Dark Descent: Diving and the Deadly Allure of the Empress of Ireland

by Kevin F. McMurray

"Dark Descent makes the reader a vicarious participant in what is a very extreme sport."--"Philadelphia Inquirer" On May 29, 1914, the passenger liner "Empress of Ireland" was struck by the freighter "Storstad" and sank in fifteen minutes, taking more than 1,000 victims with her. It remains one of the largest losses of life ever in a maritime accident.

At more than a hundred feet deep in the frigid Gulf of St. Lawrence, diving the "Empress" is like trying to navigate an unfamiliar sixty-story building lying on its side at a forty-five-degree angle, in pitch blackness with only a flashlight. In "Dark Descent," Kevin McMurray takes us deep into the bowels of the lost ship, first to relive her tragic death and then to join the divers who have probed the wreck's secrets. It's an adventure from which some divers don't return.

"Impressively researched. . . . For those who love the lure of the deep water and the mysteries of shipwrecks, this specialized history will be a pleasure."--"Publishers Weekly"

"Kevin has a remarkable knack of adding life and realism. A great job."--R. W. Hamilton, Chairman of the Board, Divers Alert Network

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, History, Sports

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2004

Reviews

[Jerry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by the same author (and diver) who wrote about the dives and deaths on the Andrea Doria. This book follows a similar path. It's interesting and enjoyable and the Empress story is well covered which it certainly deserves being a tragedy (largely forgotten) on the scale of the Titanic. The fact that she went down in 140 feet with 800+ dead makes it a story worth telling since it (like the Doria) is reachable by divers and is a dangerous place indeed.

McMurray gives a good account of what it's like to dive the wreck and covers the deaths with pragmatism and some sensitivity. Diving this deep is not a safe pastime, especially in cold, tidal waters such as these. I would never want to do it, let alone enter the ship itself and this makes it fascinating for me - what drives these divers is beyond my experience.

We should know more about this disaster, it deserves telling and this is a good way to do it.

[David Allen Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

In may 1914 the passenger vessel Empress of Ireland was rammed by another ship in dense fog in the Gulf of St Lawrence off Canada and sank in less than 15 minutes with a loss of more than 1000 lives. While comparable to the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, the Empress of Ireland is all but forgotten today. This book provides a history of the sinking, the reasons the wreck is forgotten, and modern exploration of the sunken ship.

While the Empress of Ireland, like Titanic, had watertight compartments, and the ramming breached only 2 of almost a dozen, the design of the Empress was fatally flawed and compromised like the Titanic by bad luck. The compartments of the Empress had to be closed by hand, a near impossibility in emergency conditions. The ramming caused an immediate sharp list and loss of power and there was no way to quickly close the watertight doors. In supreme bad luck the collision occurred at the jointure of the 2 largest compartments in the engine and power rooms. Within 5 minutes the ship heeled sharply over and all the inside lights lost power in the middle of the night.

The collision was not violent and many passengers did not realize the extent of how badly the ship was damaged. The chilling reality was that any passengers who did not immediately leave their cabins and rush topside within 5 minutes were doomed as the ship lost all lighting and rolled on its side. Few lifeboats could be lowered due to the sharp list. In 14 minutes the ship sank.

Why is the Empresss not remembered? Two reasons: the quick sinking at night did not allow for the dramatic stories that unfolded on the 3 hours sinking of the Titanic and just a few months later World War One broke out and the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania in broad daylight with horrific stories ended all remembrance of the Empress.

Unlike Titanic that lay lost for 75 years in deep water or the Lusitania frantically bombed by the British trying to hide the fact that illegal munitions had been transported on her supposedly just a passenger vessel, the Empress sank in less than 200 feet of water but it was cold dark and treacherous. Early salvage attempts blew a hole in the side of the sunken ship but little was recovered then the wreck was forgotten.

Enter the scuba age and the Empress became the great challenge at the extreme possible depth and challenge of a modern diver. The author a skilled deep water diver became fascinated by the Empress and much of this book relates his dives to the wreck. He also explains how several divers were killed exploring this wreck.

While it is a fascinating story, I wonder why the author kept at it. The Empress is a well documented ship and little can be learned from exploring the wreck. There is no real "treasure" on board although collectors will pay well for artifacts from the wreck. More disturbingly the wreck is a gravesite and the bones of hundreds of the dead can still be seen inside.

I've never been impressed with the Canadian government and this book made my view of the Canadian government even worse. Time and again the Canadian government interfered with diving expeditions to no real end while not protecting the ship's artifacts and its reality as a gravesite. I always wondered why Quebec wanted to separate from Canada reading this book you can get a feeling! I am sure in the post COVID era, Canadian socialism is even worse than related in this 20 year old book.

With the advent of modern underwater exploration vehicles I really don't see the point of divers risking their lives exploring a wreck like the Empress. But reading this book brings an important tragedy of history to light, exposes government policy insanity, and makes you amazed at the dedication and strength and commitment of deep water scuba divers. A great read!

[Patrick Wikstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sunk in 1914 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Usually considered a signature technical dive mostly because of the cold, current, historically bad visibility even though the max depth is only between 140 - 150ft. Another interesting well researched wreck diving book with many of the same cast of characters from the Doria book Deep Descent. 3½***. Second or third reading: Author of Deep Descent a 41/2 star Mr Pat rated diving book about the Doria and the Northeastern diving cast of characters. This ones about the Empress of Ireland. Although not as deep as the Doria its allure has taken a few divers lives. It’s in our library and I’d read it before but can’t find any review for comparison. The fact that the author is himself a deep diver that’s been to these wrecks gives it much more validity than some Newsday reporter. 4****

[Jill Schrupp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another surprising book I would have never picked up if not for the Pop sugar Reading Challenge. The author did such a great job telling the history of the ship, the sinking and the ongoing appeal of the ship for divers. It spans forty years of exploring, the ups and downs and all the treasures to be found. It definitely held my attention and would recommend this book and this author.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Empress of Ireland is a tragic, fascinating story of forgotten Canadian maritime history. McMurray's writing made the subject of deep wreck diving a page turner for me.

[Shaary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I've never read books about diving before. The subject felt really well researched by the author. I enjoyed the personal touch to the story from the interview of the grandson of one of the passengers on the Empress.
The book made me crave more diving books. I might eventually pick up a book about Andrea Doria.
Also, I couldn't stop comparing it to Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer because it was the first book I read about mountaineering or maybe because the Empress was compared to Everest. And I felt that mountaineering left a bigger impact on me than deep-water diving.

Overall, I enjoyed most of the book but the ending felt a little drawn out (but it might be totally me and not the book :) ).

[Shawn Loomis · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early 1900's, trans-Atlantic ship crossings were the pride of most large ship companies such as the Whitestar line, Cunard, and what was an attempt to get in on the popularity of the crossings, the Canadian Pacific Railroad threw their hat in the ring with the Empress of Ireland. Tragically, with the increase in the number of crossings, the increase for potential disaster increased as well. With the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the world became transfixed on this particular event and overlooked tragedies such as the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. The Empress of Ireland went down in a matter of minutes and took with it the souls of more than 1000 passengers and crew.
Dark Descent describes the tragic end of the Empress of Ireland and the journey to rediscover the wreck after close to 100 years of laying at the bottom of the St. Lawrence river. The divers who risk everything to explore this wreck state that the Empress is absolutely worth it and often return for multiple trips to the wreck. Each dive story brings new discovery, including the bones of those who perished deep within the wreck. Dark Descent is a great read for those interested in what lies beneath and what those who explore these behemoths, find with each dive.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of mixing the history of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland while also adding exciting elements of diving its remains years later. I had never heard of this shipwreck before but found it interesting and learned something new from reading this book. This is a great one to read before bed: not too suspenseful but still captivating!

[Nancy Seamons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people have heard of the Titanic and how that disaster occurred. Most don't recall the disaster of the Empress of Ireland. That wreck killed over 1000 people, making it the worst maritime disaster in Canadian history. This story details the risks people would take to dive to this incredible ship to recover artifacts and view the details of the ship.

[Frederick Schlabach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an eye-opening story, well-researched and rich with history and the incredible world of diving.

[Wesley Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great history of all the expeditions and dives which were done on the Empress of Ireland from 1914 to the early 2000s.

[Anna Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very clear the author did a lot of research (or is an expert) on the diving industry. It's not something I would usually read, but it was different and I liked the book.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry but McMurray provides a lot of insight into sport diving and obviously loves the tragic Empress of Ireland.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed here: http://www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blo...

[Alex Lyashok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to read a diving book for some time. It's better than expected - the wreck is more important than I thought it was. Diving stuff is a little too basic - written for broad audience

[Candice Landau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book gave me an adrenaline kick not unlike a deep dive. A great read for scuba divers, history buffs, and adventure junkies. Also a good reminder to dive within your limits.