next »

TRAILBLAZERS
for students

ArchaeoFind
Archaeology News
Articles
Browse Attachments
Calendar
Downloads
Forum
Gallery
Links
Member Map
Our News Feeds
Submit Article
Tag Cloud
Video Channel

Trailblazers
Play Phaos
Chat
Trailblazers: Virtual Tours
History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Diving Doc]

Moneypenny,
Too smart by half, don't know how I let that slip by,
but of course you are completely correct as usual.
Cheers,
Doc

[Diving Doc]

In my explorations near the port bows I came upon a sounding lead with about six inches sticking above the sand. From the hole in the bottom I guessed what it was. Being totally out of film I removed it after carefully marking the spot. After I took the picture I returned it to the exact location. It was not in proximity to anything I could see but note the electrolysis on the buried part of the lead.
That old buoyancy compensator is 18 years plus but it still works fine.
Cheers,
Doc

[Diving Doc]

Here is an interesting shot of the starboard bower anchor. It's immediately obvious that this anchor wasn't set. The shaft of this and the other bower anchor measured 15 feet. Just below the ring on the shaft you can see the step where the stock was affixed.
Doc

[Ninetyninestar]

Doc, very cool find, I am happy for you those calm days are what make those photos worth showing off, how deep are the cannon 6-12 feet? Would you consider a site in 10 feet of water worth looking at from a financial gain or just historical, looking at wrecks I cannot beleive that the shallow ones were picked clean in fact sometime may have been harder to work in days gone due to breakin into the hull while being pounded by surf, deeper water is more forgiving and usually not as rough? Correct?
Nice post good luck on it,

[Diving Doc]

Cannon are in 15 feet of water and I certainly would have expected them and the anchors to have been salvaged if there were survivors. This wreck is only diveable at rare seasonal intervals as it is in a very high energy zone. The water on a normal day is running 6-7 feet over the wreck and then smashing over the exposed reef behind. It is so far from land I doubt anyone could have survived if a hurricane was blowing.
Of course you're right, the deeper wrecks are much easier to work.
Really enjoying your artifacts 99.
Cheers,
Doc

[Ninetyninestar]

reminds me of a sounding weight I found outside my office/workshop today

[Diving Doc]

Unless they were melted down to musket balls or dive weights, they do make good door stops, don't they?
Cheers,
Doc

[Michelle]

Very intriguing story Doc....So, this is what you do? I am very impressed!

[Michelle]

And I thought you were just a bored old man.....hahaha....This is what you research...even if you had of said so I probably wouldn't have believed you...I am very very impressed. EXCELLANT DOC!

[Diving Doc]

Here is another example of lead sheeting. There were masses of this in proximity to the wreck. This piece looks like it was scrubbed off when the hull worked against the coral. There were also quarter round pieces of some length that I presume were used for guttering where the decks joined the bulwarks.

Doc

[Solomon]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2JNFx9Mc_2g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/2JNFx9Mc_2g</a>
Here is an edited and smaller version of Diving Doc's great video.

[bahamawrecker]

Great story,
having a few years experience diving on shipwrecks in the Bahamas, I would like to add my humble opinion.
1) the site looks as if it was buried under sand during a good part of the time since the wrecking. In fact the sand must have receded quite recently, probably due to a hurricane. This may have happened several times over the centuries.
2) There is a good chance that the small anchor and cannon a mile away, belong to another shipwreck.
bahamawrecker

[Diving Doc]

Well the truth of the matter is something like this. When I first found the wreck it wasn't covered at all. There were masses of iron rigging laying all about. That was right after a hurricane had passed thru. The wreck is fairly buried now. As for the little anchor and cannon; the cannon match and I have swum every inch of the reef, quite a few miles, looking at other wrecks. The small caliber cannon pile (five) I found west of the main wreck also match the cannon and small anchor. I think that the only feasibile answer is that a piece of the vessel broke off carrying the anchor and cannon to that location. The anchor isn't set as you can see. I believe that the five cannon I found were carried by wreckage as well, perhaps a large piece of the deck and hull, to their resting place in the reef.

Cheers,
Doc

[bahamawrecker]

Bahama shipwrecks
There are not many places in the world where there are thousands of shipwrecks in shallow, clear and warm water like in the Bahamas. However, considering the  thousands of shipwrecks, there is relatively not much historic or archival information available. Newspaper records in the Nassau archives go back to 1789. Little more than folklore and legends is known about one of the most important occupations of the people living in the Bahamas, �The Wrecking� before that date.

Where could one search for information? Probably there are vast resources available in the UK. The Public Record Office might be such a place. I have not had a chance to go there and search.
Yes, I have a listing of thousands of shipwrecks that happened in the Bahamas. But what is a listing? I would like to know the full story of each shipwreck.
How did the shipwreck happen?
Why did it happen?
Was it a mistake of navigation?
Or was it one of the feared �Northers�, the fierce winter storms that ply the region?
Was it an unexpected hurricane?
What happened to the crew and passengers?
Did anybody survive the disaster?
There are so many questions. Each one of these thousands of shipwrecks has its own story.
And then come the stories of the salvage.
The story of the wreckers. These were the hardy seamen from the Bahamas who were always the first at the shipwreck.
They were organized and efficient in that purpose.
Using small fast sloops with shallow draft, they plied the tricky waters from north to south throughout the year, searching for stranded vessels.
Many times they saved crew and passengers and a good part of the cargo before it was spoiled by the sea.
After the initial emergency salvage, they removed everything of value. Ropes, sails and tackle, went next. Then they started to dismantle the rest of the ship.
When nothing more could be removed, they burned the rest to the waterline, to recover the fasteners.
The wrecking was a dangerous job. It had to be done immediately, otherwise the remains of the shipwreck would be scattered by the waves and swallowed by the sand.
Once, on the remains of a shipwreck, I found the wreckers tools, large crow-bars, still wedged between the timbers where the wreckers had pried to get a the silver.
How do I know they were trying to get the silver? Well, they left some behind, that's why. I wondered why they had obviously left in a hurry, leaving treasure and tools behind.
A few days later I found out why. The shipwreck is located between the reefs. The coral comes to within 5 feet of the surface at low tide. To get to the wreck, one has to  �eyeball� the way between the coral heads until reaching the site of the shipwreck that is 25 feet deep. With the sun behind and the crystal clear water this is not difficult.
One afternoon, it was late in the season, we were surprised by a �Norther� one of the first winter storms coming out of the north west. The boat was tied to a 2 ton cannon. 
By the time we had the divers on board and some of the gear retrieved, the water was white. The one and one halve inch diameter nylon rope that was tied to the cannon broke and we drifted away towards the reefs. The rain came down in sheets. No visibility. I tried to remember the the winding path between the coral heads on the way in and retrace the route.
We were very lucky and got out of the shallows scared, but unharmed.
I still wonder if the same thing had happened to the wreckers 180 years ago. Did they survive? Or were they shredded by the sharp coral reefs? Is this why they never came back to the shipwreck to finish their job?
This shipwreck told me a tiny part of its story. I would like to know the rest, the whole of the story?
Yes I would like to know every story of every one of the thousands of shipwrecks in the Bahamas.
I would like to know the stories of the wreckers too, and I would like to connect the stories of the wreckers to their great grand children who still live in the Bahamas. 
Bahamawrecker