The National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently collaborated to conduct NAS I and NAS II training for NABS members at the NOAA facility in Thunder Bay, Michigan. The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program has partnered with the world's largest maritime archaeological training organization, the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS), to offer training in the principles and practices of maritime archaeology to professionals and the public. The Maritime Heritage Program recently sponsored a workshop to train NOAA archaeologists as NAS instructors. NOAA maritime archaeologist Tane Casserley, designated the Senior Tutor program, and coordinates the NAS training and research projects. The Maritime Heritage Program partners with NAS to promote education, research, and public stewardship of maritime heritage resources within the 14 National Marine Sanctuaries and throughout the United States. The purpose of the NAS training is to create a cadre of skilled volunteers capable of assisting with ongoing archaeological field work and historic research occurring within the National Marine Sanctuary System. The NAS training is a pre-requisite to becoming a certified NOAA Science Diver. This is the second year that NOAA has conducted a NAS training class exclusively for NABS.
Last year, NABS members took NAS I training in the warm waters of the Florida Keys. This year's site was the Great Lakes! The training took place at the NOAA Thunder Bay Nation Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, August 1-7, 2010. I was excited about taking the NAS II training and heard so much about the fabulous wrecks in the Great Lakes, but I was also weary of the "cool"waters. This year, NAS I and NAS II training was combined into one very busy week. Students taking NAS I, arrived a day early to receive land instruction and educational briefings. All NABS regions were represented for the training, including: Vernon Beard (MI), Ruth Cauthen (VA), Erik Denson (FL), Marshal Dickerson (MI), Jeff Dooley (AZ), Earnest Franklin (DC), Jay Haigler (DC), Jimmie Mack (TX), McCellus Mays (KY), Kamau Sadiki (DC), Kim Walker (DC), Paul Washington (DC) and Francine Whittington (AZ). We had two outstanding "boot camp' instructors, Tane Casserley, Senior Tutor of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Marine Heritage Program, and Wayne Lusardi, Michigan State Maritime Archaeologist. Their experience and knowledge was invaluable. The majority of us stayed in the researcher's quarters on site.
Day 1 of the expedition consisted of a reconnaissance dive of the wreck site.Getting to the site itself was a bit of an adventure. The site was accessible via shore dive from a rocky, sandy beach owned by the Alpena Cement Plant. NOAA had permission to enter the property. However the entrance was partially blocked with a large pile of rocks to prevent "uninvited" guests. I guess some of us weren't on the list. A few of trucks got over the hump, then one of the vans got stuck. After some time, we were able to get it out. We had to tackle that rock pile every day! My rental car would never be the same. More on the rock pile later! The archaeological wreck sites the NABS team investigated was approximately a 1,000 square yard area located in Isaacson Bay in Thunder Bay. During the reconnaissance dive, the team identified at least two distinct wreck sites. Both sites were in shallow water 4ft-6ft deep! There were some good candidates for what the wrecks could be, but at the beginning of the expedition we had no names. The sites were named NABS Shorty I and NABS Shorty II because of their "short"depth. At first glance, the wrecks were typical wooden schooners, typical of the area and era, most likely built in the late 1800s. Shorty I wreck site consisted of a series of parallel wooden planking possibly futtocks, outer shell planking, and a large beam running perpendicular to the futtocks which could be bilge plank or a stringer. Curving of the futtocks at one side indicates that these structures may be the side of the schooner. The futtocks were double beams approximately 3.5ft wide each and 6ft thick. The bilge plank or stringer was approximately 11ft wide and 4ft thick. The bilge plank or stringer, futtocks and outer shell planks were apparently attached by a series of iron drift pins usually in a square pattern of four. Amazing! After years of DWP and NAS training, I can finally speak the language a little. On Shorty II, several significant wooden structures were present. The longer timbers appeared to be sister keelsons and rider keelsons. There were seven double framed members extending from the keelsons at a right angle, approximately ten feet in length. One of the frames was curved slightly upward, possible being the first futtock. There were several lengths of outer planking attached to the frames. Most of the outer planking was buried in the sand. However, minor excavation revealed four inch-thick plank members. Both wreck sites were covered with Zebra Mussels. This invasive species have plagued the Great Lakes for a number of years.
On Day 2 & 3 we got down to work. Based upon the information from the dive, the group was split into two teams. Five of us were assigned to Shorty I, lead by me and the rest were assigned to Shorty II lead by Kamau. All of the participants were graduates of the DWP (Diving With a Purpose) underwater archaeology program. With that training under our belts, the teams were able to jump right in with little direction. Teams first drafted an overall rough sketch of the site to get a feeling for where to perform the trilateration and offset measurements. The baseline of Shorty I was 78ft long, for Shorty II, the baseline was approximately 100ft long. The baseline is a line that usually runs down the middle of the wrecks site and indicates the approximate length of the wreck. Trilateration and off set measurements are techniques used to measure the distance of wreck sections or artifacts from the baseline. Once the measurements were complete, teams drafted in-situ drawings of the site. These are the detailed drawings of wreck site sections done. These techniques allow us to draw a composite map of the wreck site with detail and accuracy. NABS divers came prepared for the cold waters of the lakes. Many came with dry suits and 7mm suits. To our surprise, since the wrecks were in shallow water, the water temperature was in the low-mid 70's! This depth also allowed for longer dives, one of my dives lasted over 2 hours. In addition to the composite site map, a project report was also required. Like the "Deep Sea Detectives", we conducted an investigation. On Day 4, while some completed in-situ drawings, a group of us hit the Alpena Public Library to conduct research. The Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library houses the Labadie Great Lakes Maritime Database, probably the best collection of documents on Great Lakes maritime history. This collection of books, papers, ship logs, enrollments, news articles, etc., was use extensively by the NABS team to research the Shorty I and Shorty II sites. A digital database of the collection can be found at www.greatlakeships.com. The initial survey data showed the possibility of two distinct vessels. Research records revealed some interesting information. The F. W. Gilchrist Lumber Company abandoned two schooner vessels near the Shorty site in 1903. The team believed that since Gilchrist had docked boats in this area that these could be from the Gilchrist fleet. We postulated that if these boats were from the Gilchrist fleet, then there may be records of their wreckage or abandonment. The team believed the ships were from the Gilchrist fleets Red Line. According to the archives, the Red Fleet consisted of five ships: the Russian, the India, the Knight Templar, the Light Guard, and the S.H. Lathrop. During the research, the team found a news paper article from the July 23, 1903 edition of the Alpena Evening News that stated the Knight Templar was being stripped. It went on to say that the Knight Templar was going to be shoved onto the beach besides the Light Guard in Whitefish Bay. This narrowed the possibility down to the two. Both ships were wooden Schooners of similar construction and size. It will take additional research and dives to determine decisively which one.
The next couple of days were focused on completing the composite site maps and the final report. In between time a few us took the scuba and water skills test for the NOAA science diver certification. It was rough going (lots of huffing & puffing on my part), but we all passed. That morning, Jimmie Mack and Ernie Franklin went back to the site to make a few more measurements. On their way out, a big surprise was in front of them. Remember the rock pile I mentioned, well it turned into a boulder and they were trapped. The concrete company was ahead of schedule and thought we were finished with the expedition and blocked the entrance. After some time, a truck came to remove the boulder. After diving in 5 feet of water all week, I was ready to do a real Great Lake dive. My last full day we dived two of the best wrecks in the area, the E.B. Allen, a schooner lost in 1871 and the Grecian, a freighter lost in 1906. Both dives were deep and you guessed it the water was a lot colder, 57-61 degrees. I was very proud of myself, being a Florida diver, I braved the cold. I even did it in 5mm suit! The wrecks really lived up to the billing.
In addition to the diving experience, we were treated to excellent presentations on archaeology, maritime history, including a presentation on the loss of Edmund Fitzgerald. Tane opened his home and treated us to a great BBQ. The experience and knowledge gained during the week long program was fantastic. The partnership that has been established between NABS and NOAA has no bounds. We would like to particularly acknowledge and thank Tane Casserley, Wayne Lusardi, and the NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary for their tireless support and assistance to the NABS/NAS Class I & II. Without their guidance and instructions, this effort would have been much more difficult, if not impossible, to complete. As some us go on to become NOAA Science Divers, the adventures are unlimited. DWP has been the foundation for us, without it NAS I, II would have been a big struggle. From the work accomplished during the week, our site map was digitized and put into the standard NOAA format public use. NOAA has also deployed a mooring buoy at the site. There are great opportunities ahead of us.
Article submitted by Erik Denson
