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Book Review: Dark Descent: Diving the Deadly Allure of the Empress of Ireland by Kevin McMurray

The Empress of Ireland was a magnificent ocean liner operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the early 20th century.  Sunk in 1914 during her first trip from Quebec City to Liverpool for the year, the Empress of Ireland now rests in moderately deep, cold water in Canada's Gulf of St Lawrence.  With over 1,000 lives lost in the sinking, due to a collision with a collier.

In Dark Descent, acclaimed technical diver and author, Kevin McMurray, sets out to tell a very human story of the Empress of Ireland, from the circumstances of her sinking in 1914 to the modern day.  Along the way, McMurray shares details of the initial salvage operations (during which the first diving fatality on the wreck occured), the early era of recreational diving through to the current era.  In telling the story, McMurray tells the stories of the people involved - the divers who love the wreck and who have gone out of their way to protect it, the divers who have sought to recover artifacts from it, and the divers who have been severely injured or killed diving it.  In the process, we learn about politics, cultural conflicts and personal agendas that seem to haunt this particular wreck perhaps more than any other.

I started reading this book with the thought that it would be the tale of a wreck, but came away with a deeper appreciation for how deeply some people's passions for the wrecks they dive extend.  I gained a new understanding of the undercurrents of tension in Canada between the Quebecois and the Anglophones.  I wondered at the apparent size and state of preservation of this wreck,  with mental images formed by the author's vivid imagery.

Perhaps more than anything, my appreciation for just how brave early recreational divers were, diving a cold (near freezing) dive site plagued by currents.  With modern drysuits and technical diving equipment and procedures, a dive on a wreck like the Empress of Ireland is challenging.  With wetsuits and relatively primitive equipment setups, a dive on this wreck could be downright dangerous.

Dark Descent is a well told story. It appears well researched and is told in a easy to read style.  At times I felt like the author was talking to me personally, especially as he described his personal dives on the wreck.

I recommend this book to all those interested in wreck and technical diving.  It will give you a greater understanding of where our sport has come from, and the challenges that some of our colleagues have faced. 

Buy Dark Descent from Amazon.com (aff)