Thalassophobia is an intense phobia
or fear of large bodies of water and nothing epitomizes this more than if you
imagine being in the middle of the ocean far from land and poking your head
under the water with goggles on and seeing the vast, empty expanse of dark water
thousands of feet below you. You have no idea how deep it is or what lurks there, but you know that
you're completely helpless to whatever it might be. So in today's video, we're gonna go
over three open-water diving incidents. As always, viewer discretion is advised. [music] Another perfect depiction of Thalassophobia is that iconic picture
of a diver standing on the edge of an underwater cliff. Below him is the dark nothingness of the deep ocean. You have to figure that there are hundreds, if not thousands
of these spots around the world where some geological feature has resulted in the cliff that extends so high from the ocean floor
that's literally not visible from above. Probably the most famous of these
is the Great Blue Hole in Belize because the dark, deep water in the sinkhole creates an incredible contrast
with the light shallow water of the surrounding area. A lesser known example of these underwater dropoffs
is actually off of the coast of Vancouver Island which is simply known as the wall. This drop off is just a short boat ride from the city
of Nanaimo and drops almost straight down to a depth of around 500 feet (152.4 m). In fact, it even states in the tour site
that you wanna be absolutely sure that you have control of your buoyancy
before getting into the water. If you make a mistake, you will plummet
500 feet (152.4 m) into the dark ocean. From the surface, it starts a bit more like
a shallow shelf that isn't too steep but as you descend deeper, it turns into
an ominous drop off into nothing. With that said, the wall is loaded with marine life,
both on the wall and in the water. It's even known to have seals and sea lions
curiously swim up to divers in the water, so despite how individuals with Thalassophobia might feel
about it, it is still a popular dive site. In October of 2013, 3 men planned to complete a technical dive
of the wall to explore some of the deeper sections. Technical diving differs from recreational diving, because it generally
exceeds a certain depth and requires special training and equipment. And because of the depth, divers have to use a gas mixture different than
regular air to ensure they don't suffer from something called nitrogen narcosis. This is usually a trimix of nitrogen, helium, and oxygen,
which are mixed together in different ratios depending on the depth. This means that you need to ensure that
you have the right mixture. Otherwise, you might pass out or suffer from
several other ill effects. For their dive, they intended on getting to around 200 feet
or 60 meters or so to check out the sea life. About 12 minutes into their dive, they were
already down to this depth when suddenly, one of the men lost conscious and started an
uncontrolled descent down the wall. His dive partner frantically swam after him
and caught up to him at about 250 feet (76.2 m). He desperately tried to revive the man,
but after being unable to, either due to shock or some other technical mistake,
he made a rapid uncontrolled ascent. This is another huge mistake
because when doing deep dives like this, you have to ascend slowly
based on the time and depth of the dive. If this is done too rapidly, the dissolved gases in the blood
don't emerge slowly and safely. They form bubbles inside of your tissue
and vascular system. This can range from minor decompression sickness
to the worst case scenario where these bubbles can completely block veins and arteries. This condition, known as arterial gas embolism,
can lead to stroke and heart attack if these bubbles travel to the vessels
in your heart and brain. So by the time the man surfaced from the water,
he had gone into complete heart failure from the extensive gas embolism
in his heart and brain. The third man surfaced a little while later without issue,
but unfortunately, it was already too late. Authorities were notified and a search was launched
for the final man who was still in the water. Eventually, he was found two days later
and it was determined that he had lost consciousness due to oxygen toxicity and nitrogen narcosis. His body was recovered from the depth of 250 feet. A man named Tom and a woman named Eileen both attended
the University of Louisiana in the late 1980s. Upon meeting one another, they almost immediately hit it off
and would even go on to get married before finishing school. From then on, friends and family
would say the pair were completely in love. Friends and family would also describe them as idealistic and this idealism
would cause them to eventually go on to join the Peace Corps. This organization is a group of volunteer individuals
who travel to various impoverished countries and participate in humanitarian causes. Their two-year tour took them to the islands of Fiji in Tuvalu
in the South Pacific and at the end of their tour, now 10 years into their marriage,
they decided they would go and visit the Great Barrier Reef. Not only was it something they had always wanted to see,
it was right near where they were stationed. In addition, when they first met, Eileen was already a
passionate scuba diver and introduced Tom to the activity. From then on, both of them loved
to go scuba diving together and what better place to go scuba diving
than the Great Barrier Reef. This massive reef is comprised of almost 3,000 individual sections
and stretches for 2,300 kilometers (1,429.2 mi) off of the coast to Australia. Not only is it the largest reef on Earth, but it's also
so large that it can be seen from outer space. It's actually the single largest structure
made by a living organism. It's also home to an incredibly diverse ecosystem
that thrives in the beautifully colorful structure. This makes it an incredible site to behold
and why it's so popular with scuba divers. There are very few other places that
offer scuba diving quite like the Barrier Reef. So in January of 1998, the couple
arrived in Australia, Port Douglas, to embark on their scuba diving adventure. They found an excursion that would take 26 passengers
40 kilometers (24.85 mi) off the Queensland Coast to a section known as St. Crispin's Reef. This is one of the many subdivisions
of the larger structure. Although it is a decent distance away from the shore, expeditions frequently take tourists to this area
to experience the magnificent diving. When they arrived at the dive site, Tom and Eileen slipped into their scuba gear
and hopped into the beautiful blue water of the coral sea. A little while later, all 26 passengers reboarded the boat
as was confirmed by a headcount and then the boat returned to Port Douglas. Except when the crew was doing the headcount, two passengers
jumped into the water and then reentered the boat. This threw off the count and meant that
they were actually short two passengers. A little while after entering the water, Tom and Eileen resurfaced
to the vast expanse of the ocean with the boat nowhere in sight. They were even far enough from land that they couldn't see
the shore, let alone swim to it if they knew its direction. This is when they would've come to the horrifying realization
that they were stranded in the ocean. Another thing about this area off of the coast of Australia is
that it's known for its massive five-meter (16.4 ft) long tiger sharks. All of the fish and other sea life are the perfect
feeding ground for these large predators, not to mention the fact that Tom and Eileen had no food
or water and no way of contacting anyone for help. Two days later, the captain of the expedition boat was cleaning
up some of the leftover belongings and found two bags. In the bags were the wallets and passports
of Tom and Eileen Lonergan. Upon finding these, he must have realized
that they have gotten off the boat on land, they would've quickly returned
to get these important items so if they hadn't come to get them,
they must have been left stranded in the ocean. He immediately contacted the police and then a
massive search was launched by the Australian Navy, including flyovers by planes and helicopters. Unfortunately, by the time the search
was launched, it was too late and Tom and Eileen were never seen again. Six months later, a wetsuit washed up on the shore
about 75 kilometers (46.6 mi) from Port Douglas. The wetsuit matched the same size wetsuit that Eileen would've worn,
but initially, investigators couldn't assume that it was hers. Unfortunately, a little while later,
more equipment was found. It included two inflatable dive jackets
with the couple's names written on them, Eileen's fins and her compression tanks. They also recovered a diver slate with a message on it. On it was the date and time they'd been abandoned
and a plea for help. Based on the findings, investigators felt that it was
unlikely that a shark attack had occurred because there was no blood found
anywhere on the wetsuit. And although the wetsuit was torn, the barnacle growth on it suggests
that it had been submerged since the disappearance. During that time, it may have rubbed along the coral of the reef,
which then tore the material. Following this revelation, the case became
an internationally publicized event. The fact that it was two Americans who had gone missing
in another country also added to the coverage. Initially, there was some speculation that the couple
may have staged it, but this was quickly ruled out because neither of their bank accounts had been touched
and their life insurance policies remained intact. The company in charge of the expeditions
would also be brought up in charges and the ensuing legal battle
would lead to even more controversy. And he company's legal team even released
segments of Tom and Eileen's diaries to the press that seemed to suggest that Tom
had planted in advance an Eileen word for safety. Friends and family of the couple dispute these claims
and said that the passages were taken out of context. Only small segments were released to the press, whereas
full context versions were available to law enforcement. Eventually, the captain of the expedition crew
was found not guilty, but his company was charged with negligence and eventually
went out of business as a result. So the leading theory is that the couple floated in
the open ocean until they got very dehydrated. Severe enough dehydration
is often accompanied by delirium and so it's thought that the couple eventually
removed their equipment in their delirious state. Without their highly buoyant wet suits, it would be much more difficult
to tread water, making it likely that they eventually drowned. This is supported by the fact that
Eileen's wetsuit was found without her in it. It would've been very difficult for animals to have done this
to her body otherwise. Following the event, much stricter regulations
were put in place for all dive companies to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. In 1951, the super luxurious ocean liner Andrea Doria was launched from a shipyard in Genoa, Italy. This was the latest and greatest ocean liner at the time
and was almost 700-feet (213.36 m) long of pure luxury. It also happened to be the first ship of its kind
to have three onboard swimming pools and held a total of 1,241 passengers
along with 563 crew. But despite its newness
and some of its luxury features, the Andrea Doria suffered from stability issues
right from its maiden voyage. Although it featured a double hole in 11 water tank compartments,
the ship was notoriously top-heavy. Anytime it was hit with anything significant
from the side, it would list heavily. This was especially a problem when the fuel tanks were
almost empty, which is obviously not a great feature in an environment where something might be battered
by waves, like for example, the ocean. So on its literal first voyage, it was hit
by a wave and listed 28 degrees to one side. This would set the tone for its entire short lifespan. Just five years later in 1956, it was broadsided
by another vessel known as Stockholm despite its state-of-the-art radar technology. Unfortunately, water in the supposedly water-tight compartments
could flow up and over in a great enough tilt and so after being hit, the Andrea Doria listed to
one side and would never right itself. Thankfully, unlike earlier vessels like the Titanic, it was
well equipped with lifeboats and safety equipment. In addition, it took close to 11 hours to sink, allowing
most of the passengers to escape unharmed. In total, 1,660 were saved of the 1,706 on board. Following their rescue, the Andrea Doria
plummeted 160 feet (48.8 m) to the ocean floor where it now rests off the coast of Nantucket. Although this is out of range of recreational diving, the luxuriousness
and uniqueness of the wreck made it a target for treasure divers. But as you might imagine, this is another activity that
much like the Andrea Doria itself, comes with several dangers. In fact, at least 22 people have lost their lives diving
in the wreckage since it first started getting explored. And it's only become more dangerous over time. By 2010, after having been submerged
in the saltwater for over 50 years, the wreckage had aged and deteriorated extensively. The saltwater slowly ate away the structure, causing the upper deck
to slide into the seabed and for the rest of it to fracture and collapse. This also means that the roots that had previously been dived have
changed over the years as others have become inaccessible. There's even a debris field that flows out of the openings of the ship
as it makes an ominous, metallic, groaning and creaking. In addition to all of this, there are strong currents in the area
that caused the heavy sediment to reduce visibility to zero and wrap errant fishing lines
around the outside of the hull. But despite the hazards of the wreckage,
it is still frequented by technical divers wanting to explore the unique piece of history. In 2015, the crewland vessel known as the John Jack
intended to make several dives of the wreckage. Two of the individuals that would be joining them
were experienced divers Tom and Terry who made the six-hour trip from Pennsylvania
to Rhode Island where the John Jack was docked. After the long drive on that Monday night,
Tom wasn't feeling all that great and it was a tough dive, so he decided instead to help out
with the equipment and join the next dive. The next day, after a good night of sleep, he felt much better
and would join his friends, Sean and Terry, on a trip down to the Andrea Doria. The three friends slipped on their rebreathers
and then started the long swim down. Their objective for that first dive was to secure one
of the mooring lines holding the boat in place. Obviously, before they could explore it, they had to ensure
the wreckage was as safe as possible. In the Andrea Doria in particular, some of the individuals who
have died over the years have gotten tangled in lines or nets, or just gotten lost
in the wreckage in the low visibility. What's incredible is that most of these explorations
are only around 15 minutes. Any longer and there's an exponentially longer decompression
time, so divers typically keep it short. Even just 15 minutes at that depth
works out to an hour of decompression time. So after the trio secured the mooring line for this trip, they would return for exploratory trips on subsequent dives. From the surface, they followed the 200-foot (60 m) mooring line down
to the sea floor and placed strobe lights along the way as markers. A little while later, Terry was on his way up and got visual confirmation
from Tom who was at the 20-foot decompression stop. It looked as though Tom signaled him
to head up to the boat but when Terry surfaced,
Tom was nowhere to be found. He explained to the others what had happened and they
explained that Tom definitely hadn't surfaced. Upon hearing this, Terry frantically put his gear back on
and jumped back into the water. But when he followed the mooring line back down,
Tom was gone. The team on the surface radioed for help and threw garbage
overboard to track the flow of the current and then within three minutes, the coast guard
was hovering above the John Jack. At the wreckage, Terry and Sean followed the mooring line
and eventually found a third strobe light with Tom's initials on it. But there was still no sign of Tom. About an hour later, just the two of them
emerged from the water once again. The weirdest of all was that of the three of them, Tom
was known to be incredibly meticulous and safe. He was always super detail-oriented and double-checked
all of his equipment on his thousand dives. Worse still was that because he was on a rebreather,
he could still be alive with spare gas under the surface, but caught in the wreckage
or the net, or one of the lines. Unfortunately, when the weather worsened on the surface,
the boat's captains refused to allow anyone else in the water. The current was bad enough that it even broke off
one of the ship's ladders as it patrolled the dive site. About 40 hours and 350-square nautical miles (1,200 sq km) later,
the search was officially called off. It's thought that on his way up, Terry may have mistaken Sean
for Tom and Tom never actually surfaced. It could have been equipment failure or medical emergency,
or some other accident related to the wreckage but unfortunately,
Tom's body was never recovered. At least one other individual has died in the year since and the Andrea Doria remains
a popular diving spot to this day. Hello everyone. My name is Sean
and welcome to Scary Interesting. If you enjoyed this video, you may wanna check out
some of my other diving videos. I'd also appreciate it if you give it a like.
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