piratediver
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No treasure but cool anyway.
Canadian cameras to probe sunken U.S. warships from 1813
Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, May 09, 2008
Canadian scientists will lower robotic probes to the bottom of Lake Ontario next week to conduct the most detailed examination ever of two American ships that sank in a storm during the War of 1812.
The investigation of the wrecks of the Hamilton and the Scourge - part of the buildup to bicentennial commemorations of the 1812-1814 war between Britain and the United States, fought largely in Canada - could include the first glimpses inside the sunken vessels, which contain the remains of about 50 American sailors lost in the failed invasion of Upper Canada.
The project involves experts from Parks Canada, the Canadian Navy and Coast Guard, as well as private archeologists and officials with the provincial, municipal and American governments. The five-day, around-the-clock operation - which is to conclude with a memorial service honouring those who died when the ships went down in August 1813 - should also quell concerns expressed recently by critics in Canada and the U.S. that too little has been done to research the wrecks or exploit their value as symbols of an epic military struggle, one that ended in a virtual stalemate but shaped the identities of two nations.
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Font:****Describing the ships as "time machines" that have preserved priceless evidence of naval construction and maritime life during a key era in North American history, project co-ordinator Ian Kerr-Wilson said next week's survey will produce the first digital images of the wrecks and a wealth of information "that would have been inconceivable" for previous expeditions - including dives by legendary underwater explorers Jacques Cousteau in 1980 and Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard in 1990.
Data gathered then "would have been cool for 1990, but crude by our standards today," said Kerr-Wilson, manager of museums and heritage with the City of Hamilton, which owns the wrecks.
The 20-metre Scourge was originally a British ship built in Upper Canada and named the Lord Nelson. The renowned naval commander is commemorated in the ship's carved figurehead.
The merchant vessel was seized for smuggling by the U.S., renamed Scourge and refitted as a warship.
The 25-metre Hamilton was a U.S.-built merchant ship that was also converted for use in the war. Originally named Diana, the ship's figurehead features a carving of the ancient goddess.
The ships are believed to have been involved in the American bombardment and burning of York - now Toronto - in the spring of 1813. When they were caught in a violent storm that summer, only a handful of crewmen survived.
The ships are considered particularly significant relics of the war because they were at the centre of the action, are in excellent condition and rest almost perfectly upright on the lake bottom. Located in 1973 by St. Catharines dentist and history buff Dan Nelson, the wrecks lie in 90 metres of water about 13 kilometres off the shore of that city.
Scientists plan to lower two remotely operated, footlocker-sized submersibles - each tethered to a ship and equipped with cameras and various sensors - to create a high-quality visual record the ships and a detailed map of the wreck site.
The data gathered will also help officials identify potential threats to the vessels and propose future artifact retrievals or other archeological activity.
"We have approval and have been given the go-ahead - if we have time - to drop a camera inside the hold of the vessels," said Kerr-Wilson. "No one has ever shot inside."
But he added that "the U.S. Navy considers this site to be a watery grave and we have to be respectful of that."
No images of human remains, he noted, would ever be published or shown publicly, though scientists could document such finds for research purposes.
In the 1980s, the secretary of the U.S. Navy offered to help raise the wrecks in exchange for taking ownership of the Hamilton. Despite that and other calls over the years to bring the ships up and put them on public display, Kerr-Wilson said there are no plans to do so and that marine archeologists generally believe historic vessels are best preserved underwater.
But along with the photos and video images to be taken next week, selected relics from the wreck site - such as swords or cannons - could one day be raised and used for educational purposes at a future interpretive centre.
Worries about possible pillaging of the sunken ships by irresponsible divers prompted officials to install underwater security alarms a few years ago. The Ontario government also passed special legislation in 2005 restricting activity near the wreck site because of its status as an official gravesite.
Pirate Diver
Canadian cameras to probe sunken U.S. warships from 1813
Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, May 09, 2008
Canadian scientists will lower robotic probes to the bottom of Lake Ontario next week to conduct the most detailed examination ever of two American ships that sank in a storm during the War of 1812.
The investigation of the wrecks of the Hamilton and the Scourge - part of the buildup to bicentennial commemorations of the 1812-1814 war between Britain and the United States, fought largely in Canada - could include the first glimpses inside the sunken vessels, which contain the remains of about 50 American sailors lost in the failed invasion of Upper Canada.
The project involves experts from Parks Canada, the Canadian Navy and Coast Guard, as well as private archeologists and officials with the provincial, municipal and American governments. The five-day, around-the-clock operation - which is to conclude with a memorial service honouring those who died when the ships went down in August 1813 - should also quell concerns expressed recently by critics in Canada and the U.S. that too little has been done to research the wrecks or exploit their value as symbols of an epic military struggle, one that ended in a virtual stalemate but shaped the identities of two nations.
Email to a friend
Printer friendly
Font:****Describing the ships as "time machines" that have preserved priceless evidence of naval construction and maritime life during a key era in North American history, project co-ordinator Ian Kerr-Wilson said next week's survey will produce the first digital images of the wrecks and a wealth of information "that would have been inconceivable" for previous expeditions - including dives by legendary underwater explorers Jacques Cousteau in 1980 and Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard in 1990.
Data gathered then "would have been cool for 1990, but crude by our standards today," said Kerr-Wilson, manager of museums and heritage with the City of Hamilton, which owns the wrecks.
The 20-metre Scourge was originally a British ship built in Upper Canada and named the Lord Nelson. The renowned naval commander is commemorated in the ship's carved figurehead.
The merchant vessel was seized for smuggling by the U.S., renamed Scourge and refitted as a warship.
The 25-metre Hamilton was a U.S.-built merchant ship that was also converted for use in the war. Originally named Diana, the ship's figurehead features a carving of the ancient goddess.
The ships are believed to have been involved in the American bombardment and burning of York - now Toronto - in the spring of 1813. When they were caught in a violent storm that summer, only a handful of crewmen survived.
The ships are considered particularly significant relics of the war because they were at the centre of the action, are in excellent condition and rest almost perfectly upright on the lake bottom. Located in 1973 by St. Catharines dentist and history buff Dan Nelson, the wrecks lie in 90 metres of water about 13 kilometres off the shore of that city.
Scientists plan to lower two remotely operated, footlocker-sized submersibles - each tethered to a ship and equipped with cameras and various sensors - to create a high-quality visual record the ships and a detailed map of the wreck site.
The data gathered will also help officials identify potential threats to the vessels and propose future artifact retrievals or other archeological activity.
"We have approval and have been given the go-ahead - if we have time - to drop a camera inside the hold of the vessels," said Kerr-Wilson. "No one has ever shot inside."
But he added that "the U.S. Navy considers this site to be a watery grave and we have to be respectful of that."
No images of human remains, he noted, would ever be published or shown publicly, though scientists could document such finds for research purposes.
In the 1980s, the secretary of the U.S. Navy offered to help raise the wrecks in exchange for taking ownership of the Hamilton. Despite that and other calls over the years to bring the ships up and put them on public display, Kerr-Wilson said there are no plans to do so and that marine archeologists generally believe historic vessels are best preserved underwater.
But along with the photos and video images to be taken next week, selected relics from the wreck site - such as swords or cannons - could one day be raised and used for educational purposes at a future interpretive centre.
Worries about possible pillaging of the sunken ships by irresponsible divers prompted officials to install underwater security alarms a few years ago. The Ontario government also passed special legislation in 2005 restricting activity near the wreck site because of its status as an official gravesite.
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