This superbly written, illustrated and detailed book describes almost 60 of the most interesting wrecks of boats, ships, submarines, aircraft and all other manner of vessels which lie under the whole length of the Croatian part of the beautiful Adriatic Sea.
My translation of the original Croatian text into English took almost three months to complete – in total almost 350 pages!
The original book in Croatian – ‘Blago Jadrana’ written by Danijel Frka and Jasen Mešić was published by the Adamić publishing house in 2012 and was an immediate hit and so it was translated into German, Italian and now into English.
Each wreck is extensively described, illustrated, photographed in situ, with their stories researched in detail – including one especially interesting story of one ship’s captain who stayed with his vessel until the very end only to be found still grasping the wheel on the bridge long after his ship sank.
Some of the famous ships described include the Re D’Italia, the Szent Istvan and the Giuseppe Garibaldi. Along with the well-known wrecks there are also aircraft such as American B-24 Liberator bombers in the sea near the island of Vis and ancient Roman merchant boats with cargoes of amphorae and sarcophagi and Napoleonic brigs with cannons.
Each site has been dived by the authors; giving precise details of the locations, the diving conditions, the currents, flora and fauna, what to look for and what to be aware of. Also important are the rules and regulations of diving and all the safety aspects required. They have also investigated the backgrounds of the vessels, the human stories, the destinies and incidents and even battle descriptions from first hand and archive sources.
I was very happy to be involved in the translation of this book because it opened up a new window on the place where I live and I was even more interested to read about one particular British motor torpedo boat (named MTB 655) from the Second Word War which was in fact built in my childhood town of Littlehampton in England and which sank in March 1945 near the island of Cres!
More info about MTB 655 here.
You can order the book directly from the publisher here: https://shop.naklada-val.hr/product_info.php?cPath=97&products_id=561
Full details:
“TREASURES OF THE ADRIATIC SEA –
A diver’s guide to the wrecks of the Croatian Adriatic”
by Danijel Frka and Jasen Mesić
Published by Adamić, 2013
ISBN 978-953-219-479-1
Hardback, 390 pages, size 21.5cm x 28.5cm
The Croatian Apoxyomenos… ancient Greek statue found in the sea near the island of Lošinj.