What real ships inspired THE DEEP?
The Deep is inspired by numerous real shipwrecks that author Peter Benchley became aware of after meeting Bermudian explorer Teddy Tucker . Tucker was himself the inspiration for the character of Romer Treece, and first meet Benchley when National Geographic sent the Jaws author to Bermuda in 1970*. Benchley's brief was to tell the story of Bermuda through its shipwrecks and according to Emory Kristof , the National Geographic photographer who accompanied Benchley: " We went out catching sharks on long-lines. Benchley was a smart one. While I was taking pictures, he listened to all of Tucker's yarns about sharks and shipwrecks and turned it into Jaws and then made The Deep. " In 1976 Benchley said he dived the wreck of the Constellation (sank 1942**) which lay on top of two other ships; the Lartington (1878) and the Montana (1863). He contemplated a story about a honeymoon couple who stumble upon the wrecks but decided that readers wouldn't believe t