National Geographic Documentary on L.R. Doty to air next week

[john j]

The location coordinates have not been released as far as I know.  There is some work going on to get the Jeanette listed on the national register of historic places and after that is accomplished, the coordinates might go public, but even then it isn't certain.  I don't know how long that might take, but I wouldn't count on the coordinates being released for a couple years or more and possibly even longer.  As you know, people are very protective of their discoveries, which is understandable.  In the mean time, I suppose you could try contacting some charters to see if they can get you there somehow.  I know it's a raw deal when you want to see a wreck and you know people are diving it, but you can't get access for yourself.  I experience that feeling often.  I will see if I can post some youtube video of it this year, so people can at least see what it looks like a little better, but even I only have 1 dive on it so far.  I didn't really get to explore it to a great extent because on that dive, we had very specific tasks to accomplish to get video for Nat Geo.  There were also several other factors of difficulty because visibility was pretty bad, I was just getting over the flu, there was a very strong current and we kept getting weathered out, so for me it was stressful situation with some real pressure (self imposed only) to get results.  Don't give up on it though if you really want to achieve that dive.  Best of luck to you.

[matt t.]

Thanks for the info. I look forward to more info on this wreck. With the newer discoveries in the local area here (S.E. WI) I'm looking forward to seeing the Pringle and Doty in the coming weeks. I can wait for the Olive Jeanette.

[john j]

If you will be diving on the Pringle, that's great because the Pringle is a fantastic wreck, in excellent condition, with lots of artifacts.  Be sure to check out the compass in the pilot house and the gauges in the engine room and the bell atop the pilot hose.  The Pringle is small enough where you can see all that stuff in a single dive with a fairly short bottom time.  To be honest, with regard to artifacts, there is actually more to see on the Pringle than there is on the Doty or the Olive Jeanette based on what I have seen. The Doty and OJ are of course very significant historically, but with regard to seeing artifacts and having a fun technical dive, the Pringle is better in my opinion.

[matt t.]

We actually just did the Pringle this past Saturday. Due to the cold water we only did a 15 minute bottom time, but we're looking forward to the warmer water later this summer for more time on the wreck. The artifacts and details of the wreck itself are a nice contrast to what we usually see on the shallower wrecks down here.

[Chris H]

Matt, I edited your post.  You said we were on the Doty, and we were on the Pringle.  It was an outstanding dive.  As John mentioned, there is a ton of things to see on the Pringle.

[matt t.]

Oops, a little confusion there. More helium next time.