6: Diving to Sc)^ fathoms off Capri 



FOLLOWING upon these preliminary dives, we had no essential 

 change to make in the Trieste : all the parts, whatever they might be, 

 had functioned perfectly. Containers of alkali and bottles of oxygen 

 were changed and then we were ready to undertake a real dive. 



We had such confidence in the solidity of the cabin, the porthole 

 and the passages of the conductors through the walls that we felt it 

 was unnecessary to send the Trieste down empty. Jacques and I dived 

 right away. 



What depth should be chosen } South of Capri there is a submarine 

 hollow of 605 fathoms. To find greater depths we should have to go 

 farther off, towards Ponza: there the depth reaches 1980 fathoms. For 

 the moment, 550 fathoms would be enough; even if a descent to 1650 

 did not offer any serious risk, I preferred to confine myself to this to 

 begin with. 



The weather had been set fair during the first fortnight of August, 

 as is usually the case in Southern Italy: however, on the 15th it 

 changed just when we were ready. There were storms and the sea was 

 very rough. At last, on 25 th August, the weather forecasts were more 

 favourable. We telephoned to Naples and to the Admiralty, and the 

 same day, in the afternoon, the tugboat Tenace crossed the bay and 

 dropped anchor before Castellammare. Everything had been prepared 

 in advance, and at 6 p.m. the Trieste left harbour. The speed was low 

 because, as had been shown by tests with models, the Trieste had a 

 tendency to diverge from a straight line if it was towed too quickly : 

 it advanced in a zigzag, veering 45° now to port, now to starboard. 

 To steady it I provisionally fixed a deep-sea anchor to the stern. This 

 resulted in a noticeable improvement, but it was only when we added 

 a drop-keel to the float that the Trieste had good sea-manners. In 

 bright moonlight we moved onwards, leaving Capri on our right, and 

 at early dawn on the 26th we arrived at the place chosen for the dive 

 (Lat. 40° 30' 03" N. ; long. 14° 12' 30" E.). A launch belonging to the 

 *Navalmeccanica', with engineers and sailors of the naval dockyard 

 aboard, came with us. Coming from Naples, the Fenice, a fast corvette 

 of the Italian Navy, joined us : she was a great help to us in keeping 

 watch over the diving zone. In fact it was essential that when we rose 



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