Shadow Divers- Terra Hazen

Shadow Divers: An Underwater Mystery

Robert Kurson’s book, Shadow Divers: The true adventure of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II, is a breathtaking story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. This tale takes us into the perils of the sea and through the twisted wreckage of a german U-boat.

This unsolvable mystery begins in 1991. A deep sea diver and charter boat captain named Bill Nagle was sitting at a ramshackle bar in Brielle, New Jersey. A fisherman mentioned to him a great fishing spot about 60 miles off of the New Jersey coast. He knew that Bill was a deep wreck diver and he warned Bill , before he gave him the coordinates of the site, that the wreck or clump of rocks or whatever was on the oceans bottom, was deep, very deep. The fisherman gave Bill the coordinates and warned him to be careful. Bill called a friend and fellow deep wreck diver named John Chatterton. Bill told John about the “mystery” site and both divers knew that they had to find out what was lying in the ocean so close to their home. They booked their trip to the wreck site over Labor Day weekend and called some of the best divers on the east coast and invited them on their trip. Many declined, but some of the bravest few also felt the draw to dive the wreck that Chatterton and Bill felt. This was something new and exciting; the wreck was full of possibilities. Chatterton, Bill and the 12 other divers pulled out of the harbor just after midnight on September 2nd. The Seeker (Bill’s boat) reached its destination around sunrise that morning. As Bill captained the boat over the coordinates he was given, he saw that there was something lying on the ocean floor by using his reader. The wreck looked like a ship turned over on its side. They decided that Chatterton would dive down to see what the wreck was. If it was worth diving he would let the others know and then everyone would be able to splash in and explore the wreck. Chatterton jumped over the edge of the boat. He was dressed in his diving suit with two oxygen tanks strapped to his back. As he plummeted down to the ocean’s bottom, he began to vaguely make out a shape on the ocean floor. He knew it was a ship of some sort but he was not able to see the whole boat as the visibility was very low that day. He hooked the anchor line to the ship and began to swim along the top of the wreck. He came to a stop as he approached a hatch built angled into the ship. He thought, “Barges did not have hatches like this.” He assumed that the wreck was just a sunken trash barge, and wondered. “Who would build a hatch that angled into a ship?” Inside the hatch was a small room, the visibility was perfect as the room was protected from the oceans currents. Against one of the walls lay a shape. This was a shape unlike another in the world, this was a shape from scary movies and terrifying books. “Fins. Propeller. Cigar body… A torpedo. A complete intact torpedo.” During his decompression to the surface, Chatterton thought about what he just saw. His mind was confused, could he have really seen a torpedo? Could that really be a submarine lying just outside their home? After the first trip to the submarine all of the divers began their research. No documents on the German or U.S. side had any record of a submarine ever being sunk within a 200 mile radius of the wreck site. How did the boat get there? How did it meet its end? These are the questions that the divers are desperately trying to answer. This unsolvable mystery takes them back to the wreck site many times, but the answer as to the identity of the sub lies hidden in the rubble and wreckage, 230 feet below the ocean’s surface. 

Shadow Divers was a New York Times bestseller, and this accomplishment has a lot to do with how the book was written. Robert Kurson doesn't just tell the story; he incorporates information about the world of diving and he explains why many of the procedures and maneuvers that divers do are done. For example, Robert Kurson explains what happens when a diver doesn't decompress all of the way, what goes on in the mind when a diver runs out of air, or what can happen when a diver loses sight of the anchor line or the wreck. It is these little facts and tidbits of information that make the book such a unique read. It is easier to understand what the divers are doing and what is going on in their minds when they are swimming through the wreck because of the insight that this book gives us into diving. I would recommend this book to any type of reader. Whether you like fiction or non-fiction, a thriller or a comedy, this book is a must read. The seemingly unsolvable mystery will have every reader gripped and the suspense and danger of deep wreck diving may come as a shock to those who thought it was a “gentle” sport.