HOT NEWS !

From NOAA


A team of maritime heritage archaeologists from NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries have discovered the shipwreck remains of the 1837 British whaling ship Gledstane.

The shipwreck was foundoff Kure Atoll within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument during a month-long expedition to discover and document shipwrecks in monument waters.

At the end of the first exploratory dive of the day, the NOAA dive team discovered a pile of iron ballast and some chain.

The ballast led to a trail into the dramatic topography of the reef where more artifacts were found scattered, including four massive anchors, iron ballast, cannons and cannon balls, a trypot. 

“For years I have been coming up to Kure Atoll in hopes of searching for this particular shipwreck, but in the past we have been deterred by the weather and unworkable conditions,” said Kelly Gleason, NOAA archaeologist for the Monument and mission leader.

“This year, the Gledstanes was revealed to us, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the opportunity to share this wreck site and its story with the public.


 

By Sandra Dick


It was the aftermath of the doomed Darien Scheme, when Scots' pride had been dented in a failed bid to establish Scottish colonies in the Americas and anger towards the English was fuelled by their neighbours' refusal to answer pleas for help.

And it couldn't have been a worse time for Captain John Green to sail his vessel, the Worcester, up the Forth seeking sanctuary from a violent storm. Soon the English captain and his crew were under siege, accused of piracy and murder.

What happened next was the most spectacular of Edinburgh's pirate trials, the result of a bizarre sequence of events and played out against a feverish background of wounded national pride.

Angus Konstam recalls the episode with a degree of glee – for there's nothing the Edinburgh-based international expert on all things to do with pirates likes more than a good swashbuckling yarn played out on home soil. 

"The trial of the Worcester's crew was quite sensational at the time," explains Angus, whose new book claims to explode a catalogue of myths surrounding how we've come to view pirates. "It was probably the most famous of all Scottish pirate trials.

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By Laura Clout


The disappearance of three Australians whose yacht was found adrift on the Great Barrier reef was not murder, but a freak accident, a coroner has ruled.

The catamaran Kaz II was found drifting off the Great Barrier reef in April last year, with no sign of the crew Derek Batten, 56, and brothers Peter, 69, and Jim Tunstead 63. 

A table was laid for a meal, computers and navigation systems were switched on and life jackets were on board but a search by helicopter and boat of the open sea and nearby Whitsunday Islands proved fruitless. 

The crew's fate prompted intense speculation, with theories ranging from pirate attack and insurance fraud to freak weather or a drug deal gone wrong. 

Police said the men were probably swept overboard in rough weather, but relatives insisted they were experienced sailors and it was inconceivable all three could have been knocked into the water.


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From All Hungary News


Archaeologists searching the Danube for important shipwrecks have found what they believe may be the vessel which carried Queen Mary of Hungary (Mary of Habsburg) to Vienna after the disastrous Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Turks in 1526.

According to stop.hu, the 15-meter-long wreck, which is buried in gravel and mud in the Danube "bend" north of Budapest, may contain gold and jewelry, and the team which located it is currently looking for sponsors to excavate the site. 

Attila J. Tóth, associate of the National Office of Cultural Heritage, said that a team of 30 divers started scouring the Danube Bend for historical relics buried under the mud a few months ago. 

Initial funding of $10,000 (€6,600) was provided by the American Hungaria Nostra Foundation, which allowed for the purchase of boats and a sonar device. 

To excavate the wreck, the team estimates it needs a further Ft 5 million (€21,000).

While sponsors could benefit from an association with the enterprise, they should not expect any treasure, as any relics found would belong to the Hungarian state.

From Seeking Alpha


Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (OMEX) is engaged in the archaeologically-sensitive exploration and recovery of deep water shipwrecks that contain treasure throughout the world.  

Odyssey’s May 2007 recovery of the estimated $500M Black Swan treasure and subsequent legal dispute with Spain has made headlines worldwide.

Odyssey utilizes innovative methods and state-of-the-art sonar technology to conduct extensive deep ocean search and recovery operations on high value shipwreck targets.

Sea exploration has dramatically changed due to state-of-the-art technologies that enable the search, discovery and recovery of shipwrecks that were previously beyond reach.

Odyssey is transforming activities long associated with "pirates and treasure hunters", into a serious and legitimate commercial industry founded on strong business practices, a commitment to the environment and high archaeological standards.

There are well over 1,000 high-value shipwreck targets ($50 million - $2+ billion).


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By Maria Cristina Valsecchi


An ancient Greek ship recently raised off the coast of southern Sicily, Italy, is the biggest and best maintained vessel of its kind ever found, archaeologists say. 

At a length of nearly 70 feet (21 meters) and a width of 21 feet (6.5 meters), the 2,500-year-old craft is the largest recovered ship built in a manner first depicted in Homer's Iliad, which is believed to date back several centuries earlier.

The ship's outer shell was built first, and the inner framework was added later. The wooden planks of the hull were sewn together with ropes, with pitch and resin used as sealant to keep out water.

Carlo Beltrame, professor of marine archaeology at the Università Ca' Foscari in Venice, said the boat, found near the town of Gela, is among the most important finds in the Mediterranean Sea. 

"Greek sewn boats have been found in Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey. Gela's wreck is the most recent and the best preserved," Beltrame said.


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By Jenny Oldland


Not much is known about the sailing history of the two-masted ketch the “Sir Wilfred Lawson” (1878-1908); however, a tip-off from a local spear fisherman led members of a State Heritage maritime expedition to her final resting place off Port Moorowie in 1994. 

What divers Cosmos Coroneos (State Heritage Branch Marine Archaeologist), Kelvin Taylor (Ardrossan) and Stuart Moody (Maitland) found when they explored the Gilbert Reef were mostly iron remains and, remarkably, the ship’s bell, which was well preserved considering it had been under water for 86 years !

Last week, just over 100 years since the ketch went down, the bell was returned to the community after being conserved by the Department for Environment and Heritage.

It will remain on permanent display in the Edithburgh Museum, along with a pictorial record depicting what little is known about the vessel.

By Alyssa Wells


Great Lakes shipwrecks are overlooked treasures.

Most people don’t expect to have any scuba diving experience in Lake Michigan, let alone an exciting one.

While diving is usually synonymous with warm, turquoise water and dazzling marine life, scuba divers in the Great Lakes region guard a well-preserved secret.

If you’re diving and you want to see fish you have to go to the tropics,” says Cris Kohl, author of eleven books on the Great Lakes.

But if you want to see the best preserved shipwrecks in the world you have to dive here, because you sure won’t see them in saltwater.

Our lakes boast shipwrecks galore, from smaller tugboats to schooners resting less than one hundred feet below the surface, a treat for adventurous divers willing to tolerate the cold.

Although the water temperature is a deterrent for many potential and seasoned divers, it prevents the deterioration of the sunken boats, products of the Great Lakes’ extensive maritime history.