A taboo subject for years, deep wreck diving is finally being openly acknowledged. Branded thrill seekers", these advanced scuba divers, operating on the finges of their sport, have explored an exciting array of shipwrecks lying beyond the 130-foot sport diving limit. Risking decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis and the unknowns of the deep ocean, these divers have pushed to depths of 200 feet & emdash; and beyond. They have been rewarded with spectacles unseen by the landbound and have had the opportunity to touch the remnants of history. Concentrating on shipwrecks lying in the approaches to New York harbor, Beyond Sportdiving takes the reader to a fantastic and surreal world, littered with casualties of war, natural disaster and human failing. From obscure and little-known freighters to the world famous Andrea Doria, Bradley Sheard examines a fascinating assortment of shipwrecks." Follow the adventures of the pioneering deep-divers who were the first to explore coastal shipwrecks during the 1960's. Explore the famous wreck of the Andrea Doria, the widely acknowledged "Mount Everest" of wreck diving. Accompany Kapitanleutnant Hardegen aboard the U-123 as he leads the first attack on US coastal shipping during World War II, sinking the tankers Norness and Coimbra. Journey to the twilight world of New York's treacherous "mudhole" to explore lost freighters sunk 200 feet below the surface, a stone's throw from the New Jersey coast. Learn the full story behind the identification of the "Bacardi Wreck", and the twisted trail of evidence linking the "Virginia Wreck" to the Norwegian freighter Sommerstad.