THE UNFORGIVING COAST — MARITIME DISASTERS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

As the twenty-first century dawns, the undiminished public fascination with the sinking of the Titanic, an event that took place only a dozen years into the twentieth century, is a clear indication of the inherent interest that disasters at sea hold for most people. This is particularly true for younger generations who are unlikely to make ocean voyages, except on cruise ships, in their lifetime, nor to encounter the potential perils of the sea.

For these people the vicarious, or in today's terminology the virtual, voyages they make aboard the Titanic may be their only taste of the sea. Adding to the sustained interest in maritime disasters today is the existence of technology capable of examining ships on the ocean floor, a potential which has been provided by advances in deep diving and in self-contained and robotic submersibles. The possibility of even raising sunken wrecks not only exists, but, fortunately, has already spawned its own concern for ethical guidelines...