Do cave divers need wreck training?

[PfcAJ]

I’m not a junk collector. I guess these people are.

Nah it’s not junk. It’s preserving a piece of history that would otherwise be lost.

 

[Bierstadt]

Nah it’s not junk. It’s preserving a piece of history that would otherwise be lost.

Possibly. Do these "collectors" do anything more than grab and stash, such as using preservatives, recording locations and wreck condition at the time of "recovery," making records of recovered artifacts and submitting those records into the general body of historical knowledge, working with local historical authorities such as museums and historical societies to maintain a record of artifact ownership and location, etc? If they are doing this then I would agree that they are preserving history, albeit at the cost of denying other divers viewing said artifacts in situ. That is a reasonable trade. If all they are doing is ripping off whatever they find however they can and hoarding said items in a basement, then I am not sympathetic. Destroying wrecks in the name of finding collectibles is not good behavior.

 

[PfcAJ]

Possibly. Do these "collectors" do anything more than grab and stash, such as using preservatives, recording locations and wreck condition at the time of "recovery," making records of recovered artifacts and submitting those records into the general body of historical knowledge, working with local historical authorities such as museums and historical societies to maintain a record of artifact ownership and location, etc? If they are doing this then I would agree that they are preserving history, albeit at the cost of denying other divers viewing said artifacts in situ. That is a reasonable trade. If all they are doing is ripping off whatever they find however they can and hoarding said items in a basement, then I am not sympathetic. Destroying wrecks in the name of finding collectibles is not good behavior.

Leaving Crumbling wrecks to turn into a pile of rust on the sea floor does absolutely nothing to preserving history. Museum quality artifact recovery and presentation does a lot to preserve history. What most people do is somewhere in the middle.

 

[The Chairman]

Wrecks in salt water have a limited lifespan. Even artificial reefs start to decay the minute they are scuttled. Cold assed freshwater wrecks, as typified by Great Lakes diving are another animal. They'll be intact long after I leave this mortal coil and should be protected.

 

[tomfcrist]

Possibly. Do these "collectors" do anything more than grab and stash, such as using preservatives, recording locations and wreck condition at the time of "recovery," making records of recovered artifacts and submitting those records into the general body of historical knowledge, working with local historical authorities such as museums and historical societies to maintain a record of artifact ownership and location, etc? If they are doing this then I would agree that they are preserving history, albeit at the cost of denying other divers viewing said artifacts in situ. That is a reasonable trade.

That’s not how it works. Some of us have actively tried to donate artifacts to museums...they won’t take em. Not even with video of the recovery and a detailed report of the discovery. They will lose their accreditation supposedly.

On the other hand, NOAA has actively molested wrecks like the monitor...even removing the bodies of sailors from the company of their shipmates...and did a piss poor job of preserving them/ “forgot” to follow through with the funding for preservation” , and now all the artifacts sit in a warehouse 5 miles away from me...I can’t see them. Nobody can.

Plenty of people have come to my house and seen a porthole, or China, or a ships bell, or a...well, you get the idea.

 

[tursiops]

On the other hand, NOAA has actively molested wrecks like the monitor...even removing the bodies of sailors from the company of their shipmates

Are you confusing the Navy with NOAA? The turret removal was strictly a Navy operation, wasn't it?

 

[Cowfish Aesthetic]

Wrecks in salt water have a limited lifespan. Even artificial reefs start to decay the minute they are scuttled. Cold assed freshwater wrecks, as typified by Great Lakes diving are another animal. They'll be intact long after I leave this mortal coil and should be protected.

To add some complexity to the debate, thanks to zebra mussels, Great Lakes wrecks are decomposing faster than ever before.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Wrecks in salt water have a limited lifespan. Even artificial reefs start to decay the minute they are scuttled.

The HMCS Chaudière, sunk in 1991, showed obvious signs of decay. I question whether diving will be allowed in a decade or so.

 

[tomfcrist]

Are you confusing the Navy with NOAA? The turret removal was strictly a Navy operation, wasn't it?

No. The salvage of the monitor has been a NOAA project since the beginning. They used the navy for the turret removal due to the fact that the NOAA divers sucked and couldn’t salvage bigger items...navy divers welcomed the opportunity to get some training funded by another government agency.

 

[KenGordon]

That’s not how it works. Some of us have actively tried to donate artifacts to museums...they won’t take em. Not even with video of the recovery and a detailed report of the discovery. They will lose their accreditation supposedly.

On the other hand, NOAA has actively molested wrecks like the monitor...even removing the bodies of sailors from the company of their shipmates...and did a piss poor job of preserving them/ “forgot” to follow through with the funding for preservation” , and now all the artifacts sit in a warehouse 5 miles away from me...I can’t see them. Nobody can.

Plenty of people have come to my house and seen a porthole, or China, or a ships bell, or a...well, you get the idea.

If you had left that stuff on the wreck I could see it there.

Having people tear off parts speeds up the deterioration. Leave it alone for the next diver to see.