409 Dive Log Australasia December 24

The blog for the Rodney Fox Shark Museum and Learning Centre includes some posts about shipwrecks such as the SS Mauna Loa . According to https://www.wearesa.au/news/explore-a shipwreck,-no-dive-gear-required?fbclid=IwY2xjawFoU3NleHR uA2FlbQIxMQABHTP6NJSnhFy4qFmLwTcWL6XoigvhmeCSjIn V_8edCMy9S4_T6xGXm20P5w_aem_VQZ8cRXB1GdPn8KjQiz AkA “winter storms (revealed) the Guuranda-Innes National Park”. Both wrecks at Ethel Beach were exposed during storms in September. Summer sands were expected to soon bury them once again. According to https://www.deeperblue.com/ocean-liner-to become-worlds-largest-artificial-reef-off-florida-coast/?mc_cid =273695e5e4&mc_eid=d4cc43123c, “The former ocean liner SS United States is slated to become the world’s largest artificial reef.” The 302m-long vessel has been purchased by Okaloosa County which plans to spend about US$9m to prepare and sink the ship about 40km offshore. An anchor from the Ethel wrecks of the Ethel and the SS Ferret in Dhilba

d7P9gCGZxR9OpgWIkIqEEvOlLkSZovld9P8EFVqgQz72Xg7YF 1tgA_aem_PcYN4-GZFHqYZi_Uespzgg, an anchor from HMAS Perth II has been removed from a dive wreck off Albany and placed at a memorial site in East Fremantle.

The latest incident involving the curse of the Titanic occurred in June when a Titanic exhibit at the Volo Museum in the US was flooded. The museum's $6 million Titanic exhibit had to be temporarily closed after being submerged in water during recent storms in the Chicago area.

A bell from the Titanic

Adventure Historian, Jeff Maynard's website videos page at

https://www.jeffmaynard.net/adventure-history-videos/ has links to his YouTube videos, including three short episodes (1 3) called “ Niagara's Gold ”. Most of the gold bars on the RMS Niagara (554/590) were recovered by the crew of the SV Claymore . Another group went back years later to recover another 30 gold bars, leaving just 6 gold bars unaccounted for. The gold bars were valued at $12m according to Robert Marx’s “ The Search for Sunken Treasure ”. The web page at https://nzhistory.govt.nz/niagara-mined-off-northland-coast however, says. “gold ingots worth £2.5 million (equivalent to nearly $250 million (NZD today ).” Robert Marx’s also says that the Niagara went down after hitting a mine “48km from the entrance in Whangarei Harbour, New Zealand, and went down in 148 feet (136m) of water”. I figured that 148’ did not equal 136m. The web page at https://nzhistory.govt.nz/niagara-mined-off-northland-coast . says that the wreck “lay at a depth of 60 fathoms (110 m)”. Cool Converter says that 60 fathoms = 360 feet, NOT 148’. Jeff Maynard’s “ Niagara's Gold, Part 2” says that the depth was 400 feet. That’s not too different to the conversion 60 fathoms = 360 feet, but nothing like 148’/136m. 360’ = 109.728m, 400’ = 121.92m, still nothing like 136m, which equals 446.194 feet. I find that such differences (contradictions) are common when it comes to shipwreck facts and figures. Jeff Maynard has published a book titled “ Niagara’s Gold ” – see https://www.jeffmaynard.net/niagras-gold-book/ . We are often given coordinates for shipwrecks that have been found but these coordinates may not be accurate. Many wrecks were found decades ago and the method of determining their position may have been less accurate than it is today. Therefore, those wrecks may not be precisely located where indicated by old coordinates and some further searching may be necessary.

HMAS Canberra being scuttled

Since the writing of my Shipwreck Topics column for the October issue of Dive Log, I have written The Australian Warships Scuttled as Dive Wrecks 1997-2011 and I have backed this up with a video presentation of the same title (featuring the scuttling of HMAS Brisbane ). According to https://www.perthnow.com.au/local-news/perthnow fremantle/part-of-hmas-ii-wreck-delivered-to-east-fremantle-c 15912425?fbclid=IwY2xjawFUuqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXZpx

DIVE LOG Australasia #409 - December ‘24 95

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