Forward by Jennifer Rae Vliet
The latest is that there is a 1% chance of a rescue at this point as they still have not found the Titan. If they do find it, there is a 15% chance of a successful rescue but keep in mind, the amount of oxygen left will be all used up by 6AM EST, Thursday morning. It doesn’t seem likely that with the 12 hours it will take to get down to 12,000 feet, IF the Titan is found there, then with another 12 hours to emerge, its just seeming to be a waste of 5 lives.
I was talking to Bob about his thoughts on this and he communicated to me something really important. That this is a part of the modern society we are living in. People, including parents, are just not that bright and their children are being taught to not be that bright either! Bob said, “This is the world we live in and unfortunately innocent people get killed because of other stupid people!”
(More on his thoughts tomorrow morning…)
Think about what Bob is saying though…Myself and my husband, both being GenXers, we are two of thee most thorough in research kind of people. He exhausts all avenues in researching nearly everything we set out to do hobby wise or get ready to purchase; this is everything from the best paddleboard to the exact details of a vacation and all in between. Anyone who took the time to do any amount of research on this Titan voyage would have found some pretty horrific scenarios of past voyages that would tell you or me, HELL NO. NOT gunna do it. So, on the eve where a lot of people are hanging on to every bit of hope…we share of this account of a German who went on this very trip in 2021.
By Chris Jewers of The Daily Mail
Arthur Loibl, 60, dived down 12,500 feet to the Atlantic wreck site in August 2021 and says he was ‘incredibly lucky’ to survive.
His story echos much that has been learned about the OceanGate tourist vessel since it vanished on Sunday, with past reports highlighting how many components were purchased off-the-shelf. It has also been revealed to have been uncertified to dive to the necessary depths to reach the Titanic.
Speaking to German tabloid Bild, Loibl recalls the first submarine they tried didn’t work and a second attempted dive had to be abandoned. He said parts fell off and the mission went into the water five hours late due to electrical problems.
This, Loibl suspects, could be the cause of the Titan’s disappearance.
It was a suicide mission back then!’ Loibl tells Bild.
The German knows a thing or two about risk taking, too. He has previously travelled to the north and south pole, and flown over Russia in a MiG-29 fighter jet.
But out of all his adventures, ‘the Titanic was the most extreme,’ he says.
He paid 100,000 euros and booked the trip through an English company that organises special safaris, Bild reports.
He says the start of the expedition was bumpy.
‘The first submarine didn’t work, then a dive at 1,600 meters had to be abandoned. My mission was the 5th, but we also went into the water five hours late due to electrical problems,’ he recounts to the publication.
Shortly before the sub was launched, Loibl says the bracket of the stabilisation tube – used to provide balance as the craft descends into the depths – fell off the vessel.
‘That was reattached with zip ties. That didn’t worry me,’ he tells Bild.
As for conditions inside the vessel, the adventurer says they were challenging.
On his voyage, he was joined by French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 73, and OceanGate’s CEO and pilot Stockton Rush, 61.
Both are currently on the Titan and have been missing since Sunday, along with British adventurer Hamish Harding and Pakistani nationals Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
Up to five passengers can be taken on the 22-foot long Titan. There are no seats, a single toilet (with a black curtain pulled across for ‘privacy’). At a depth of around 3,200 feet, sunlight can no longer penetrate the darkness of the ocean.
‘You need strong nerves, you mustn’t be claustrophobic and you have to be able to sit cross-legged for ten hours,’ Loibl says. ‘It must be hell down there. There’s only 2.50 meters of space, it’s four degrees, there’s no chair, no toilet.’
When he did reach the Titanic, however, he described a sense of euphoria.
With Loibl inside, the Titan travelled around the wreck twice and once even touched down on its deck, he said, before making the return journey.
The German said he is closely following the news of the missing submersible and the search operation – which is rapidly running out of time.
‘I feel bad, I’m nervous, I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. I was incredibly lucky back then,’ he told Bild. Like many, he is hoping for a miracle.
For his next adventure, Loibl said he had hoped to fly into space with Virgin Galactic for $250,000. But after the ‘drama’ surrounding the missing Titan vessel, he said, ‘my whole pursuit of extremes is now in question’.