weeks of uncertain weather, during which they explored and filmed the wreck from stem to stern, including the interior of the wheelhouse. Vailati obtained enough underwater footage of the Grand Dame of the Sea to make a movie entitled ‘The Fate of the Andrea Doria’.
The Early Bird In 1968, Alan Krasberg and Nick Zinkowski entered the Doria arena. Krasberg was a physicist who had invented the Krasberg lung for the U.S. Navy. Zinkowski was an oil-rig diver with a great deal of experience in deep-water work. Together they designed and built an underwater habitat that they intended to ‘dock’ on the high side of the hull. They called it the Early Bird. The habitat was constructed of
fir planking that was impregnated with polyester resin. You read that correctly: the habitat was made of wood. The Early Bird was ten feet (3m) long and four and a half feet square (0.4m2). Secured to the wooden chamber
was a bevy of compressed gas bottles that were filled with trimix:
Top Cat divers explored the wreck, took photos, and conducted one of the most audacious recovery operations ever
a mixture of helium, oxygen, and nitrogen, which on extremely deep dives was breathed in place of air. The purposes of trimix are twofold: to reduce the risk of oxygen toxicity, and to remove the narcotic effect of nitrogen. Backing for the expedition was
provided by motion picture company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which intended to produce a film about salvaging the wreck. To accomplish this, Krasberg and Zinkowski were supposed to be filmed as they recovered the purser’s safe from the First Class Foyer. In addition, two divers on battery- powered sleds would take stock shots of the exterior of the hull and superstructure in order to create a photomosaic of the wreck. But Murphy’s Law dictated
otherwise. A late start missed the best weather window. Then high
Left: This storage
cabinet next to the First Class Dining Room is filled with glassware:
goblets, cocktail glasses, wine
glasses, brandy and snifters. Right: This
cocktail glass was recovered
from the storage cabinet next to the First Class Dining Room. All
the glassware was embossed with the word “Italia”
and the Italia Line crown logo
winds and rough seas stalled departure. The boat did not get underway until October. The habitat nearly sank while under tow to the site. Several days were required to secure the habitat to the wreck. While the movie crew was filming the emplacement of the habitat, a mooring shackle broke free of the wreck and the buoyant habitat shot to the surface in a tangle of rigging lines. A brewing storm struck the Nantucket Shoals while ten-foot (3m) seas hammered the hull of the support vessel for three days. After the storm passed, Krasberg
and Zinkowski had to start from scratch to secure the habitat to the wreck. The cinematographers managed to shoot fifteen minutes of footage. One sled ran out of power on
the first survey. Struggling with the burden, the sled pilot ran out of air and darted for the surface, losing consciousness on the way. The other sled pilot went to his aid. Both sleds, worth $40,000 each, were lost. The two pilots were hauled aboard the support vessel and into a recompression chamber. They
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