Director James Cameron made a total of 12 diving trips with a special submersible to the wreckage of the real Titanic. The third trip (which he later nicknamed "the bottom storm") almost ended in tragedy: while nearing the Titanic, there was a heavy underwater current that swept the sub out off course. Since each dive to the wreckage took nearly 11 hours and cost an estimated $40,000, Cameron wanted to make the most out of it, and started to film footage while the crew tried to keep the sub stable with its thrusters. However, when they wanted to ascend again, this maneuver had severely depleted the engines. The only way to return and escape fatal hypothermia was by periodically stopping and re-starting the engines, and allowing the sub to slowly drift upwards during the shut-downs (while trying to avoid a current that frequently pulled them down again). The return trip actually took much longer than necessary because halfway up, the crew finally remembered to jettison the ballast that they still had in the tanks.

Film

Nessun dato in archivio