cfenton
Contributor
On March 13 & 14 a group of 8 divers from The DIR Porject's SREU participated in a project to explore and document the remains of a wreck believed to be that of the 216' long steamer Famous (previously the Amur). This weekend was the culmination of six months of learning, planning and practicing by all involved. It also represented the first joint project between our team and the Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia.
The historic Famous, which was launched in 1890, was scuttled in Bedwell Bay, Indian Arm, in September 1932. We can only imagine that those involved in her sinking never suspected that anyone would lay eyes on her again. Seventy-five years later, in 2007, the Canadian Hydrographic Service provided the UASBC with a sonar image of a wreck site, that the UASBC believed to be the Famous. On September 22, 2007 the UASBC sent down a ROV on the target in 230' of water. Visibility was less than 10', but steel frames and other vertical structures were evident. The hull plating seemed largely gone, but there was more wood than expected. It was impossible to distinguish the bow from stern from the ROV footage, as the ship was well covered in plumose anemones. In October of 2009, the UASBC board confirmed support for a joint project with our team, The DIR Project’s SREU, that would have divers visit the wreck of the Famous for the first time.
Our team consisted of 5 gas divers, 2 support divers and a surface manager. We conducted 4 dives over the two day period, with a total bottom time of 90min. The team laid a baseline from bow to stern and recorded both length (77m) and width (10.1m) measurements. We also determined the wrecks orientation, recoded information on a number of key features, and shot some video of the wreck. The project was considered a success by both the UASBC and ourselves - and we believe than we can confirm that this was in fact the wreck of the Famous. It was a challenge to simply determine bow from stern with visibility ranging from 5'-10'. The wreck itself lies upright on a bearing of 034/214. The starboard side has begun to collapse. There is no standing superstructure. The entire wreck is covered in mounds of silt as well as a thick carpet plumose anemones. At the end of the two day project, out primary reel was heavily dusted with silt and looked like it had been on the bottom for a year, rather than a night!
Our group approached this project as a learning and team building experience. The DIR community has grown slowly over the years in British Columbia and we have finally hit a point where we felt that we had the resources to undertake some archaeological based projects. With that goal in mind we contacted the UASBC (who are responsible for the vast majority of wreck location, exploration and identification in our waters) and put forward the idea of our group taking on the role of their deep water team. This project was not only our first joint project with the UASBC, but also the first time we approached diving any wreck with surface and in water support. Everything went off as close to perfectly as we could have hoped and we feel that all the preparation paid off.
More information about the project, pictures and ship info can be seen on our website: http://www.thedirproject.com/diveblog/2010/3/15/sreu-project-the-famous-2010.html
Safe Diving,
Chris Fenton
http://www.thedirproject.com/
The historic Famous, which was launched in 1890, was scuttled in Bedwell Bay, Indian Arm, in September 1932. We can only imagine that those involved in her sinking never suspected that anyone would lay eyes on her again. Seventy-five years later, in 2007, the Canadian Hydrographic Service provided the UASBC with a sonar image of a wreck site, that the UASBC believed to be the Famous. On September 22, 2007 the UASBC sent down a ROV on the target in 230' of water. Visibility was less than 10', but steel frames and other vertical structures were evident. The hull plating seemed largely gone, but there was more wood than expected. It was impossible to distinguish the bow from stern from the ROV footage, as the ship was well covered in plumose anemones. In October of 2009, the UASBC board confirmed support for a joint project with our team, The DIR Project’s SREU, that would have divers visit the wreck of the Famous for the first time.
Our team consisted of 5 gas divers, 2 support divers and a surface manager. We conducted 4 dives over the two day period, with a total bottom time of 90min. The team laid a baseline from bow to stern and recorded both length (77m) and width (10.1m) measurements. We also determined the wrecks orientation, recoded information on a number of key features, and shot some video of the wreck. The project was considered a success by both the UASBC and ourselves - and we believe than we can confirm that this was in fact the wreck of the Famous. It was a challenge to simply determine bow from stern with visibility ranging from 5'-10'. The wreck itself lies upright on a bearing of 034/214. The starboard side has begun to collapse. There is no standing superstructure. The entire wreck is covered in mounds of silt as well as a thick carpet plumose anemones. At the end of the two day project, out primary reel was heavily dusted with silt and looked like it had been on the bottom for a year, rather than a night!
Our group approached this project as a learning and team building experience. The DIR community has grown slowly over the years in British Columbia and we have finally hit a point where we felt that we had the resources to undertake some archaeological based projects. With that goal in mind we contacted the UASBC (who are responsible for the vast majority of wreck location, exploration and identification in our waters) and put forward the idea of our group taking on the role of their deep water team. This project was not only our first joint project with the UASBC, but also the first time we approached diving any wreck with surface and in water support. Everything went off as close to perfectly as we could have hoped and we feel that all the preparation paid off.
More information about the project, pictures and ship info can be seen on our website: http://www.thedirproject.com/diveblog/2010/3/15/sreu-project-the-famous-2010.html
Safe Diving,
Chris Fenton
http://www.thedirproject.com/
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