aue-mike
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HOLSTEN or "Flour Wreck"
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OceanObsessed
Guest
Michael,
I enjoyed your article on the shipwreck of The Holsten at http://uwex.us/Holstein1.pdf.
You mention that survivors were pulled off a lifeboat. We actually found one of the Holsten’s lifeboats floating at sea back in 1993.
A few weeks after the “No Name Storm” of March 12th & 13th of 1993 I was on a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Up ahead we saw something very large bobbing on the surface of the water. As we approached the object we realized that it was a large lifeboat floating on its side partially submerged. It was orange and white it looked like it was badly damaged and had the letters “MV Holsten” on its stern. We figured that it was probably damaged by a passing ship. It had been afloat for a while because it had a fair amount of barnacle growth on it. Since it posed a navigational hazard we decided to bring it aboard our ship so we hoisted it onto our back deck. Perhaps it is the lifeboat that you mention in your article. At that time many of us remembered hearing in the news that The Holsten had recently sank in rough seas but we could not remember exactly when so we assumed that it sank during the “No Name Storm” of 1993; just weeks earlier. It was a bit eerie after we realized that the lifeboat was from The Holsten. I had always wondered if there were people on that lifeboat and I wondered if they survived. It’s good to hear they were rescued. I have a photo of this lifeboat on the back deck of the ship. I will dig it up, scan it and post it here.
-Chris
I enjoyed your article on the shipwreck of The Holsten at http://uwex.us/Holstein1.pdf.
You mention that survivors were pulled off a lifeboat. We actually found one of the Holsten’s lifeboats floating at sea back in 1993.
A few weeks after the “No Name Storm” of March 12th & 13th of 1993 I was on a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Up ahead we saw something very large bobbing on the surface of the water. As we approached the object we realized that it was a large lifeboat floating on its side partially submerged. It was orange and white it looked like it was badly damaged and had the letters “MV Holsten” on its stern. We figured that it was probably damaged by a passing ship. It had been afloat for a while because it had a fair amount of barnacle growth on it. Since it posed a navigational hazard we decided to bring it aboard our ship so we hoisted it onto our back deck. Perhaps it is the lifeboat that you mention in your article. At that time many of us remembered hearing in the news that The Holsten had recently sank in rough seas but we could not remember exactly when so we assumed that it sank during the “No Name Storm” of 1993; just weeks earlier. It was a bit eerie after we realized that the lifeboat was from The Holsten. I had always wondered if there were people on that lifeboat and I wondered if they survived. It’s good to hear they were rescued. I have a photo of this lifeboat on the back deck of the ship. I will dig it up, scan it and post it here.
-Chris
The Holsten was one of my favorite deep wreck dives in the Gulf.
We shot a few big gags and saw a huge sand tiger hovering above the rigging.
Chad
We shot a few big gags and saw a huge sand tiger hovering above the rigging.
Chad
OP
aue-mike
Contributor
charris400:
Hi Chris-
Thanks for the info. Amazing it was still floating for all that time, and survived the March storm. Where did you guys come across it? I would be interested in seeing the image of the lifeboat. I recently obtained some archival images of the HOLSTEN when she was afloat and will be adding it to the new book, whenever that comes together....
OceanObsessed
Guest
Yeah, it had full floatation foam within the hull. The stern had a big chunk missing from it and you could see the floatation foam. It even had a diesel engine in it and the foam still kept it afloat through the storm. I will post the photo for you as soon as I find it.aue-mike:
aue-mike:
Unfortunately I didn't bother to record the coordinates. I had almost forgotten about it until I saw a reference to the Holsten here on scubaboard. We found the lifeboat during an oceanographic cruise that was run by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute http://www.floridamarine.org at Bayboro Harbor in Saint Petersburg. Back when I worked there it was called the Florida Marine Research Institute. We would run from near shore to 200 miles offshore from the Panhandle down to the Southern tip of Florida. I remember we were nowhere near land at the time. I guess that narrows it down
.If you are interested in where we found it that may be recorded in the ships logs or in the station logs that we kept at the Institute. I could give you some more detailed info that could help if you are interested.
I'd be interested in seeing the archival images too. How many lifeboats does it show on the archival images? I would think that a freighter like that might only have one or two lifeboats. I wonder if it was the same lifeboat that they pulled the survivors from?
OceanObsessed
Guest
I lived Saint Petersburg for about 3 years and never did much diving while I lived there. Of course now that I am living on the East coast I want to go dive the West coastChad Carney:
. Sounds like you guys have some great spearfishing over there.
OceanObsessed
Guest
Here are those photos that I mentioned:
OP
aue-mike
Contributor
Hi Chris-
Thanks. Looks like the Suncoaster? I have been on her before on a remote sensing cruise to the Middle Grounds.
Any chance you could email high resolution copy of the image of the boat being hauled onboard with the name on it to (barney00 AT tampabay.rr.com)
Thanks again.
Mike
Thanks. Looks like the Suncoaster? I have been on her before on a remote sensing cruise to the Middle Grounds.
Any chance you could email high resolution copy of the image of the boat being hauled onboard with the name on it to (barney00 AT tampabay.rr.com)
Thanks again.
Mike
OceanObsessed
Guest
Hi Mike,
I have not been able to find the original print photos. I had scanned those photos many years ago and luckily I found them on a backup disk yesterday. The images that are posted are the highest resolution that I have available right now. The hosting service did not reduce the size at all when I uploaded them. The prints are probably buried in a box somewhere in my home. If I ever come across them I will be glad to scan them again at a higher resolution.
And yes, it was on the Suncoaster. I have had a lot of memorable experiences aboard that ship. We were even caught out in the worst part of the No Name Storm aboard the Suncoaster. I hope the day never comes that I am in seas like that again!
-Chris
I have not been able to find the original print photos. I had scanned those photos many years ago and luckily I found them on a backup disk yesterday. The images that are posted are the highest resolution that I have available right now. The hosting service did not reduce the size at all when I uploaded them. The prints are probably buried in a box somewhere in my home. If I ever come across them I will be glad to scan them again at a higher resolution.
And yes, it was on the Suncoaster. I have had a lot of memorable experiences aboard that ship. We were even caught out in the worst part of the No Name Storm aboard the Suncoaster. I hope the day never comes that I am in seas like that again!
-Chris
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