OP
Diver Dude
Contributor
Firebrand , Ive been PMing your brother, Im surprised he didnt forward the info I have sent him.
I have been researching this bell for quite a while. I have a theory on were it came from but I will never be able to prove it unless I get real lucky.
Between Watch Hill R.I. and Fisher's Island N.Y. is a series of reefs. This area is 3.5 mi. long. The current rips through there. Over the centuries these reefs have sunk a lot of ships.
One of these ships was the Onandaga. It was a coastal steamer 240 feet long. It hit Watch Hill Reef and sank in 1918. It is a popular wreck to dive.
The ship is actually next to the reef in 35 to 50 feet of water. When it sank the only thing showing were the tops of the smoke stacks and the masts. The reef is anywhere from 3 to 35 feet deep.
When the 'Daga sank it was clear the ship was doomed so the salvagers moved in. The plan was to blow up the ship and salvage the boilers, steam engine and whatever cargo survived the blast.
I used to dive the reef the Daga hit. I have found bronze and steel artifacts from a ship there. These artifacts were all mangled....like they were in an explosion.
So, the salvagers blew the livin hell out of the Daga and **** must have gone flying every where.
I'm thinking the bell went flying too. I found it about 300 feet away from the wreck. There is some damage on the bell. There are some gouges on it, a small dent on the rim and the clapper is gone. The bell walls are about 1.25 thick so any dent took a lot of force.
So now I'm just trying to date the bell somehow. A picture of the Daga's bell when it was on the Daga would help too.
That's about it.
Bryan
I have been researching this bell for quite a while. I have a theory on were it came from but I will never be able to prove it unless I get real lucky.
Between Watch Hill R.I. and Fisher's Island N.Y. is a series of reefs. This area is 3.5 mi. long. The current rips through there. Over the centuries these reefs have sunk a lot of ships.
One of these ships was the Onandaga. It was a coastal steamer 240 feet long. It hit Watch Hill Reef and sank in 1918. It is a popular wreck to dive.
The ship is actually next to the reef in 35 to 50 feet of water. When it sank the only thing showing were the tops of the smoke stacks and the masts. The reef is anywhere from 3 to 35 feet deep.
When the 'Daga sank it was clear the ship was doomed so the salvagers moved in. The plan was to blow up the ship and salvage the boilers, steam engine and whatever cargo survived the blast.
I used to dive the reef the Daga hit. I have found bronze and steel artifacts from a ship there. These artifacts were all mangled....like they were in an explosion.
So, the salvagers blew the livin hell out of the Daga and **** must have gone flying every where.
I'm thinking the bell went flying too. I found it about 300 feet away from the wreck. There is some damage on the bell. There are some gouges on it, a small dent on the rim and the clapper is gone. The bell walls are about 1.25 thick so any dent took a lot of force.
So now I'm just trying to date the bell somehow. A picture of the Daga's bell when it was on the Daga would help too.
That's about it.
Bryan
