HOT NEWS !

From News Scotman

The government hinted last night it would prefer to see the wreck of HMS Victory – predecessor to Nelson's famous flagship – left in the English Channel following its apparent discovery this month with nearly £700,000 of gold on board.

English Heritage has been asked to advise on preserving the ship where it lies.

And some comments on this short article:

- Over here we call that Horse Hockey. You need BILLIONS, and so you're going to leave 1 Billion on the bottom of the ocean, because school children can buy their own robot if they want to see cannon's from the HMS Victory ? ... Sorry, I fell out of my chair because I was laughing too too hard.

- Folks, I understand the sanctity of an underwater military grave and value the opinion of those who oppose retrieving the Victory's artifacts as well as its treasure.

However, as a student of history, I am certain that many more people on both sides of the Atlantic would prefer that the precise reason for the sinking and loss of 1150 men be known at long last. Already we have learned that the captain was apparently not to blame.

I cannot afford to buy a piece of the treasure and that isn't my interest. It would be nice also to bring "home" the remains of those lost and give them a proper burial, perhaps even trace remains to living persons today if sufficient DNA material remains.

Sorry to disagree with the government.

By Peter Davies

A ship that was thought likely to sink became the craft that took Darwin around the world.

No one who witnessed the launch of HMS Beagle at Woolwich naval dockyard on the Thames on May 11, 1820, could possibly have imagined that this unremarkable, not to say dowdy, craft was destined to sail into the pages of history on one of the most famous voyages of scientific discovery ever undertaken.

Ships like the Beagle, ten-gun brigs (two-masted square-rigged vessels) displacing barely 250 tonnes - a tenth of the size of Nelson's Victory - were regarded as one of the lowest forms of naval life.

Their nickname “coffin brigs” expressed the generally held belief in the Navy that once out at sea in any kind of heavy weather, they shipped unacceptable amounts of water and were highly likely to sink.

Planned as a class of ship for inshore blockading operations as the Napoleonic wars drew to a close, they were produced in droves, but after 1815 no immediate use could be found for them.

Beagle never saw action. Instead she spent the first few years of her naval life in reserve, moored afloat.

From NOAA

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has launched a new online multimedia library offering public access to thousands of high-resolution, ocean-related photos and videos taken by NOAA scientists, educators, divers and archaeologists.

“This robust online library offers thousands of images from all 14 marine protected areas managed by NOAA,” said Michiko J. Martin, national education coordinator for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “Some of these images depict threats and human pressures on marine life in a compelling fashion that we hope will inspire ocean literacy and conservation.”

The National Marine Sanctuaries Media Library is a comprehensive database containing a collection of high-quality still images and video footage featuring all 13 national marine sanctuaries and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

The database is fully searchable by keyword, category and location, and all the images are tagged with relevant information including resolution and usage rights.

Read more...

By Ryan Owens and Gina Sunseri
 

Nathan Smith has gold fever.

He caught it when he picked up a book on American treasures and read these words about a mythical Spanish barkentine and its gold and silver lost in south Texas: "Whoever finds either of these treasures would possess wealth beyond imagining."

The Los Angeles musician started hunting for the ship -- legend has it blowing ashore south of Refugio, Texas, during a hurricane in 1822.

His search started with Google Earth. What he saw when he zoomed into a spot north of the Aransas Pass prompted him to get into his car and drive non-stop to Texas.

He got out his metal detector and Smith said, "I got readings, which indicated gold and silver."

The problem for Smith, if a ship does exist, is that it is on private property.

The family that owns the property doesn't want anyone digging up the land for a ship no one has proved even exists.

Author and explorer Tom Townsend believes the ship, or the legend, at least, is real.

"It has been my experience, more times than not, a legend like this there is some basis of truth. Because it has been around long enough that they have named Barkentine Creek, Barkentine Creek.

That alone makes me think that there was, or is, something buried out there."

Full story...

From BC Local News

The 1000 Islands in Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway is without question the world’s best fresh water shipwreck diving site.

Below the icy surface lie entire lost villages, immaculately preserved shipwrecked schooners of all description beckoning adventurous divers.

A Canadian exploration company is now offering a world-premiere opportunity to explore this Arctic Kingdom in the world’s best and most pristine fresh water dive location.

“The wide variety of ice conditions that the St. Lawrence provides is second to none outside of the arctic” says Graham Dickson, Master Instructor and founder of Arctic Kingdom Expeditions.

Never before have these pristine fresh water wrecks been dived on in the winter months when the water visibility is at its best.

“We’ve been planning this ice dive adventure in the St. Lawrence for many years and are very excited to see it become a reality,” Dickson says.

By Gamini Mahadura - The Sunday Times

Carbonated drinks recovered from a vessel sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka have been confirmed to be 168 years old, say Ocean Archaeology officers conducting research on items found in the wreck of what has been dubbed the “Bottle Ship”.

The vessel - 23 metres long and six metres wide - was discovered two months ago.

It is located 26 km off Kirinda, and lies at a depth of six metres. Iron, brass and brick props have been used to support the vessel, whose woodwork has deteriorated over the years.

Nine types of bottles of varying size, shape and colours, including several unopened bottles containing a carbonated lemon beverage, were found among the recovered items.

The trade-marked bottles indicate they were manufactured by Clarke Romer & Co. Ceylon in 1840.

The company had branches in Colombo and Kandy. Advertisements appearing in the “Examiner” of 1846.10.07 and “Prodens Fone Selanika” on display at the Colombo Museum suggest that the company’s product was in demand during a cholera epidemic.

From Fox News

Navy officials say an attempt to pull free a 9,600-ton warship that ran aground off the coast of Honolulu has been unsuccessful.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet says Navy tugboats and salvage ship USS Salvor tried to tow the USS Port Royal early Saturday but the guided missile cruiser remained stuck.

The Navy says it plans to try again after extracting fuel and water from the $1 billion vessel.

The 9,600-ton ship, while carrying guests that included a rear admiral, ran aground Thursday night on a sandy, rocky bottom. The cause of the grounding, as well the extent of the damage to the ship, remains under investigation.

Read more...

By Michelle Draper

A missing piece of Victoria's maritime history has been uncovered, with the discovery of a 127-year-old shipwreck at a beach in the state's east.

The iron steamer Pretty Jane sank off Ninety Mile Beach near Lakes Entrance in 1882 after a series of misfortunes.

The ship collided with another vessel, hit a sandbar and became caught in a wild storm en route from Lakes Entrance to Melbourne.

All on board were saved, but the 34-metre-long Scottish-built vessel broke up and was never seen again until last month.

Parks Victoria rangers stumbled across the remnants of the ill-fated coastal trader on the beach at Loch Sport in East Gippsland in January.

Parts of the rusting iron frames and boiler of the Pretty Jane are now visible to beachgoers.