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May 30, 2005
Introducing Project Habbakuk
The Sea Hunters are in home port for a few weeks. They are finishing up the Doterel and Prince of Wales/Repulse episodes (which are looking great). Soon our band of explorers will be off to Alberta, Canada to dive the remains of the Habbakuk.
Read on to get your first taste of Habbakuk and tonight make sure you watch the Sea Hunters on National Geographic Channel Canada. Airing tonight at 10 pm EST is Operation Overlord, The Search of Juno Beach:
Join “The Sea Hunters” as they dive the beaches of Normandy and search for artifacts of the largest and most famous maritime invasion of all time. Just outside the active surf areas of Juno, Utah and Omaha beaches rest the visual remnants of “Operation Overlord”; the action which turned the tide in WWII and marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany in Europe.
Project Habbakuk was a plan by the British in World War II to construct an "unsinkable" aircraft carrier out of ice, for use against German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, which was out of range of land-based planes.
During the war the life blood for England was the convoys which made their way across the North Atlantic from Canada. While close to shore the convoys could be protected by aircraft. In the middle of the Atlantic, beyond the range of the land-based aircraft, was the area known as U-boat alley. This stretch of open ocean was the "playground" for the German U-boats. Churchill knew that if aircraft could patrol over U-boat alley, more shipping would get through.
The Habbakuk was to be approximately 600 m long and have a displacement of an amazing 2,000,000 tons or more, constructed in Canada from 280,000 blocks of ice. The Habbakuk would have been virtually impossible to sink, as it would have effectively been a streamlined iceberg kept afloat by the buoyancy of its construction materials.
The name Habbakuk was an Admiralty clerk's misspelling of the biblical name Habakkuk. The choice of this name is said to be a reference to the project's ambitious goal: "... be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." (Habakkuk 1:5, NIV)
Join us in June as we dive Patricia Lake for the remains of Habbakuk!
Posted by victoria at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2005
Let's Go Diving
Check out some images from day 2 on board the Grace. Here is a traveling tip, wear sunblock.
Posted by victoria at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2005
Chris Kingston's Last Word
Last day on the Prince of Wales: May 16
Today marks the final dive day on Prince of Wales. Right now it's 10am and the divers will be gearing up for the dive soon. Later, at about 12 noon we will make our way to Tioman Island for a stop over night on our way back to Singapore.
May 17
We spent last night on Tioman island. We had a great last night with our host Martin Ritter; hanging out on the beach and drinking some beers. There was another amazing lightening storm.
This morning Mike and Warren went to the swamp to shoot a scene about these huge lizards that live there. They are massive and I hear, very poisonous. At about 12 noon, we got on the speedboat that took us to Mersing, where I sit here in the local internet cafe uploading stuff for Shipwreck Central.
It was a fun trip, hope you all enjoy the pictures, videos and blogs.
Chris
Posted by victoria at 08:10 AM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2005
Pictures from Day One
Now that you've seen the black and white images, how about some colour? These images are from day one on the MV Grace. You might want to cross reference with the post Chris Kingston's Instant Replay.
Posted by victoria at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)
Chris Kingston's Instant Replay Part 5
Sleepin' outside and feelin' the burn: May 15
It was so hot in the bunk last night that I decided to go up to the sun deck to sleep. Asleep under the stars in the open sea is the way to go. I woke up at 5 am to sun rise on the South China Sea. Normally waking up at 5 am is not for me, but today I make an exception.
A big thing to get used to out here is the time difference. Right now it's 9am. Back home in Halifax, Canada it's about 9pm yesterday. My body is used to thinking about going to bed and here we are waking up.
3pm
Today, after days of thinking that I was invincible to the power of the sun, I'm sunburnt. It's a pretty good one too. The upper portion of myself has turned red. Our audio guy, John Rosborough was the first to burn. The Fletchers seemingly never burn. Their lives working outside and on the high seas have prepared them for the overpowering sun of Malaysia. I'm also proud to say that after days at sea, I have yet to get seasick. ( While I wrote that last line I found the closest piece of wood to tap ) I accredit the lack of seasickness to our ship, Grace. This is a hundred foot vessel. I believe that most of the time she is a research vessel. Either way, it's very sturdy in the water with minimal rocking around.
Mike and Warren dove the Prince of Whales again today. On this dive they were very happy with the underwater footage that they got. The last few days, the water has been kinda milky because of the current. Footage of their dives from both Prince of Whales and Repulse will be up on Shipwreck Central very soon.
Chris
p.s. Those videos are up. Be sure to check them out!
Posted by victoria at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
South China Sea: Photo Journal 1
Introducing your first Photo Journal from the South China Sea. A special thank you to Suzanne Lee for letting us use her beautiful pictures.
Posted by victoria at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)
Chris Kingston's Instant Replay Part 4
Sea Hunters to the Prince of Whales!!! May 14
Today the Sea Hunters moved off of the Repulse and steamed 8 nautical miles to the wreck of Prince of Whales. Mike and Warren did two dives today. Both were successful and the divers are happy with their footage. We've done a great amount of diving for this show. The Repulse alone had six dives. But these are huge ships that take a lot of time to cover. Still, there are three divers shooting one tape each per dive, times six dives. That's a whole lotta dive footage.
When you get out here and see the great expanse of water that surrounds you, you wonder what the British sailors aboard Repulse and Prince of Whales must have been thinking as they were being bombed. It must have seemed hopeless.
Chris
Posted by victoria at 07:13 AM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2005
Chris Kingston's Instant Replay Part 3
Whale sharks, a sea turtle and a birthday party. Stop me if you've heard this one: May 13
Today was business as usual on the Grace. Wake up, eat, dive, repeat. Towards the end of the day though we saw a whale shark on the surface of the water swimming right beside the boat. About an hour later we saw a sea turtle. I'm told that it's probably the same turtle that makes its home in the torpedo hole on Repulse.
At about 7pm I went up to the sun deck and off in the distance there was a huge lightening storm. It was pitch black outside and the sky was lit up like there were fireworks happening. Brilliant bright orange fire bombs in the sky.
Today is Warren’s 27th birthday. We brought a cake mix and had a party for him on the boat. Close to dinner time we wondered if he could smell the cake being baked. Either way, he was surprised.
Chris
Posted by victoria at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)
Diving the Admiral’s Cabin
On this dive Watch The Sea Hunters explore the wreck of the Repulse.
Posted by victoria at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2005
Chris Kingston's Instant Replay Part 2
Sleepless on the high seas / Dive Repluse: May 11
Last night I woke up several times during the night. 3 am, 5 am. I'm trying to get used to the time difference here. You see, at 5 am here it's roughly 5pm back home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. So of course my body thought we should be awake. So rather than lie in the dark I went up on deck to the bow and stood there in the darkness and had a smoke as the bow of our ship cut through the water with no one around and absolutely no light in the sky.
Cut to 7am.
We just got our wake up call. Now I'm tired. Started to get the dizziness. That feeling that comes over you as you walk through the interior of the ship when you're not used to the rocking motion. From my experience, this takes about two days to get over. So right now I'm writing from my bunk, it feels better to lie down when this happens.
Cut to 9am
Mike and Warren are now getting ready to dive the Repulse. I'm shooting some pictures for you guys to check out later. We are also doing tests with the Satellite phone, hooking it up to the computer so we can send pictures and these blog entries.
1:30pm
Mike and Warren have completed their first dive on Repulse. Things went well. After the dive we all sat down for lunch. Later on I went up to the bow and looked out onto the water. Sometimes when you're out here on these trips you forget where you are. Sounds weird but with our go go go mode that we get into on the road, if you don't stop once in awhile the whole thing can pass you by. My point is that when I realized fully that here we are on the South China Sea listening to sympathy for the devil it was very cool.
The sun has been blazing down here. I don't know how Mike and Warren do it. There they were sitting in black suits with loads of weight on their backs and it was terribly hot. I myself may have lost it.
Chris
Night dives and space monsters: May 11 pm
Right now it's 4pm and Mike and Warren are gearing up to dive for the second time on Repulse. For now the dizziness has finally passed. I'm on the road to recovery and have just finished diging the first of many tapes from The Sea Hunters dives on the Repulse. The footage that came from this dive was great. There is a very cool shot that shows a marble ray swimming right at the camera. This is one of the best Sea Hunters shots of animals that I've seen.
8pm
Mike and Warren got suited up to do their first night dive on Repulse. The dive went well and the night footage on this wreck looks great. After the dive we met with martin in the galley of Grace and watched a documentary called "the blue planet" It's all about the cool animals that exist in the depths of the sea. Up to 2500 feet. Very odd creatures. The kinds of fish that exist at those depths looks like space monsters.
Chris
...but our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country-but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that.
-Thompson '71
... "Mike, I'll get on the chase boat and get some shots of the divers jumping in from the water"
No, It's nothing more than a glorified canoe, you'll capsize and I don't want to have to fish you out"
-Chris '05
Posted by victoria at 08:12 PM | Comments (0)
Scooters, Torpedo Strikes, and a Very Large Propeller
The main strength of the Japanese air attacks were directed against the Repulse. The Repulse was hit by one or two bombs and about 12 torpedoes.
Watch the Sea Hunters use scooters for the first time to explore the torn torpedo holes.
Posted by victoria at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2005
Chris Kingston's Instant Replay
With the connection problemss experienced over the last week between the Shipwreck Central and the mainland, we have missed daily blog entries from our "Man About Deck", editor, Chris Kingston.
Well my well traveled counter part was good enough to write entries, even though he could not post them. So, starting today I will post one entry a day so you to can experience this expedition through the words of Chris Kingston.
Mersing to Tioman Island: May 10th
Today the Sea Hunters left Mersing, Malaysia by speedboat for our dive boat "Grace". This dive boat has it all. Very comfortable and spacious. We loaded on our gear and then made a run on a smaller tour boat for an island called Tioman. This island is where our host Martin Ritter lives and keeps a dive shop. We stopped here to gather supplies and check out the culture of island life.
Island life is the life for me. Warm weather, great food and bare feet all the time. It's very laid back here, which is cool but can have some drawbacks. The drawback being that everything gets done on island time, which is usually way out of sync from real time. 15 min really means 30-45 min. That's cool with me cause where else do I gotta be, but were making television here. Time is money, daylight is critical and.......maybe we all need to chill out. That's right people of North America, chill out. I propose that we, from this point on, convert to island time. Abandon your watches people! They are only stressing you out. We should all have our very own piece of Tioman in our very own cities. I digress, the problems of the world are not for me to solve.
Back to the story
P.S. For any of you out there that may have lotteries out on whether or not I got sea sick yet, too bad! You'll need to wait for another day. <I bet $20 you'd get sick. -Victoria Did anyone even hit you in the eye?>
Really, back to the story.
We hung out on the island for most of the day shooting scenics and scenes for this Malaysia show about the Prince of Whales and Repulse. We checked out the dive shop and then went to the island restaurant for some curry dishes. The curry here is the best I've ever tasted. (Here is a link to some Malaysian and Singaporean recipes) After supper darkness was approaching so we got back on the tour boat and went back to the grace.
When we got back I thought I would investigate the entertainment on the Grace. There are movies, cd’s, a library of books and an x box. I spotted some Elvis Costello albums, Robert Johnson, The Stones, Chuck Berry, a few Clive Cussler novels and a copy Fear and Loathing. To say the least, I'm impressed.
Chris
Posted by victoria at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
Night Dive
A little darker, more dangerous...it's the night dive on the Repulse. Listen to Mike describe the dive on the airplane hanger located beneath the waters of the South China Sea.
Also the team leaves Singapore today for Manchester, England.(Home of Manchester Utd.) For more info on the area click here.
Posted by victoria at 07:27 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2005
Fifteen Inch Gun
Since the connection was so good and since you have all been so great...here is another video. Once again Mike narrates this dive on the Repulse.
Posted by victoria at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
High Speed = Video
The team has return to land and to the joys of high speed internet connections. We have new video and images. Chris has sent us loads of media and he ought to be back in Halifax on Thursday with even more!!
This is the first of 5 videos from the HMS Repulse. I guess Warren isn't the only Fletcher turned Zissou. Click here for more info on Marble Rays and Barracuda
Posted by victoria at 08:08 AM | Comments (1)
May 16, 2005
NOAA ISSUES SPACE WEATHER WARNING
Mike has tried to call in about four times already today, but the Satellite phone reception has been spotty at best and we keep getting disconnected. Check out the picture below (Image from the SOHO spacecraft). There is a geomagnetic storm on the sun that is probably causing the interference.
Read the Space Weather warning from NOAA
Posted by victoria at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2005
The Zissou Experience
A great description of the dive and the massive torpedo hole in the Prince of Wales. Also, Warren's Zissou experience continues; hear about encounters with Angel Fish and Sea Snakes. Yikes!
Posted by victoria at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
Our first call from Warren
How many pictures of Warren did I have to post before he'd call? Well I guess the last 3 on his birthday were enough. It seems on this expedition Warren is turning into Steve Zissou. I can't wait till we get some more images to see if he got the sneakers and the red cap. If you would like more info on the biodiversity in the area check out this link to the World Wildlife Fund. Or you can check out these sites as well: More on Sea Turtles and Scorpion Fish.
Posted by victoria at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)
May 13, 2005
Happy Birthday Warren!!!
Listen to a recap of the days events from Mike, and every one at Home Port would like to wish Warren a very Happy Birthday!! I took the liberty of posting some pics of Warren over the years, enjoy!
Posted by victoria at 01:30 PM | Comments (5)
Good Morning from Halifax
We can't wait 4 days to see video of a wreck. Shipwreck Central was lucky to meet über-diver Dan MacKay. Dan is the chief instructor with Northern Tech Diver, and completes 150-200 dives a year! Dan has dived the Repulse and was generous enough to share his images and time with us; not only do we have a video but also 2 phone conversations between Dan and Mike. The audio is in the entries below.
Posted by victoria at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)
Conversation with Dan MacKay 1
Posted by victoria at 07:08 AM | Comments (0)
Conversation with Dan MacKay 2
Posted by victoria at 07:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2005
Active Weather
Listen to Mike describe the rough seas, and some great diving.
Posted by victoria at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)
Chris Kingston's Technical Difficulties
Listen to Chris Kingston, (Man About Deck) on board the Grace explain the technical difficulties he is experiencing trying to post video from a internet connection in the middle of the South China Sea.
Posted by victoria at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2005
Starry, starry night on the South China Sea
It's is already tomorrow in from Malaysia. Listen to Mike's latest report from under a blanket of stars on the South China Sea.
Posted by victoria at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
The MV Grace
Here is some info on the MV Grace, the ship the Sea Hunters are on right now.
MV Grace is less a dive-boat and much more of a dive-ship with lots of room inside and out and highly attentive staff to make you feel like you are in a floating five-star hotel. Most importantly she:
• Is made of steel and is 120’ / 40 METERS LONG & 25’ / 8 meters wide - meaning she is quiet, strong and reliable as well as steady as a rock in all kinds of conditions
• Can cruise at (12) knots and hit a maximum speed of (14) fourteen knots
• Has twenty-two (22) guest berths in double cabins, including six (6) upper deck cabins
• Carries ten (10) full time crew
• Is AIR CONDITIONED throughout (24 hours)
Posted by victoria at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2005
First Phone Report from Mike Fletcher
Listen to Mike Fletcher's first report from Malaysia, as they prepare to dive the HMS Repulse & Prince of Wales. Remember that they are on Tioman Island in the South China Sea, not a lot of broadband internet. This trip we will be relying heavily on data links and satellite phones.
Posted by victoria at 08:37 AM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2005
May 7-8 Halifax to Singapore
Hello everyone, Chris here.
It's been a long haul but the Sea Hunters are finally in Malaysia. We landed in Singapore this morning. Saying that, time is sort of a relative thing right now. We were on planes for more than a full day and honestly for most of this trip I've have no idea what the real time or date was. All I know is that I fell asleep on the plane twice. So to me that counts as two days. Also, not that I've been on a lot of planes, but the flight from London to Singapore was awesome. Lots of movies to watch, comfortable seats, great food and lots of leg room ( an important thing on 13 hour plane rides) Right now I'm writing from an internet cafe in what appears to be downtown Mersing, a town two hours outside of Singapore. This is where the Seahunters will charter a speed boat to take us to Tiomen Island. That island is where the dive shop and our dive boat " Grace" is. Our host, Martin Ritter works and lives there.
The Weather is steamin' hot here. It's about 28 degrees at 9 am. The town of Mersing is cool. It's what I expected of a Malaysian town: old buildings, wild cats running around. The rest of the crew is doing well. Most of them are now sleeping after the long flight to get here. Tomorrow we head to Tiomen island and from there the wrecks of Prince of Wales and Repulse. Also, the good people at Shipwreck central hooked me up with a satellite phone, so Mike and Warren will be calling in soon with their thoughts of this trip so far, and news on what the team is up to.
Chris Wreck Central
Posted by victoria at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)
Pictures from Chris
Posted by victoria at 08:14 AM | Comments (1)
May 07, 2005
Up, up, and Away
After driving through a wicked rain storm all members of the Sea Hunters Team arrived at the Airport, checked gear though Canadian customs, and checked in for the first leg of the journey. Let's wait and see if their gear can find it's way to Malaysia on time as well.
Posted by victoria at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2005
While you're waiting for our flight to leave.....
The pre-trip prep activities are starting to taper off. It ought to start getting exciting tomorrow afternoon and Saturday (that's when the flight leaves). I'll fill you in on the itineray late tomorrow, some details are still up in the air.
In the meantime, tonight on National Geographic Cananda catch a classic Sea Hunters episode:
Catherine the Great's Treasure Ship- Vrouw Maria
Under Catherine the Great the Russian court became a centre for European culture and the Vrouw Maria was a part of this. She was sailing from Amsterdam to St.Petersburg with a cargo of fairly ordinary merchandise when she encountered a storm off the Finnish coast. Her captain and crew escaped with their lives to a nearby islet and over the next few days proceeded to salvage much of her more mundane cargo. However, the captain and crew were unaware of the valuable treasure trove contained deep within her cargo holds. Her incredible art collection had been a closely guarded secret. Soon, another storm raged over the area and Vrouw Maria was now irretrievably lost to the depths.
The Empress issued orders for salvage attempts but the ship was never found and the story of her riches remained dormant until the 1980's when diplomatic records were discovered by a Finnish historian.
Join the Sea Hunters as they travel to the Baltic Sea, and become the first foreign cinematographers to join the Finnish National Maritime Museum's underwater archaeologists, in confirming the identity of this vast treasure ship and filming the process of excavation and preservation.
Airing Tonight at 10:00 pm EST on National Geographic Canada. Check local listings.
Posted by victoria at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2005
Singapore? I meant Malaysia
Although the Sea Hunters will fly in Singapore they will be diving from the beautiful island of Tioman; the largest of a group of 64 volcanic islands. Populated by friendly villagers who live an unhurried lifestyle, Tioman Island has a way of making your troubles seem like a thousand miles away. Considered one of the world's ten most beautiful islands, Tioman made its movie debut as the setting for the paradise island of "Bali Hai" in the film "South Pacific".
Here are some facts about Malaysia:
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.
The weather is the same. :)
Posted by victoria at 02:29 PM | Comments (0)
All about Singapore
Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
The weather is tropical; hot, humid, rainy; with two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. We are between monsoon seasons so let's hope the weather is nice.
Posted by victoria at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
May 02, 2005
T Minus 6 Days Till Take Off
Take a good look at the graphic at the top of the page because tomorrow it is going to change. Starting today, with a production meeting, the Sea Hunters are preparing to leave for in Singapore to dive the HMS Prince of Wales & HMS Repulse. Live from the Dive got a good look at today's meeting and before they leave for the airport you will know all you can about the Sea Hunters pre-take off.
Posted by victoria at 01:12 PM | Comments (0)
