WWW.Chron.com. Houston Belief: Diver searching near Malta for St. Paul's shipwreck
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -Even long before the times of Jesus and the Apostle Paul, Malta was the rocky knob at the western edge of the Roman Empire, the place where the leftovers of the Mediterranean Sea washed up and dug in.
And Malta is the site of what Huntsville software salesman John Harkins thinks will be the last and best quest of his life.
Harkins, a mild-mannered, Bible-reading, Church of Christ deacon and marine biologist, is determined to be the first person since the biblical Luke to see evidence of the ship that carried Paul nearly to Rome.
"I'm quite in the minority in thinking there might be some remnant," Harkins said, unrolling charts of the island on his desk at work. "But I know we're going to find something, though it may not be from Paul's wreck."
According to Acts 27, a chapter in Luke's history of the nascent Christian movement, a huge ship loaded with grain, sailors, soldiers, prisoners and passengers crashed into the coast at the end of a 14-day storm.
The ship broke in half, spilling everyone into the sea. Miraculously, the entire crew was able to struggle to shore, where they were met by the inhabitants of the 200-mile-long island, who built them a fire.
"The natives showed us unusual kindness," Luke writes.
Harkins said Malta's government places a high value on caring for and understanding relics washed on its shores. Museums catalog ancient weapons, structures, tools and, of course, fragments of the shipping trade that made Malta a crucial outpost of vessels attempting to round the Italian boot to get to Rome.
"God put that ship there, and I figure he put it where he wants it," Harkins said. "He gave it to the Maltese people, and frankly, he couldn't have given it to people who do more to preserve their heritage — and it's their heritage, along with the rest of us."
Harkins can't remember a time when the story of Paul's shipwreck didn't fascinate him. It was one of the stories that leapt out of the dim and musty antiquity of ancient stories to snap into Technicolor.
When Harkins and his partners return to Malta in May for what will be his third visit to the island, he hopes to map the sub-bottom profile of areas he's decided are likely shipwreck locations given prevailing winds and the land forms.
Among the experts he has consulted are second-century essayist Lucian and a 19th-century book by the preacher son of an East India Company merchant. His bookshelves also bulge with various doctoral dissertations on relics found under water and other books on archaeology, sailing and diving.
Gordon Franz, an archaeologist at the Akron, Pa.-based Associates for Biblical Research, remembers responding cautiously to Harkins' first letters some years ago.
"We get all kinds of crackpots who contact our office about their crazy ideas or discoveries," Franz said. "After a few exchanges, I realized this fellow knows what he is talking about, so I called him. We talked for about an hour, and he shared some nautical insights into Acts 27 which I had never considered before."
Older shipwrecks than the one Harkins seeks have been found, Franz said. But if Harkins can find the remains of an Alexandrian grain ship, like the one that carried Paul, it would be a first.
And if Harkins finds nothing at all, despite self-funding his search and taking time away from family and work?
"I believe we all have to search for something," Harkins said. "And one of the reasons I'm doing this is because, who else would do it? It's not important to other people who would rather search for sunken treasure."
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
First paying customers to dive on HMAS Adelaide wreck
Express Advocate: First paying customers to dive on HMAS Adelaide wreck
The first paying customers are expected to get up close and personal with the wreck of former HMAS Adelaide at Avoca Beach this weekend.
Tickets go on sale at 10am this morning for the chance to dive the controversial wreck, with divers to pay a minimum of $78.
Depending on the weather the first group is expected to check out the wreck on Saturday.
PHOTOS: See what the ex-HMAS Adelaide looks like under water
Divers with their own boat and gear will reportedly pay $18 per head and a $60 mooring fee, while it’s believed commercial operators will charge $80 for divers with gear or $140 for those requiring
equipment.
Central Coast Artificial Reef Project members are expected to be on hand for the first public dive on the wreck.
Snorkellers also need to purchase a permit.
To book go to www.hmasadelaide.com.
A special surveying group of divers checked the wreck immediately after sinking to determine that it had settled as predicted.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Capt. Kidd Shipwreck Site To Be Dedicated 'Living Museum Of The Sea'
Underwater Times: Capt. Kidd Shipwreck Site To Be Dedicated 'Living Museum Of The Sea' by Indiana University
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- Nearly three years after the discovery of the shipwreck Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd, the underwater site will be dedicated as a "Living Museum of the Sea" by Indiana University, IU researcher and archeologist Charles Beeker, and the government of the Dominican Republic.
The dedication as an official underwater museum will take place off the shore of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic on May 23, the 310th anniversary of Kidd's hanging in London for his 'crimes of piracy.'
The dedication will note both underwater and above-ground interpretive plaques. The underwater plaques will help guide divers around the Kidd site as well as relics and rare corals at two other shipwreck sites.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded IU $200,000 to turn the Captain Kidd shipwreck site and two nearby existing underwater preserves into no-take, no-anchor "Living Museums of the Sea," where cultural discoveries will protect precious corals and other threatened biodiversity in the surrounding reef systems, under the supervision and support of the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuático (ONPCS). USAID has since extended its support by a year, increasing the funding award to $300,000.
The Underwater Science team from the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER), led by Beeker, has been working to preserve, analyze and document the Kidd shipwreck since its surprising discovery, which made headlines around the world. This unique museum, resting in less than 10 feet of water just 70 feet from shore, will give divers the opportunity to see the 17th century ship remains, including several anchors, along with dozens of cannons, which rest on the ocean's floor and serve as home to coral and sea creatures. Above water, several more traditional museums will benefit from artifacts that are on loan to IU by the Dominican Republic government for the purpose of study and research.
"As this ongoing multidisciplinary research continues," Beeker said, "interest in the project has grown and new partnerships are developing, including the Peace Corps assigning their volunteers to the project, and the Consorcio Dominicano de Competitividad Turistica promoting the project as a sustainable tourism destination."
As the interest in eco-tourism and unique vacation destinations continues to grow, this Living Museum of the Sea is predicted to be a sought-after destination for those seeking underwater adventures combined with significant 17th century maritime history representative of the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean.
Beeker said it was remarkable that the wreck had remained undiscovered all these years given its location, just 70 feet off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, and because it has been actively sought by treasure hunters.
"Since the site's discovery, we have worked with government officials, Indiana University partners and museums to preserve this site, the artifacts contained there and to use it all for research and scientific study," said Beeker, a pioneer in underwater museums and preserves. "We have diligently protected this site, and now we are able to share the importance of the Armenian-owned 1699 Quedagh Merchant (which was captured by Kidd off the west coast of India) with students at Indiana University as well as with the public at exhibits at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the British Museum of Docklands London."
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis helped bring one of the most fascinating underwater mysteries in years to visitors in its new permanent exhibit, National Geographic Treasures of the Earth. Charles Beeker was authorized by Dominican Republic authorities to bring the only cannon recovered from the shipwreck to The Children's Museum for five years of study and conservation. The Children's Museum and Beeker received a $1 million grant from Eli Lilly & Company Foundation to support this project and to search for and recover artifacts from other historically significant ships that are believed to be in the Caribbean, with this including the ongoing search for the Lost Fleet of Christopher Columbus.
Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, said the popular museum and IU have similar interests, to bring fascinating discoveries to the public.
"Our intent was to develop the most authentic experience possible -- to bring real archaeological sites, real science, real artifacts and real experts to our visitors. These extraordinary experiences truly have the power to inspire and transform the lives of children through family learning," he said. "We're eager to explore future opportunities with IU's team of experts in the search for other historically significant ships in the Caribbean."
Other significant artifacts to be displayed at The Children's Museum include Ming dynasty plates and statues, diamond and gold jewelry, gold & silver coins, cannonballs and other antiquities, which have been preserved for centuries in the Caribbean waters.
The British Museum of Docklands London has an exhibit featuring the story of Captain Kidd, and a live show depicting Kidd and his travels as one of history's most notorious pirates. The museum will have a special event in coordination with the underwater museum dedication, honoring the 310th anniversary of Kidd's execution.
Historians differ on whether Kidd was actually a pirate or a privateer -- someone who captured pirates. After his conviction of piracy and murder charges in a sensational London trial, he was left to hang over the River Thames for two years as a warning to other pirates. Museo Vivo del Mar
Historians write that Kidd captured the Quedagh Merchant, loaded with valuable satins and silks, gold, silver and other East Indian merchandise, but left the ship in the Caribbean as he sailed to New York on a less conspicuous sloop to clear his name of the criminal charges.
Anthropologist Geoffrey Conrad, director of IU Bloomington's Mathers Museum of World Cultures, said the men Kidd entrusted with his ship reportedly looted it, and then set it ablaze and adrift down the Rio Dulce. Conrad said the location of the wreckage and the formation and size of the canons, which had been used as ballast, are consistent with historical records of the ship. They also found pieces of several anchors under the cannons.
"All the evidence that we find underwater is consistent with what we know from historical documentation, which is extensive," Conrad said. "Through rigorous archeological investigations, we have conclusively proven that this is the Captain Kidd shipwreck."
The IU research in the Dominican Republic typically involves professors and graduate students from various IU Bloomington schools and departments, including the School of HPER, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and the departments of anthropology, biology, geological sciences and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences.
"The archeological work being done by IU in the Dominican Republic affords us tremendous entrée for wider areas of collaboration," said School of HPER Interim Dean Mo R. Torabi.
Since the discovery, Beeker has met with and given presentations to research experts in London, Armenia and Washington, D.C., and the interest continues to spread because of the complex trading and exploration channels that existed in the 17th century.
For more than 20 years, Beeker and his students have conducted underwater research projects on submerged ships, cargo and other cultural and biological resources throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Many of his research projects have resulted in the establishment of state or federal underwater parks and preserves, and have led to a number of site nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
Beeker, who has been conducting research in the Dominican Republic for nearly 20 years, was asked to examine the shipwreck in 2007 while on another research mission involving the search for Christopher Columbus' lost ships. Beeker and Conrad have been exploring the era when the New and Old Worlds first met, focusing on the area of La Isabela Bay, the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement established by Columbus in 1494.
Beeker recently served four years on the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. To learn more about the Underwater Science program visit http://www.indiana.edu/~scuba.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- Nearly three years after the discovery of the shipwreck Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd, the underwater site will be dedicated as a "Living Museum of the Sea" by Indiana University, IU researcher and archeologist Charles Beeker, and the government of the Dominican Republic.
The dedication as an official underwater museum will take place off the shore of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic on May 23, the 310th anniversary of Kidd's hanging in London for his 'crimes of piracy.'
The dedication will note both underwater and above-ground interpretive plaques. The underwater plaques will help guide divers around the Kidd site as well as relics and rare corals at two other shipwreck sites.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded IU $200,000 to turn the Captain Kidd shipwreck site and two nearby existing underwater preserves into no-take, no-anchor "Living Museums of the Sea," where cultural discoveries will protect precious corals and other threatened biodiversity in the surrounding reef systems, under the supervision and support of the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuático (ONPCS). USAID has since extended its support by a year, increasing the funding award to $300,000.
The Underwater Science team from the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER), led by Beeker, has been working to preserve, analyze and document the Kidd shipwreck since its surprising discovery, which made headlines around the world. This unique museum, resting in less than 10 feet of water just 70 feet from shore, will give divers the opportunity to see the 17th century ship remains, including several anchors, along with dozens of cannons, which rest on the ocean's floor and serve as home to coral and sea creatures. Above water, several more traditional museums will benefit from artifacts that are on loan to IU by the Dominican Republic government for the purpose of study and research.
"As this ongoing multidisciplinary research continues," Beeker said, "interest in the project has grown and new partnerships are developing, including the Peace Corps assigning their volunteers to the project, and the Consorcio Dominicano de Competitividad Turistica promoting the project as a sustainable tourism destination."
As the interest in eco-tourism and unique vacation destinations continues to grow, this Living Museum of the Sea is predicted to be a sought-after destination for those seeking underwater adventures combined with significant 17th century maritime history representative of the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean.
Beeker said it was remarkable that the wreck had remained undiscovered all these years given its location, just 70 feet off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, and because it has been actively sought by treasure hunters.
"Since the site's discovery, we have worked with government officials, Indiana University partners and museums to preserve this site, the artifacts contained there and to use it all for research and scientific study," said Beeker, a pioneer in underwater museums and preserves. "We have diligently protected this site, and now we are able to share the importance of the Armenian-owned 1699 Quedagh Merchant (which was captured by Kidd off the west coast of India) with students at Indiana University as well as with the public at exhibits at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the British Museum of Docklands London."
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis helped bring one of the most fascinating underwater mysteries in years to visitors in its new permanent exhibit, National Geographic Treasures of the Earth. Charles Beeker was authorized by Dominican Republic authorities to bring the only cannon recovered from the shipwreck to The Children's Museum for five years of study and conservation. The Children's Museum and Beeker received a $1 million grant from Eli Lilly & Company Foundation to support this project and to search for and recover artifacts from other historically significant ships that are believed to be in the Caribbean, with this including the ongoing search for the Lost Fleet of Christopher Columbus.
Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, said the popular museum and IU have similar interests, to bring fascinating discoveries to the public.
"Our intent was to develop the most authentic experience possible -- to bring real archaeological sites, real science, real artifacts and real experts to our visitors. These extraordinary experiences truly have the power to inspire and transform the lives of children through family learning," he said. "We're eager to explore future opportunities with IU's team of experts in the search for other historically significant ships in the Caribbean."
Other significant artifacts to be displayed at The Children's Museum include Ming dynasty plates and statues, diamond and gold jewelry, gold & silver coins, cannonballs and other antiquities, which have been preserved for centuries in the Caribbean waters.
The British Museum of Docklands London has an exhibit featuring the story of Captain Kidd, and a live show depicting Kidd and his travels as one of history's most notorious pirates. The museum will have a special event in coordination with the underwater museum dedication, honoring the 310th anniversary of Kidd's execution.
Historians differ on whether Kidd was actually a pirate or a privateer -- someone who captured pirates. After his conviction of piracy and murder charges in a sensational London trial, he was left to hang over the River Thames for two years as a warning to other pirates. Museo Vivo del Mar
Historians write that Kidd captured the Quedagh Merchant, loaded with valuable satins and silks, gold, silver and other East Indian merchandise, but left the ship in the Caribbean as he sailed to New York on a less conspicuous sloop to clear his name of the criminal charges.
Anthropologist Geoffrey Conrad, director of IU Bloomington's Mathers Museum of World Cultures, said the men Kidd entrusted with his ship reportedly looted it, and then set it ablaze and adrift down the Rio Dulce. Conrad said the location of the wreckage and the formation and size of the canons, which had been used as ballast, are consistent with historical records of the ship. They also found pieces of several anchors under the cannons.
"All the evidence that we find underwater is consistent with what we know from historical documentation, which is extensive," Conrad said. "Through rigorous archeological investigations, we have conclusively proven that this is the Captain Kidd shipwreck."
The IU research in the Dominican Republic typically involves professors and graduate students from various IU Bloomington schools and departments, including the School of HPER, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and the departments of anthropology, biology, geological sciences and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences.
"The archeological work being done by IU in the Dominican Republic affords us tremendous entrée for wider areas of collaboration," said School of HPER Interim Dean Mo R. Torabi.
Since the discovery, Beeker has met with and given presentations to research experts in London, Armenia and Washington, D.C., and the interest continues to spread because of the complex trading and exploration channels that existed in the 17th century.
For more than 20 years, Beeker and his students have conducted underwater research projects on submerged ships, cargo and other cultural and biological resources throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Many of his research projects have resulted in the establishment of state or federal underwater parks and preserves, and have led to a number of site nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
Beeker, who has been conducting research in the Dominican Republic for nearly 20 years, was asked to examine the shipwreck in 2007 while on another research mission involving the search for Christopher Columbus' lost ships. Beeker and Conrad have been exploring the era when the New and Old Worlds first met, focusing on the area of La Isabela Bay, the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement established by Columbus in 1494.
Beeker recently served four years on the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. To learn more about the Underwater Science program visit http://www.indiana.edu/~scuba.
Centuries-Old Gold And Emerald Ring Discovered By Divers Off Florida Coast
Underwater Times: Centuries-Old Gold And Emerald Ring Discovered By Divers Off Florida Coast; 'When You See It, You Just Know It'
For more information on Blue Water Ventures of Key West and the search for the Santa Margarita, visit www.bwvkw.com.
KEY WEST, Florida Keys -- Only a few days into launching their 2011 search and recovery season, divers for Keith Webb's Blue Water Ventures of Key West have discovered an elegant gold and emerald ring, along with a gold "flake," a piece of ornate silver, a silver "piece of eight" treasure coin, and numerous pieces of scattered shipwreck material in an area of the Florida Straits where the treasure galleon Santa Margarita was destroyed in 1622.
Joint-venture partners of Mel Fishers Treasures – the company who first discovered a rich 23 foot long section of the ships lower hull in 1980 -- the Blue Water team has been exploring a series of widely dispersed artifact trails that resulted from the destruction of the ship. Contemporaneous eyewitness reports from survivors of the disaster described the vessel as having been swept on the crest of a wave over a barrier reef and driven forcefully into a sandbar, where hurricane force wind and waves beat the vessel to pieces.
Describing the moment that crew-diver Sean Hogan emerged from the sea with the centuries old emerald ring, Blue Water Rose Captain Dan Porter said, "I knew by the smile on his face the color the object in his tightly closed fist would be. When Sean opened his hand not only did I see the gold I was expecting, but also a magnificent square cut emerald -- very dark and very clear -- probably about 1.5 to 2 ct. and absolutely beautiful. Sean has been with us about six months and is one of the strongest divers I have ever worked with."
Hogan, who discovered the ring while diving with his leg in a cast, moved to Key West from the Chicago area in 2009 to attend the dive training program at Florida Keys Community College. "When I first spotted the gold I thought it was the link of a chain," he said. Then I pulled it out and saw the dark, dark emerald. It was my first time seeing gold underwater, and when you see it, you just know it."
Archaeologist James Sinclair described the ring as a "wonderful example of the baroque style popular during this period," adding, "while relatively simple and unadorned in design, the use of gold and emerald speaks volumes as to the culture from which the owner and the object originated. Gold, then as now, was a symbol of status, so the owner of this antiquity was a high ranking and wealthy individual."
Discoveries by Webb's team on the Santa Margarita site since 2006 are valued at more than 16 million and include gold artifacts, chains and jewelry, gold bars, rare silver coins, weaponry, pre-Columbian treasures, and a lead box containing 16,184 extremely rare natural pearls.
Research by renowned historian Dr. Eugene Lyon indicates that over 800 ounces of registered gold, 145 silver bars, more than 80,000 silver coins, and potentially multi-millions in contraband and personal jewelry and wealth from the Santa Margarita still remain to be found.
For more information on Blue Water Ventures of Key West and the search for the Santa Margarita, visit www.bwvkw.com.
For more information on Blue Water Ventures of Key West and the search for the Santa Margarita, visit www.bwvkw.com.
KEY WEST, Florida Keys -- Only a few days into launching their 2011 search and recovery season, divers for Keith Webb's Blue Water Ventures of Key West have discovered an elegant gold and emerald ring, along with a gold "flake," a piece of ornate silver, a silver "piece of eight" treasure coin, and numerous pieces of scattered shipwreck material in an area of the Florida Straits where the treasure galleon Santa Margarita was destroyed in 1622.
Joint-venture partners of Mel Fishers Treasures – the company who first discovered a rich 23 foot long section of the ships lower hull in 1980 -- the Blue Water team has been exploring a series of widely dispersed artifact trails that resulted from the destruction of the ship. Contemporaneous eyewitness reports from survivors of the disaster described the vessel as having been swept on the crest of a wave over a barrier reef and driven forcefully into a sandbar, where hurricane force wind and waves beat the vessel to pieces.
Describing the moment that crew-diver Sean Hogan emerged from the sea with the centuries old emerald ring, Blue Water Rose Captain Dan Porter said, "I knew by the smile on his face the color the object in his tightly closed fist would be. When Sean opened his hand not only did I see the gold I was expecting, but also a magnificent square cut emerald -- very dark and very clear -- probably about 1.5 to 2 ct. and absolutely beautiful. Sean has been with us about six months and is one of the strongest divers I have ever worked with."
Hogan, who discovered the ring while diving with his leg in a cast, moved to Key West from the Chicago area in 2009 to attend the dive training program at Florida Keys Community College. "When I first spotted the gold I thought it was the link of a chain," he said. Then I pulled it out and saw the dark, dark emerald. It was my first time seeing gold underwater, and when you see it, you just know it."
Archaeologist James Sinclair described the ring as a "wonderful example of the baroque style popular during this period," adding, "while relatively simple and unadorned in design, the use of gold and emerald speaks volumes as to the culture from which the owner and the object originated. Gold, then as now, was a symbol of status, so the owner of this antiquity was a high ranking and wealthy individual."
Discoveries by Webb's team on the Santa Margarita site since 2006 are valued at more than 16 million and include gold artifacts, chains and jewelry, gold bars, rare silver coins, weaponry, pre-Columbian treasures, and a lead box containing 16,184 extremely rare natural pearls.
Research by renowned historian Dr. Eugene Lyon indicates that over 800 ounces of registered gold, 145 silver bars, more than 80,000 silver coins, and potentially multi-millions in contraband and personal jewelry and wealth from the Santa Margarita still remain to be found.
For more information on Blue Water Ventures of Key West and the search for the Santa Margarita, visit www.bwvkw.com.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Company Launches Sleek High Tech Underwater Scooter
Company Launches Sleek High Tech Underwater Scooter
More information can be found online at www.aquastarscooters.com
PLANTATION, Florida -- Building upon the success of the single seat AS1 model, Aqua Star envisioned a two person scooter, the AS2. After intense design and engineering, it is now a reality. Now couples can share the underwater experience together. The second person at the controls eliminates any fear for the timid. The AS2 is perfectly suited for couples to explore underwater wonders in a very safe environment. Both riders are free to dismount, swim around and climb back aboard.
The diving helmet is nicely integrated into the scooters body; the rider's head goes inside an air chamber within the helmet which is constantly supplied with air from scuba tanks lasting seventy minutes attached to the front body of the scooter. The helmet features a flat fog resistant glass, 99% distortion free giving a clear underwater experience, thus reducing the noxious feeling commonly associated with the bubble top models of the past.
The new Aqua Star scooters are sleeker, faster, and are much lighter (AS1 80 lbs and AS2 160 lbs.) than older models currently in operation. Aqua Star incorporated the latest in technology, design and quality using only the best very substrates available today.
Each scooter is powered by two electric motors one for forward movement and another for vertical movement, providing precise control, maneuverability and safety. Both the controls operate like your typical motorbike, just turn the handlebars for direction and push the batons for speed and depth. Pressure and depth gauges are provided on the control bar.
With speed up to 3.1 mph and operating depth of up to 12 meters, riders have access to shallow reefs and caves. The motors run by a rechargeable battery lasting up to 2.5 hours, which means it is very environment friendly and in no way damages the fabulous underwater ecosystem.
Novices can master the controls in the training course which can be completed in just a few minutes Those who are not strong swimmers or who have minor disabilities can still ride the bike and you can wear your glasses or contact lenses without difficulty. No diving certification is needed, no experience is required. Safety divers control ascent and descent into the water, then you have control of direction. A line attached to a buoy keeps the scooter safely tethered to the world above.
"This unique underwater experience is very safe and definitely something you should do at least once in your lifetime", said Gary Gordon, president of Aqua Star USA. "It's an incredible experience that will open your eyes to an amazing new world. The scenery is unbelievable with countless species of fish and an array of bright and varied colors in an underwater tropical paradise. And if you bring along your waterproof camera your experience will surely last a life time".
More information can be found online at www.aquastarscooters.com
Couple Find 19th Century Shipwreck
Jakarta Globe: Couple Find 19th Century Shipwreck
Singapore. A ship that sank more than 150 years ago in Borneo waters after visiting Singapore has been found by two Australians.
Part-time marine archaeologists Hans and Roz Berekoven - who are married to each other - said their find was unlikely to yield any treasures as the ship had been a British cargo vessel, but it could add to knowledge of trade then.
'No gold,' Mr Berekoven, 64, said in an interview in Singapore. 'Just cutlery and a few bottles of really well-aged wine.'
In 1842, the Viscount Melbourne sailed from India en route to China and docked in Singapore to pick up supplies and passengers. It left with more than 70 people on board.
Three days after it left Singapore, the vessel was hit by a squall. It was left stranded on a coral reef.
The ship had to be abandoned as the cotton bales it carried would expand when wet.
One survivor wrote in his diary that the bales would 'swell and inevitably blow up the ship'.
The crew and passengers, evacuated in boats, spent weeks at sea before reaching nearby Borneo. Their journey was fraught with dangers such as bad weather and encounters with pirates.
Britain even sent a second ship, the Royalist, to look for the survivors. The Viscount Melbourne was left on the reef since it carried nothing of value. It eventually sank.
Newspapers in the region reported on its loss at the time but interest faded and the wreck was abandoned to its fate.
Then in 1950, The Straits Times published a series of articles on the survivors' struggle to reach Borneo. The series, titled 'A perilous sea voyage', gave the Berekovens the key to finding the wreck.
The couple had seen vague references to the wreck and its survivors while researching another project (see sidebar).
An Internet search led to excerpts of The Straits Times articles, which in turn led them to the National Library in Singapore, where the full articles were kept.
'We spent five days in the archives working out the route the survivors took,' Mr Berekoven said. 'The diarist kept an incredibly detailed log.'
Tracing the route backwards, they were able to find the wreck within 25 minutes of dropping anchor. 'There was no cotton left of course,' Mrs Berekoven, 53, said. 'When we saw that the hull had burst outwards, we knew what had happened.'
That was in April last year. Since then, the Berekovens have revisited the wreck several more times, each time bringing up small artifacts such as spoons and bottles of preserved fruit.
The bad weather that had befallen the ship remains to this day, preventing more frequent visits, the couple said.
The depth of the wreck at 40m underwater and the limitations of their equipment mean they can spend only nine minutes at a time on the ship before they have to resurface.
'We're saving up for better equipment like scuba gear,' Mr Berekoven said.
Their salvage project is partially funded by Chinese Malaysian businessman Troy Yaw, whose father Yaw Teck Seng is one of Malaysia's 40 richest people.
The Berekovens said artifacts from the ship will go to a maritime museum about the region that the younger Mr Yaw intends to set up.
The couple's own goal is to make a documentary about the survivors.
Mrs Berekoven said: 'It'll make a great story. The ship was named after the Prime Minister of England then. It had a woman on board with a baby and a two-year-old boy, and what they went through in the open waters already reads like a movie script.'
The boy, George Mildmay Dare, also returned to Singapore and became a local celebrity in his time, Mr Berekoven added. Mr Dare was the first person to be buried in the old Bidadari cemetery.
The archaeologist said: 'The ship came here, it disappeared, and it was eventually 'found' again in the National Library here. Its story is part of local history.'
Singapore. A ship that sank more than 150 years ago in Borneo waters after visiting Singapore has been found by two Australians.
Part-time marine archaeologists Hans and Roz Berekoven - who are married to each other - said their find was unlikely to yield any treasures as the ship had been a British cargo vessel, but it could add to knowledge of trade then.
'No gold,' Mr Berekoven, 64, said in an interview in Singapore. 'Just cutlery and a few bottles of really well-aged wine.'
In 1842, the Viscount Melbourne sailed from India en route to China and docked in Singapore to pick up supplies and passengers. It left with more than 70 people on board.
Three days after it left Singapore, the vessel was hit by a squall. It was left stranded on a coral reef.
The ship had to be abandoned as the cotton bales it carried would expand when wet.
One survivor wrote in his diary that the bales would 'swell and inevitably blow up the ship'.
The crew and passengers, evacuated in boats, spent weeks at sea before reaching nearby Borneo. Their journey was fraught with dangers such as bad weather and encounters with pirates.
Britain even sent a second ship, the Royalist, to look for the survivors. The Viscount Melbourne was left on the reef since it carried nothing of value. It eventually sank.
Newspapers in the region reported on its loss at the time but interest faded and the wreck was abandoned to its fate.
Then in 1950, The Straits Times published a series of articles on the survivors' struggle to reach Borneo. The series, titled 'A perilous sea voyage', gave the Berekovens the key to finding the wreck.
The couple had seen vague references to the wreck and its survivors while researching another project (see sidebar).
An Internet search led to excerpts of The Straits Times articles, which in turn led them to the National Library in Singapore, where the full articles were kept.
'We spent five days in the archives working out the route the survivors took,' Mr Berekoven said. 'The diarist kept an incredibly detailed log.'
Tracing the route backwards, they were able to find the wreck within 25 minutes of dropping anchor. 'There was no cotton left of course,' Mrs Berekoven, 53, said. 'When we saw that the hull had burst outwards, we knew what had happened.'
That was in April last year. Since then, the Berekovens have revisited the wreck several more times, each time bringing up small artifacts such as spoons and bottles of preserved fruit.
The bad weather that had befallen the ship remains to this day, preventing more frequent visits, the couple said.
The depth of the wreck at 40m underwater and the limitations of their equipment mean they can spend only nine minutes at a time on the ship before they have to resurface.
'We're saving up for better equipment like scuba gear,' Mr Berekoven said.
Their salvage project is partially funded by Chinese Malaysian businessman Troy Yaw, whose father Yaw Teck Seng is one of Malaysia's 40 richest people.
The Berekovens said artifacts from the ship will go to a maritime museum about the region that the younger Mr Yaw intends to set up.
The couple's own goal is to make a documentary about the survivors.
Mrs Berekoven said: 'It'll make a great story. The ship was named after the Prime Minister of England then. It had a woman on board with a baby and a two-year-old boy, and what they went through in the open waters already reads like a movie script.'
The boy, George Mildmay Dare, also returned to Singapore and became a local celebrity in his time, Mr Berekoven added. Mr Dare was the first person to be buried in the old Bidadari cemetery.
The archaeologist said: 'The ship came here, it disappeared, and it was eventually 'found' again in the National Library here. Its story is part of local history.'
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Hunting Warbirds: The Obsessive Quest for the Lost Aircraft of World War II, by Carl Hoffman
Hunting Warbirds: The Obsessive Quest for the Lost Aircraft of World War II, by Carl Hoffman
Ballantine Books, 2001
241 pages. No index. 16 pages of b&w photos.
Library: 623.746 HOF
Description
"Winged treasure" they call them-the lost remains of the great American fighter planes and bombers that won World War II. Hellcats and Supperfortresses, Corsairs and Dauntlesses. Produced by the thousands at the height of the war, and then cast off as scrap in the decades that followed, these warbirds are now worth literally anything-fortunes,families, even lives-to the peoplewho search for them. Like many men, writer Carl Hoffman was bitten by the warbird bug as a child. But he never imagined that he would one day witness and participate in a heroic adventure himself-the most audacious warbird rescue attempt of all time.
The crash of the Kee Bird B-29 Superfortress made banner headlines in 1947 when a team of Air Force pilots pulled off the near-miraculous feat of locating the wreck in Greenland and snatching its stranded crew from the teeth of the arctic winter.
For nearly half a century, the almost perfectly intact warbird lay abandoned on a lake of ice-but not forgotten. Fifty years later, with collectors paying upward of a million dollars for salvageable WWII planes, two intense fanatics, legendary test pilot Darryl Greenamyer and starry-eyed salvage wizard Gary Larkins, hatched the insane idea of launching an expedition to Greenland to find the Kee Bird, bring it back to life, and fly it out.
In this riveting adventure of man, machine and history, the quest for winged treasure ultimately extends far beyond the search for the Kee Bird. Hoffman literally crisscrosses the country to track down the key players in the high-stakes warbird game.
He meets a retired Midwestern carpenter who crammed every inch of his yard with now-precious warbirds during the lean years when they were considered junk; attends an air show where crowds go wild at the sight of four of the fourteen airworthy B-17s flying in formation, speaks to pilots and mechanics, millionaire businessmen and penniless kids-all of them ready to drop everything in pursuit of these fabled planes.
"These planes are a sickness, that's all there is to it," one warbird fan tells Hoffma as he lovingly polishes his vintage B-17. In this superbly crafted narrative, Hoffman turns the warbird craze into the stuff of high drama and awesome adventure. Hunting Warbirds takes us to the heart of one of the most fascinating obsessions of our time.
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