We decided to get a very early start this morning as weather forecasts predicted a strong weather front moving into the area. We left our living quarters at 4:30 am and anticipated a bumpy ride out to the Empress. Once outside the shelter of the Rimouski marina, the seas were relatively calm but the waves were rolling. This is a good indication for rougher waters ahead.
Charlie and Ray started the morning dives while hooked into the bow tie-in. Utilizing his video camera, Charlie went towards the crew's quarter where he captured some wonderful shots of this section of the Empress. An extremely close-up from his video revealed a black, leather shoe - another reminder of this monumental tragedy. Charlie went as far as the end of the crew's mess until the area narrowed due to slit and mud. On exiting this area, he decided to go back and get better film footage of the second-class pantry area and carving table. As time was soon ending for this dive, Charlie made the long swim back to our bow tie-in. On his journey, he observed some black and white tiles that were in another collapse piece of the superstructure.
The beginnings of the weather front began to slowly move in and Charlie made a second dive to the area of the grand staircase between the first-class cabins and the first-class dining room. Because of the swells, it was decided not to bring a video camera on this dive. He did not go as far as the railing and lower stair of the grand staircase from this vantage point but decided to observe this area from the top portion of the superstructure. Sometime over the past ten years, the staircase step and railing could be viewed from above and outside the ship, rather than visiting this area during a penetration dive. The Empress is slowly decaying and many of the external and internal features are losing their structural integrity.
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