Miscellaneous


Alpha-Numeric Signal Flags

In this modern age of radio, these signal flags are a quaint anachronism that is no longer used, although they were once very important in ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship communications. Each flag stands for both a letter value and a shorthand message. The letters are expressed here in the modern international phonetic alphabet, in which A-B-C would be spoken Alpha-Bravo-Charlie (see below).


Artifacts recovered after long immersion in salt or freshwater require conservation treatment if they are to last. On exposure to high concentrations of oxygen in the air, iron artifacts will bloom into piles of rust. Wood will crack and split if dried out improperly. Organic materials will crumble to dust.

The manual below details conservation methods for many types of materials and artifacts.


I find this sort of material to be much more interesting than the endless rehashing of coral reefs, glowingly useless gear reviews, and "buoyancy tips" that fill up the standard glossy diving magazines.

Historical

Conservation ManualDonny L. Hamilton

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea
Peter Kemp, 1988

Lots of interesting information and trivia.





Shipwreck Iberia
Iberia struck by Umbria

How do two ships in the wide ocean collide? It seems unlikely, and yet it happens all the time. Often, the ocean is not all that wide. Many collisions occur in shipping lanes and port approaches, where ships are brought together in close proximity. Here are some videos of actual collisions between ships:


John Chatterton and the Horenberg knife
John Chatterton and the Horenberg
knife, the most tangible clue to the
identity of New Jersey's mystery U-boat.

In 1991, while checking out an obscure site known for hanging up fishing lines, I dropped down the anchor line only to find a virgin German U-boat. A wreck diver's fantasy of discovering a new shipwreck somehow had become a reality, and it was every bit as good as could be imagined. While reveling in the experience, I wondered if I would have enough skill and luck to ever make it happen again. Several discoveries later, the challenge is still irresistible.


Another entry from the Way-back machine:

NJ Scuba
George Hoffman

"Gentleman George"

by Dan Berg

Note: George Hoffman passed away January 14, 1997, about a year after this article was written. His death is a great loss to the diving community and he will be missed by us all.


Atlantic Cod
Atlantic Cod
Tomcod
Atlantic Tomcod

Cods are easily identified: they all have three separate soft-rayed dorsal fins and two separate soft-rayed anal fins. They also have a sensory barbel on the chin, although in some species this is so reduced as to be virtually absent.

Printed from njscuba.net