RMS Titanic, Inc. - 1998 Research and Recovery Expedition

Reports written by Susan Wels

Images produced by Matt Tulloch

Wednesday, August 5, 1998

"After the Titanic sank...no one seemed to know what direction to take....It was very cold, and soon a breeze sprang up, and it was hard to keep our heavy boat bow on..."

--Emily B. Ryerson
First-class passenger
The Titanic

Bob Sitrick and P.H. and Julien Nargeolet return to the Ocean Voyager

Even at the end of the 20^th century, technology’s no match for the ocean and the weather. This morning, around 9:00 a.m., Julien Nargeolet and Discovery Channel’s Bob Sitrick set off in a Zodiac from the Ocean Voyager, headed for the French research ship Nadir. They almost didn’t make it. Halfway between the vessels, the Zodiac’s engines died, and a heavy fog blew in. They were drifting blind, unable to gauge direction, and the boat was taking water.

Fortunately, the fog suddenly lifted, their flooded engines started, and they made it the half-mile across the water to Nadir. As commutes go, it was a little hair-raising, but their luck held out.

Things haven’t worked out quite so well, though, for the Ocean Voyager’s ROV technicians. Last night, in a 35-knot gale, the standby ROV, Remora, crashed to the deck and broke two of her struts. She’s repairable— but all things considered, it was a pretty gloomy morning, especially since it also looks like the new differential global positioning system is a dud.

As we’re all learning, you can’t take anything for granted on the ocean.

Which is why, this evening, I’m more than a little nervous as I strap on a life vest and hop into the Zodiac at sunset. I’m moving over to the Nadir, in the middle of the North Atlantic, on a rubber dinghy piled quite a bit too high, it seems to me, with heavy packing boxes, plastic crates and all my worldly possessions—a duffel and backpack filled with clothes and books and a laptop computer bundled, overcautiously, inside a raincoat and a plastic garbage bag.

Julien Nargeolet prepares the Zodiac for a night run

As the Zodiac pulls out and we smack into one giant swell after another, I learn another truth about the ocean: the gentle ripples seen from the top deck are more like Himalayas when you experience them up close on the water. But our Zodiac driver, Julien, is unfazed, and despite the rollercoaster dips and heaves, he pulls up to the Nadir’s fantail without flipping me and my gear into the water. Another day, another little triumph.

Back to the Expedition Calendar



		Reports written by Susan Wels	Images produced by Matt Tulloch

		Wednesday, August 5, 1998 "After the Titanic sank...no one seemed to know what direction to take....It was very cold, and soon a breeze sprang up, and it was hard to keep our heavy boat bow on..." --Emily B. Ryerson First-class passenger The Titanic
		Even at the end of the 20^th century, technology’s no match for the ocean and the weather. This morning, around 9:00 a.m., Julien Nargeolet and Discovery Channel’s Bob Sitrick set off in a Zodiac from the Ocean Voyager, headed for the French research ship Nadir. They almost didn’t make it. Halfway between the vessels, the Zodiac’s engines died, and a heavy fog blew in. They were drifting blind, unable to gauge direction, and the boat was taking water. Fortunately, the fog suddenly lifted, their flooded engines started, and they made it the half-mile across the water to Nadir. As commutes go, it was a little hair-raising, but their luck held out.
		Things haven’t worked out quite so well, though, for the Ocean Voyager’s ROV technicians. Last night, in a 35-knot gale, the standby ROV, Remora, crashed to the deck and broke two of her struts. She’s repairable— but all things considered, it was a pretty gloomy morning, especially since it also looks like the new differential global positioning system is a dud. As we’re all learning, you can’t take anything for granted on the ocean. Which is why, this evening, I’m more than a little nervous as I strap on a life vest and hop into the Zodiac at sunset. I’m moving over to the Nadir, in the middle of the North Atlantic, on a rubber dinghy piled quite a bit too high, it seems to me, with heavy packing boxes, plastic crates and all my worldly possessions—a duffel and backpack filled with clothes and books and a laptop computer bundled, overcautiously, inside a raincoat and a plastic garbage bag.
		As the Zodiac pulls out and we smack into one giant swell after another, I learn another truth about the ocean: the gentle ripples seen from the top deck are more like Himalayas when you experience them up close on the water. But our Zodiac driver, Julien, is unfazed, and despite the rollercoaster dips and heaves, he pulls up to the Nadir’s fantail without flipping me and my gear into the water. Another day, another little triumph. Back to the Expedition Calendar
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