To visit Titanic, New York banker dives
deep into her savings
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[April 14, 2017]
By Melissa Fares
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Renata Rojas has
longed to visit the wreck of the Titanic since she was a girl, years
before the ill-fated passenger liner was discovered on the seabed three
decades ago.
Next year, the 49-year-old New York banker and diving enthusiast should
finally realize her dream, and she is shelling out more than $105,000
for the privilege.
"I don't own an apartment. I don't own a car. I haven't gone to Everest
yet. All of my savings have been going towards my dream, which is going
to the Titanic," said Rojas, who last tried to visit the wreck in a 2012
centennial expedition that was canceled.
“I’ve made a lot of sacrifices over time."
Beginning May 2018, OceanGate Expeditions will launch a series of deep
dives aboard a submersible for people like Rojas who want to see the
infamous shipwreck.
The company has the only privately-owned manned research submarine in
the world capable of diving to the Titanic's depth, with the other four
such vessels in the hands of governments, according to chief executive
Stockton Rush.
A lack of private subs, plus the hefty price tag for commercial trips,
are key reasons the site has not been explored by dive teams in 12
years. Fewer than 200 people are estimated to have ever visited the
wreck.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/14/images/ads/current/atlantanationalbank_sda_072114.png)
All told, more than 50 passengers, or "mission specialists" as OceanGate
calls them, will set off from the Canadian island of Newfoundland in six
scheduled eight-day trips.
The Everett, Washington-based company will take nine at a time on a ship
to the site, with each of them given an assignment such as photographing
artifacts from the debris field. From there, they will take turns diving
in the small submarine to get a close-up of the hulk.
MYSTICAL ATTRACTION
The object of their fascination is RMS Titanic, which sank in the early
hours of April 15, 1912 after ramming into an iceberg on its maiden
voyage from England to New York, killing more than 1,500 people.
The wreckage, located in 1985, lies on the floor of the North Atlantic
370 miles (600 km) south-southeast of Newfoundland at a depth of more
than 2 miles.
One of the worst maritime disasters ever, the sinking of the
state-of-the art liner sparked outrage and grief, and still stirs deep
emotions for many.
Rojas said this is because it was "a tragedy that wasn't supposed to
happen."
"It disappeared for years, it was mystical, and that attracts a lot of
people," she said. "That's what attracted me to it."
It was the inspiration for James Cameron's 1997 film "Titanic," a tragic
love story that became one of the most nominated movies in Academy Award
history.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Aug/26/images/ads/current/ldn_business_directory_small2_2016.png)
But it was an earlier telling of the disaster that caught the eye of
Rojas, who recalls watching the 1958 movie "A Night to Remember" when
she was a young girl.
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![](../images/041417pics/news_g9.jpg)
Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate exhibitions, stand with Renata Rojas
at Times Square in New York, U.S. April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon
Stapleton
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/14/images/ads/current/brickey_lda_061314.png)
"I actually wanted to find the wreck but somebody beat me to it," said
Rojas, whose father taught her to dive at the age of 12 in her home
country of Mexico.
When not working for Banco Sabadell in Manhattan, she spends much of her
free time exploring shipwrecks in the waters off New York and New
Jersey.
Rojas, who will help monitor and operate the sonar system while aboard
the submersible, said she was making the expedition to the Titanic
because of her tight connection to the story.
"I don't want any distractions,” she said. "It's such an emotional
experience for me, and I think I want to take it all in by myself."
LESS VISITED THAN SPACE
OceanGate's Rush, a submersible captain, said the expeditions have been
in the works for three years.
"While people have been there, it still is probably one of the least
visited historic sites on the planet," said Rush, who has never traveled
to the wreck himself. "More people have been to space or climbed Mount
Everest."
The expedition is not a "tourist trip" but rather an opportunity to
collect data on the wreck's decay," Rush said.
"It’s a blend between pure research and exploration, and certainly
there’s an entertainment component to it," conceded Rush. "We know
everyone’s going to want to see the bow because that image is so
iconic."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/14/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_051513.png)
Marc and Sharon Hagle, a pair of avid adventurers from Winter Park,
Florida, have also purchased tickets. The couple were visiting the South
Pole last year when they decided to make their next great excursion deep
underwater.
"It's not a money thing," said Marc, who invests in real estate. "One of
our personal goals in life is to not be sitting around in a rocking
chair when we are 100-years-old saying, 'I wish I had done that.'"
(Reporting by Melissa Fares in New York,; additional reporting by Angela
Moore in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty and Andrew Hay)
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