Miscellaneous


LOST AT SEA:
A treatise on the management and ownership
of shipwrecks and shipwreck artifacts

by Michael C. Barnette

shipwreck Lillian

Somewhere out on the ocean, a ship is in distress. Tossed about by churning seas and brutal winds, the vessel struggles to stay afloat. Her crew puts forth a valiant effort while passengers, many incapacitated by waves of nausea spawned by the ever-moving deck underneath their feet, huddle together in fear. The hull is slowly breached, and seawater steadily invades the ship. As the blitzkrieg of flooding water rises to extinguish the boiler fires, the vessel loses all power. Cast in darkness and overwhelmed by the noise of the howling wind and crashing surf, the sea tears off sections of the crippled ship, carrying away numerous unfortunate souls. The end is near.


Port & Starboard

port - the left side of a ship, when facing forward

starboard - the right side of a ship, when facing forward

running lights

The starboard side of a vessel ( or an airplane ) carries a green running light, and the port side carries a red running light. The best way to remember all this is: port, left and red are all short words, while starboard, right, and green are all long(er) words.


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.


Side-scan sonar is a modern method of underwater imaging that can produce remarkably detailed and realistic views of shipwrecks and other bottom features using sound rather than light.

side-scan sonar shipwreck SS Delaware
Notice all the detail in this side-scan sonar image of the Delaware.

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.





Captain Steve Nagiewicz (above) uses a lift bag
Captain Steve Nagiewicz (above) uses a lift bag to raise the stern bits of the Emerald which had been sent to the surface and are shown connected to a lifting pole or 'gin pole.' the arrangement is ready to be hoisted aboard.

New Jersey scuba divers provide evidence of the identity of a popular New Jersey dive site


Printed from njscuba.net