Tight spots

At the FT, Dr. E. Lee Spence tells Ed Hammond about diving for treasure:

One of my favourite projects was the wreck of the Regina. She was a Scottish-built steel-hulled steamer that went down in a storm in 1913 on Lake Huron. Not only was she carrying antiques, she was also laden with hundreds of cases of Scotch and Champagne. I had never liked Scotch before salvaging that wreck. Although time in glass can make Scotch go either way, it had improved with age. We drank a lot of bottles – all in the name of research. One of the technical terms I learnt during that time is “knee-walking, commode-hugging drunk”.

I’ve been in the occasional tight spot. Once I was in a modern wreck and my oxygen regulator failed. I was about 80ft deep and spent four long minutes swimming through pitch dark rooms and passages trying to find a way out.