Searching for the Griffon, the Great Lakes own Jewel July 24, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , 1 comment so farI found an interesting story in petoskeynews.com regarding the search for a wreck called the Griffon, which sank in the Great Lakes. The Griffon was the first European vessel to sail the upper Great Lakes - and the first of many shipwrecks. The ship was sailed by the legendary French explorer, Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, and was intended to carry furs to support La Salle’s expedition to find the mouth of the Mississippi. From the article;
During its return maiden voyage, Sept. 18, 1679, the Griffon sailed out from the present day Washington Harbor on Washington Island, in northern Lake Michigan, and it was never seen again. Historians have pondered the whereabouts of the missing ship for centuries.
Team Delta identify a new wreck, the Progress 3 July 14, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , add a comment
Mark Chase posted a great trip report at Rebreather World, covering a recent dive trip he made in the English Channel, with the aim of diving new ‘marks’ and hopefully identifying the vessels. During the trip they made three dives, and one of the team found a bell which identified one wreck as the Progress 3.
Intriguingly, they found a wreck which Mark christened as the ‘Bolder Wreck’ and he was reluctant to give out any details, so this might be a bit special;
Oriskany Dive Report July 6, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , add a commentI was browsing through the Rebreather World Forum as you do and came across a recent report of how the Oriskany was shaping up as a dive site. Heather (hchoat) recently dived the wreck and stated that divers should wait for 6 months or so unless they are really keen, as there is still a lack of marine life on the aircraft carrier;
Experts seek to find famous wreck, the BonHomme Richard July 3, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , add a commentThe BonHomme Richard sank in 1779 off Flamborough Head and was made famous by John Paul Jones stating ‘Surrender - I have not yet begun to fight’. Several expeditions have already been amde to find the ship, but next month a new expedition being led by Dr Robert Neyland, head of the underwater archaeology unit at the US Navy Historical Centre, will use hi-tech methods to try and find the wreck. From the BBC;
“We thought that one way to go about it would be to take the last historical information for locations of the fleet and the ship itself,” he said. “We put that together with the weather and tide information for that time period which have been recreated very well. “We then used modern computers to create a predictive model of where the ship went down,” he added.
Dr Neyland is confident the wreck can be found despite the depth of waters involved.
“It is going to be in waters that are relatively deep - probably 150 to 200ft,” he said. “Divers are able to work in those waters - and archaeologists too.”
Having dived that area the expedition will have a tough time finding the wreck. The bottom is very sandy, and visibility is often reduced. Much of the wreck could be buried meaning that identification would be difficult. Good luck to them though.
Dive bids to solve wreck mystery June 29, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , add a commentThere is some confusion being created by the Caithness Diving club up in Scapa Flow, as they claim to have found a wreck which shouldn’t be there. The V81, which was at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, was raised in 1937 after foundering off the Caithness coast, but the members of the diving club say that they have found it still on the seabed;
From the BBC;
Brits Assured WW II-era Torpedo ‘Chariots’ Will Not Be Salvaged June 23, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , 1 comment so farTwo World War II British Chariots have been found in waters off Phuket, and there has been a plan by a salvage company, East Marine SBS Co, to raise them. The British Embassy heard about this and concerns were raised about the operation. Subsequently a letter has now been delivered to the Governor, Udomsak Uswarangkura, requesting that they remain on the sea floor. From a report in Underwater Times and via Divester;
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