piratediver
Sr. Member
This is a story about the search for BONHOMME RICHARD off the coast of England.
Pirate Diver
Voyage To Find Resting Place Of Bonhomme Richard Eliminates 2 Sites
By Joe Wojtas ,
Published on 8/28/2007 in Home <http://www.theday.com/default.aspx> » Region <http://www.theday.com/news/Region.aspx> »Region News
Groton — The Ocean Technology Foundation says it has ruled out two of the five sites it had pinpointed as potential locations of the wreck of John Paul Jones' Revolutionary War ship Bonhomme Richard after an expedition off the northeast coast of England two weeks ago.
Melissa Ryan, the foundation's project manager, said Monday that the third target identified during the group's 2006 expedition could not be examined because the strong currents of the North Sea had buried it under sand.
Ryan said the foundation, which is based at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus, plans to return to the North Sea next summer to examine the buried site as well as two others.
"It's always disappointing when it doesn't happen the first time, but this was a good, productive cruise. We're happy with the progress we made," Ryan said.
The expedition aboard the National Science Foundation research vessel Oceanus took place Aug. 14 to Aug. 16, but bad weather prevented the researchers from working half of that time.
Ryan said archaeologists on board ruled out the first wreck when the remotely operated vehicle taking video and photos of the bottom showed a cargo of cut stone blocks. No such cargo was on the 151-foot-long Bonhomme Richard, which was carrying iron ballast. The second target ended up being a large pipe from a drilling wellhead.
She said the third site was completely buried, something the researchers knew was a possibility. The group did not have time to inspect the other two sites.
"Now we're looking forward to next year's expedition," Ryan said. "Hopefully we'll have the research vessel for a longer period of time."
She said the foundation would have to raise another $400,000 to cover the cost of next summer's work.
Much of that cost involves the use of the research vessel. The Navy's Supervisor of Salvage and Office of Naval Research provided the remotely operated vehicle and paid for the cost of using the Oceanus during the just-completed expedition.
In September 1779, during a battle with the H.M.S. Serapis that turned the Bonhomme Richard into a burning hulk, Jones heard one of his crewmen try to surrender.
It was then that Jones is said to have uttered one of the most famous lines in U.S. history.
"I have not yet begun to fight!" he yelled to the British captain.
The crew of the Bonhomme Richard eventually captured the Serapis after a bloody, three-hour battle, but the Bonhomme Richard sank off Flamborough Head in northeast England.
The foundation has analyzed eyewitness accounts of the battle, ships' logs, information on tides, winds and weather, battle damage, computer models of how the ship would have drifted before it sank as well as sonar scans of the area to locate possible sites of the ship's final resting place. The wreck sites identified by the foundation are in 150 to 180 feet of water within 25 miles of the English coast, where people watched the battle from the cliffs on Flamborough Head.
In addition to positively identifying the wreck, the foundation wants to do a detailed archaeological study of the wreck and retrieve and preserve artifacts.
If the three remaining targets turn out not to be the Bonhomme Richard, Ryan said the foundation will do additional surveys and research to locate more potential sites.
"In the spirit of John Paul Jones, we certainly are not going to give up," she said.
Groton
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Pirate Diver
Voyage To Find Resting Place Of Bonhomme Richard Eliminates 2 Sites
By Joe Wojtas ,
Published on 8/28/2007 in Home <http://www.theday.com/default.aspx> » Region <http://www.theday.com/news/Region.aspx> »Region News
Groton — The Ocean Technology Foundation says it has ruled out two of the five sites it had pinpointed as potential locations of the wreck of John Paul Jones' Revolutionary War ship Bonhomme Richard after an expedition off the northeast coast of England two weeks ago.
Melissa Ryan, the foundation's project manager, said Monday that the third target identified during the group's 2006 expedition could not be examined because the strong currents of the North Sea had buried it under sand.
Ryan said the foundation, which is based at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus, plans to return to the North Sea next summer to examine the buried site as well as two others.
"It's always disappointing when it doesn't happen the first time, but this was a good, productive cruise. We're happy with the progress we made," Ryan said.
The expedition aboard the National Science Foundation research vessel Oceanus took place Aug. 14 to Aug. 16, but bad weather prevented the researchers from working half of that time.
Ryan said archaeologists on board ruled out the first wreck when the remotely operated vehicle taking video and photos of the bottom showed a cargo of cut stone blocks. No such cargo was on the 151-foot-long Bonhomme Richard, which was carrying iron ballast. The second target ended up being a large pipe from a drilling wellhead.
She said the third site was completely buried, something the researchers knew was a possibility. The group did not have time to inspect the other two sites.
"Now we're looking forward to next year's expedition," Ryan said. "Hopefully we'll have the research vessel for a longer period of time."
She said the foundation would have to raise another $400,000 to cover the cost of next summer's work.
Much of that cost involves the use of the research vessel. The Navy's Supervisor of Salvage and Office of Naval Research provided the remotely operated vehicle and paid for the cost of using the Oceanus during the just-completed expedition.
In September 1779, during a battle with the H.M.S. Serapis that turned the Bonhomme Richard into a burning hulk, Jones heard one of his crewmen try to surrender.
It was then that Jones is said to have uttered one of the most famous lines in U.S. history.
"I have not yet begun to fight!" he yelled to the British captain.
The crew of the Bonhomme Richard eventually captured the Serapis after a bloody, three-hour battle, but the Bonhomme Richard sank off Flamborough Head in northeast England.
The foundation has analyzed eyewitness accounts of the battle, ships' logs, information on tides, winds and weather, battle damage, computer models of how the ship would have drifted before it sank as well as sonar scans of the area to locate possible sites of the ship's final resting place. The wreck sites identified by the foundation are in 150 to 180 feet of water within 25 miles of the English coast, where people watched the battle from the cliffs on Flamborough Head.
In addition to positively identifying the wreck, the foundation wants to do a detailed archaeological study of the wreck and retrieve and preserve artifacts.
If the three remaining targets turn out not to be the Bonhomme Richard, Ryan said the foundation will do additional surveys and research to locate more potential sites.
"In the spirit of John Paul Jones, we certainly are not going to give up," she said.
Groton
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