Great find !
All anchors have a story to tell - glimpse into history -- and many unanswered questions
Age ? Why in current location ? What ship was it from ? The questions endless the answers are very few.
May I suggest that you DO NOT disclose the anchors the exact location..
Contact your local historical society or museums and discus your find with them
Hopefully they will be interested and the anchor will be salvaged and displayed for all to see.
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FYI-- a previous post
I had a similar event on June 4, 1960- 67 years ago---an event I have seldom discussed and never wrote about - until now.
I visited the "anchor" at it current resting place at the San Pedro Maritime Museum about a year ago. which will be my last and final visit evoked so many memories both pleasant and of the tragedy of the anchor salvage.
The lifeless body recovery...My telephone call to Joe's parents - the funeral all event eternalized until that visit with the anchor
The dive tribe had a 4 day holiday so we headed to the wilds of Baja California and It was WILD in 1960.
We had two surplus 4X4 Dodge ambulances, modified for camping and diving
Mine was a 1942 1/2 ton with a bed frame welded to the top as a homemade carrier and Jerry cans on the back doors and on front fenders and for comfort several layers of old carpeting on the floor and large auto bench seats for comfort (?).
Joe Mc Cabe's (the victim ) had a 1943 model which we had installed a WW11 surplus Rix compressor modified for diving installed behind the drivers seat with PTO from the truck's gas engine, and a 10 foot air intake.
We dove deep in the unexplored never dove areas of Baja for several days and as was the habit the last day was in Ensenada, about 100 miles below San Diego . All the single members headed for the ,Yes, Wilds of Ensenada. the married crew remained at camp filling tanks for the next days dive
The next day every one went for one last dive, except Joe. As was the habit we sucked a vacuum in our tanks prior to surfacing. (oh the horror ! Dove past 500 PSI ! AND No Safety stop !)
The following week we yanked up the anchor and lost Joe, who was at 200 feet when found and recovered by Norm Hanson -- regulator in his mouth appeared as if he was just asleep-- CO !
We surmised that when the tanks were being filled the wind direction changed and Joes tanks which were the last to be filled sucked CO into the system, After the dive all who were on the dive had their tanks checked an no evidenced of CO was detected-- they evidently has been self purged via the 1960 dive protocols
Joe was an Annapolis (aka US Naval Academy) grad, a veteran of the Korean unpleasantness. drove a TR 3 sports car and had a lovely girl he planed on marring - he had life under control !
Like the Keller 1000 foot dive a short time later which cost three lives; Peter Small, Christopher ??
and Mary Small...The loss of Joe also took three lives....
First was Joe's long time girl friend who took her life. She was discovered hanging in her garage by a fellow nurse and close friend Marylynn Winterhalter (aka Summerstopper) who was at the time the girl friend and later wife of a local named Bev Morgan.
Three weeks later Allan, Joe's 14 year old brother stood up to change TV channel and had a sudden and massive fatal heart attack and died instantly
Three fatalities ...Now you know
Those were the days of our dives- in California where it all began
Sam Miller. III"
