris & Peter Rowlands.
Engelstalig, kleurenfoto's.
