As the title suggests this screen grab is a little shabby but in the can we have some nice footage of a mid 19th century iron sailing ship. This is what a virgin shipwreck looks like and don’t the fish just love it. Discovering and recording shipwrecks is what we do all at our expense and whilst we are pleased to uncover yet another piece of maritime history there is a downside. We are now able to do this without putting a diver in the water which from the point of view of safety is fine it is over 200ft below the boat but I find it sad that the spirit of exploration has all but died in today’s diver. I was very lucky to have been around as a diver and skipper in the hey day of channel shipwreck exploration which nowadays is looked back on by many with derision. I am forever being told mainly by academics and those that have been brain washed by them “we should leave things for future generations”. This particular shipwreck is barely showing above the seabed and in only a few years it will have disappeared. There is evidence all over the site that it is being battered by trawling but in the end it is erosion that will finish it. I now have the only record of this site by getting off my ass and getting out there and doing it. God only knows what this information would cost to gather if left to those that are paid to protect our maritime history? Leaving it for future generations equals an excuse to do nothing and an opportunity to label those of us that really care as grave robbers. The really bad news is that as the likes of Historic England run out of money in time we will end up with blanket bans on shipwreck sites and areas of interest that will make it look like we are doing our bit in the eyes of the International community. Finally if anyone can think of a shipwreck around the British Isles that was found by anyone other than an amateur explorer I would be interested to hear about it… I rest my case and as usual this is the musings of an old fool!
Excellent indisputable comment. NAS and Historic England will back you with words but neither has any money to help discover wrecks so how can they protect our maritime heritage if they don’t know about it. They will take over wrecks found by others and designate wrecks for one reason or another, often on spurious grounds and they will promulgate new procedures and policies as their raison d’être. The easiest thing in the world is to say no you can’t do that. As you say most if not all the wrecks have been found by amateur explorers, researched and recorded not just in Britain but in the World. The only ones found by archaeologists seem to be in the Mediterranean possibly because they thought as one famous archaeologist said “there are no important wrecks in the British Isles” plus it is nice and warm and clear in the Mediterranean. Why do NAS? support archaeological diving abroad? surely any funds should be spent supporting UK Maritime Heritage.