My journey to the wreck site started at 10am. Due to some last minute changes I was heading down in Mir 2 instead of 1 with my pilot Genya Cherniaev. I was a little nervous but I have a lot of faith in the crew and they soon laid my fears to rest. After a load of photos were taken my crewmate David Bright and I boarded the Mir. The inside of the submersible is cramped with little room to move about. Once settled the huge crane lowered us into the ocean. The water around us went from a bright blue through green, indigo, dark blue and then finally black as the sunlight disappeared above us. We made good progress as it took us just under 2 hours to reach the sea bed. When you look out of the porthole it’s like the surface of the moon, nothing around except the occasional starfish and a few rocks. Then out of the darkness looms the bow section of Titanic.

Nothing I write here, no photo or video I take, can describe the sight of seeing the Titanic. It is quite simply the most amazing thing I have ever and probably will ever see.

The first thing that strikes you is how big Titanic is. She is HUGE! Nothing prepared me for that. No matter which way you look out of Mir’s tiny porthole, the great ship was there, disappearing into the darkness. To give you some idea of her size, the front section of the bow leading up to the bridge is larger than two football pitches in length. The top of the massive engines is around the size of a large family car and the boilers are the size of a small truck. On its own this may appear large, but when you imagine she had 29 of them, your mind is truly blown away by their immense size.

After circling the bow section we followed the path of the fallen mast. Here we glided gently over where the crows nest once stood and where Fleet spotted the icberg. As we moved above the decks we came to the bridge, the only surviving part being the telemotor that held the ships wheel stands alone atop the great liner. Various plaques left by former visitors are scattered around. We then drifted over to the Officers Quarters. Over one door I was surprised to see a sign stating “Officers Entrance”, as though it were put there only yesterday. We then examined the Marconi room where Philips and Bride sent the S.O.S., behind which is the expansion joint which over time has moved farther apart separating the ship. As we turned the view of a single lifeboat davet entered the porthole, a stark reminder of that fateful night. We then headed along the starboard side first class promenade deck. Paint can still be seen here as it can on many areas of Titanic, and the individual hand punched rivets are visible in many places. As we moved past the front section of the ship we headed out across the debris field.

The debris field is littered with various artefacts. Bottles of Champagne with their labels still attached scatter the sea bed, all corked. Porcelain cups and plates sit on the bottom intact, all with the White Star Line logo on them. One plate rested neatly on top of a water tank as though it was just placed there by hand, now with bizarre sea life growing out of it. It’s hard to imagine that all these things survived such a destructive moment, when the ship around them tore in half. A single lifeboat davit lying nearby, still in its open position, reminds us of that. Its brass turn screw looks almost new.

As we manoeuvred across the debris field we came across the stern section. The stern is a stark contrast to the bow. It’s now just a mass of tangled metal. It still had air pockets in its bulkheads as it fell to the sea bed and as the pressure of the water grew, the stern imploded in on itself. Through the fallen decks you can still make out the graceful curve of the back. Underneath this sits two of the three mighty propellers, (the centre one is buried deep in the silt.)  Mir 2 cautiously moved under the stern so we could get a close up view of the port side propeller. Like everything else on Titanic, it’s huge. The size of each nut securing the propeller blades are around 6 inches across. A mass of metal and debris surrounded us. We carefully moved out and headed for the massive engines. They stand upright at the front of the stern, almost like a gateway to the ship. Once we had examined as much as we could of the stern we headed back out to the debris field. A silver plate sat on the bottom along with more bottles, porcelain and pieces of the ship.

It was now time to leave Titanic. We decided to hold a minutes silence in remembrance of those who perished. After this we headed back to the surface. This also took around 2 hours. It was a very strange feeling exiting the submersible. Over 11 hours had passed but to me it had only felt like three or four. What I witnessed down there, two and a half miles below the surface, will stay with me forever.