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April 29, 2005
Weekend Plans
Get ready because next week the Sea Hunters will leave for Singapore to dive the HMS Prince of Wales & HMS Repulse. Live from the Dive will be kicked up into full gear as we report back the activies of our world famous dive team.
In the mean time we have a classic episode on National Geographic Canada tonight and an episode from this season on History Television on Sunday.
Runners and Raiders
Tonight at 10:00 pm EST on National Geographic Canada Check Local Listings!
Two blockade-runners rest in the warm, clear waters off Bermuda. Largely intact, these two wrecks offer unique insights into these highly specialized ships, and into the very nature of Bermuda's involvement in the American Civil War.
Now join us as we visit the last resting places of two blockade-runners and one of the most famous Confederate raiders in history, the CSS Alabama.
The Search for Bonhomme Richard
Sunday at 6:00 pm EST on History Television Check Local Listings!
Join “The Sea Hunters” as they search the cold waters of the North Sea for the United States Navy’s most famous vessel, Captain John Paul Jones’ “Bonhomme Richard.” Using the latest in side scan sonar and magnetometer search equipment and working from tide charts and drift patterns developed by Dr. Clive Cussler, “The Sea Hunters” will search the North Sea for America’s most famous shipwreck.
Posted by victoria at 02:59 PM | Comments (1)
April 26, 2005
Classic Episode: The Steamship Atlantic
Tonight at 10:00 pm EST on National Geographic Canada Check Local Listings!
The SS Atlantic was found by our very own, Mike Fletcher!
At the base of the Great Lakes, near the center of Lake Erie, the sinking of the steamer Atlantic attracted international attention. She tragically sank in the center of Lake Erie not far from a small town, Port Dover, in Ontario, Canada. In 1853, an obscure inventor, Lodner Philips, brought a submarine to the site. Evidence suggests that the early sub was lost diving and never recovered. This submarine, in addition to the treasures of Atlantic creates one of the richest maritime heritage sites in North America. Join the Sea Hunters as they search for what could be one of the world's oldest existing submarines lost on the wrecksite of an early immigrant ship the grand paddle wheel steamer Atlantic.
Posted by victoria at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2005
The Princess Sophia Tragedy
Airing tonight April 25, 2005 at 10:00 pm on National Geographic Canada
Check local listings!
Near the center of The Lynn Canal - just off the coast of Juneau, Alaska - a team of shipwreck hunters employ the latest sophisticated equipment to uncover the story of the most tragic shipwreck of the Pacific Northwest: the Princess Sophia. Join the Sea Hunters as they explore the final resting place of one of North America's most controversial sinkings: the Princess Sophia.
Posted by victoria at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2005
Producer John Davis Offers Tales from the Deep
Our fearless leader, John Davis, will be the Guest Speaker at a luncheon on Wednesday, May 18, in our home port, Halifax, Nova Scotia; as part of the 8th International Conference - Remote Sensing for Marine and Coastal Environments.
This luncheon is included as part of the full or Wednesday daily registration package. Additional tickets can be purchased during online registration. If you are in the area be sure and check him out.
About the speaker:
John Davis. Teacher, fisherman, writer, diver - John Davis arrived with a varied background when he entered the entertainment industry over 10 years ago. Today he is an integral part of the Canadian documentary television community. As Co-founder and producer at Eco-Nova Productions Limited, he oversaw the creation of "Oceans of Mystery", an underwater shipwreck series which airs on the Discovery Channel and the Outdoor Life Network.
Currently, John Davis is owner and President of Eco-Nova Productions Limited. The Sea Hunters television series chronicles John and the Eco-Nova dive team searching for and documenting famous shipwrecks around the world from Alaska to Micronesia. The team has found the wreck of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic survivors in 1912. They have also filmed the wreck of the CSS Hunley, the first submarine to sink a ship in combat. Other recent "Sea Hunter" finds include; U-21, a WW1 German U-Boat, "Mary Celeste", the famous Nova Scotian ghost ship and U-215, a WWII German U-Boat.
The Sea Hunters series currently airs on History Television and National Geographic television. The series is broadcast in 26 languages in over 150 countries.
Posted by victoria at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2005
Focus on Warren
Watch Warren make a remarkable find under the waters of the Straits of Magellan.
Have a nice day!
Posted by victoria at 03:28 PM | Comments (1)
April 19, 2005
Still on Patrol - The Hunt for Hitler's U-boat 215
Airing tonight: Tuesday, April 19 at 10:00 pm EST Check local listings!
In July of 1942 the German U-Boat 215, Commanded by Kptlt. Frtiz Hoekner, was on the secret mission to North America. U-215 was a very rare class of u-boat, a type VIID. In total there was only 6 of this type of vessel built. The uniqueness of this design was in the addition of a thirty-two foot compartment between the control room and the galley that housed five vertical mine tubes. Each tube held five SMA (magnetic influence) mines. The addition of these mine tubes allowed the U-Boat Command to assign dual purpose missions to these boats, that of mining enemy harbors and anchorages and the traditional attack role of torpedoing enemy shipping. Kptlt. Hoekner’s secret mission was to mine the entrance of Boston Harbor and create havoc as convoys started their long journey across the Atlantic. He would never accomplish this task. The torpedo he sent into the hull of the Liberty Ship USS “Alexander Macomb” would seal his fate and the fate of his crew long before he reached his destination.
The “Alexander Macomb” was built in Baltimore, Maryland. She was launched on May 6th, 1942. On July 3rd of that year, she was lagging behind her convoy in dense fog. She was six miles back when U-215 fired her torpedoes. Thirty men of her sixty-man crew were killed or wounded in the blast. She sank minutes after the secondary explosions in her cargo hold opened her hull to the waters of the cold North Atlantic.
Minutes after the torpedoes hit the “Macomb,” the convoy escort vessel “Le Tiger” took up the chase for the U-boat. Using ASDEC (a primitive form of sonar) they located the sub as she ran for deeper water. Dropping depth charges at close intervals the “Le Tiger” first slowed her target, then the pings from the ASDEC indicated the target had come to a complete stop on the bottom. Oil and debris on the surface indicated a kill. The “Le Tiger” then went to the aid of the “Macomb” survivors.
Using targets provided by fishermen and multi-beam charting done by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, the “Sea Hunters” will search for and dive these wrecks, confirming the kill of the U-215, and telling the story of the loss of the “Macomb” and the Nazi plans to mine Boston Harbor.
Posted by victoria at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2005
Tonight on National Geographic Canada
The Search for "Tonquin" and "Isabella"
Airing: Apr 18 at 10:00 PM EST. Check Local Listings!
Using the research vessel from the University of British Columbia, “The Sea Hunters” will search the waters of Templar channel near Tofino and with side scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler and dredging equipment make a careful survey of the site. These dives will tell for certain whether this notorious vessel has indeed been found. If it is “Tonquin” it will be the earliest wreck ever located on North America’s West coast. Comparative dives will also take place on other early fur trade vessels in the Columbia River and in English Bay. This is a great “Sea Hunters” detective story solving a mystery concerning one of the most controversial wrecks in North American history.
Posted by victoria at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)
Good Times On Board the Chonos
Watch Mike Fletcher, on board the Chonos, suit up to dive with the hard hat .
Posted by victoria at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2005
What's on This Weekend
No need to go out this weekend there are two great Sea Hunters episodes for you to watch:
Friday on National Geographic Canada-
The Wreck of Arturo Prat's "Esmeralda"
Airing: Apr 15 at 10:00 PM EST. Check Local Listings!
The Sea Hunters are invited to Chile to assist the German government archaeologists in the retrieval of artifacts from the German light cruiser “Dresden” which was lost during WWI off Robinson Crusoe Island in Chilean waters. While there, the team are asked to assist the Japanese Imperial Navy and to dive and film the wreck site of Chile’s most famous naval vessel, Esmeralda.
Sunday on History Television-
The Search for "Tonquin" and "Isabella"
Airing: Apr 17 at 6:00 PM EST. Check Local Listings!
Using the research vessel from the University of British Columbia, “The Sea Hunters” will search the waters of Templar channel near Tofino and with side scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler and dredging equipment make a careful survey of the site. These dives will tell for certain whether this notorious vessel has indeed been found. If it is “Tonquin” it will be the earliest wreck ever located on North America’s West coast. Comparative dives will also take place on other early fur trade vessels in the Columbia River and in English Bay. This is a great “Sea Hunters” detective story solving a mystery concerning one of the most controversial wrecks in North American history.
Posted by victoria at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2005
Titanic
April 14th, 1912
Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time of her launching. During her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on a Sunday evening, and sank two hours and forty minutes later, off the coast of Newfoundland. The sinking captured the fascination of the world.
Watch as Sea Hunters James Delgado and Mike Fletcher talk about their experiences diving the Titanic and finding the ship that rescued her survivors, the Carpathia.
Posted by victoria at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2005
National Geographic Canada: Airing New Season
Looking to watch this season of The Sea Hunters on National Geographic Channel Canada; Now is your chance!
The Search for the Avro Arrow Rocket Flight Models
Join The Sea Hunters as they dive under the cold waters of Lake Ontario, at the Pickering Test Site, and off the coast of Maryland, at the American C.I.A. Headquarters at Wallop’s Island, in search for the last remnants of the fastest plane that was never built. Uncover a story of espionage, subterfuge and assassination that starts under the cold waters of the Atlantic and Great Lakes and moves to Bermuda, South Africa, Holland and Iraq.
Airing April 13 at 10:00:00 PM EST. Check local listings
Posted by victoria at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)
Mike Fletcher: One on One
Learn more about Mike Fletcher with an interview by Christine on the deck of the Chonos.
Posted by victoria at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2005
Germany Marks 60th Anniversary of Buchenwald Liberation
In December 2002 the Sea Hunters were invitied to dive the remains of Mittelbau-Dora a Nazi forced labour camp from WWII, where prisoners built rockets for Hitler's war machine.
In October 1944, Dora and other sub-camps originally belonging to the Buchenwald complex were amalgamated to form the independent Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp, in which Dora now served as the parent camp.
On April 11, 1945 the Buchenwald Concentration Camp was liberated. Although the overall number of deaths cannot be precisely determined, about 12,000 were officially registered in the SS files.
Today we invite you to remember what happen at Buchenwald/Mittelbau-Dora. Please take some time to explore the web site for the Memorial Foundation, and take a moment to find Mittelbau-Dora on our interactive map to witness the historic dive made by the Sea Hunters.
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
George Santayana
Posted by victoria at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)
Most Recent Shipwreck on the Strait of Magellan
Now on land, watch Mike and Warren show Christine around their island home away from home.
Posted by victoria at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2005
Episode: The Wreck of Arturo Prat's "Esmeralda"
Airing on History Television Sunday, April 10 at 7:00 AM | 6:00 PM ET check local listings
When the Japanese Imperial Navy wanted an example of proper action for officers under fire in a naval engagement they chose the Chilean naval vessel “Esmeralda” and her captain, Arturo Prat, as the model to be studied by all officers graduating from the Japanese Naval Academy.
Mike Fletcher and “The Sea Hunters” team are invited back to Chile in order to assist German government archaeologists in the retrieval of artifacts from the German light cruiser “Dresden” which was lost during WWI off Robinson Crusoe Island in Chilean waters. During the trip the team is invited, by the Chilean Embassy, to dive and film the wreck site of Chile’s most famous naval vessel “Esmeralda”. After leaving Robinson Crusoe Island, the team, along with Chilean navy divers, travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) North to the site of the Battle of Iquique to search for the final resting place of “Esmeralda”. The first dive shows that the wreckage presents a vivid illustration of the horror of that battle. The broken hull of “Esmeralda,” her cannons lying quiet on the ocean floor and the skeletal remains of many of her brave crew all tell a graphic tale of the of the horror of battle and the cost of war.
For more information on the Esmeralda find her Vessel Profile on the Interactive Map
Posted by victoria at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2005
Learn More About Mike Fletcher
While in Chile Christine had some one on one time with Sea Hunters diver, Mike Fletcher, and Chilean shipwreck authority, Francisco. We hope you enjoy it! If you have questions for Mike or any other member of the Sea Hunters or Shipwreck Central then all you need to do is sign up in the community and ask.
Posted by victoria at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2005
Christine and Jim's Helicopter Ride
As exciting as it is under the water's of the Strait of Magellan, taking a helicopter ride over those waters is also pretty cool. Then, add to that flight Jim Delgado, and you’ve got a once in a lifetime experience that we are happy to share.
Posted by victoria at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2005
50 knots = 92.6 kilometer/hour
The Sea Hunters got to experience everything the Straits of Magellan have to offer including the famous bad weather. As a reference for after the video 50 knot winds are consider storm force according to the, Beaufort Wind Scale. Effects observed on land would be very high waves with overhanging crests; sea takes white appearance as foam is blown in very dense streaks; rolling is heavy and visibility is reduced. In fact this speed of wind is seldom experienced inland; trees can be uprooted and considerable structural damage occurs.
Posted by victoria at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)
