"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
The "Points East" story about my late October cruise last year is out in
the Last Words section of the current issue for those of you in New
England. Also in the magazine is a review of the book "Titanic's Last
Secrets" by Brad Matsen which is now available atmost book stores. Long
sections on my reseach and theories; even a brief bio on my childhood.
--
Roger Long
(Just felt like annoying Bob this morning
====
Roger, The wreck of the SS Portland .. did you see the article?
These divers went down over 400'! That is nuts.
The S.S. Portland sank during a blizzard in 1898 and had not been viewed
until this year.
By JOHN RICHARDSON, Staff Writer October 7, 2008
The SS Portland was built in 1889 by the New England Shipbuilding Co. of
Bath. It was one of the last of the luxury coastal steamers.
Members of the dive team, five Massachusetts men who were the first to see
the remains of the SS Portland with their own eyes, are, from left, Don
Morse, Dave Faye, Paul Blanchette, Slav Mlch and Bob Foster.
Paul Blanchette is one of the five divers who went down 460 feet and became
the first to view the SS Portland, which sank in 1898.
Five recreational scuba divers from Massachusetts have become the first
people to lay eyes on the wreckage of the S.S. Portland, which sank 110
years ago north of Cape Cod in what is considered New England's worst
maritime disaster.
"There are more artifacts than I've ever seen on any wreck. They're
everywhere - plates and dishes and mugs and sinks all over the bottom," said
Bob Foster, a leader of the three dive expeditions to the wreck in August
and September. "You realize what a violent storm this thing must have gone
through. All the upper decks were gone."
Foster, who has visited numerous other New England wrecks, announced the
dives this month and posted new photos of the wreck site at
www.bostondeepwrecks.com.
Officials with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, which contains
the artifacts, said the divers' photographs and descriptions match
information gathered by remote-controlled video cameras sent to the ship
since its location was confirmed in 2002.
The Portland is the Mount Everest of New England shipwrecks, according to
sanctuary officials, because of its historical significance and the
technical and physical challenges of reaching such an extreme depth - 460
feet.
"It's putting your life at risk to some extent. It's a very, very difficult
dive," said Matthew Lawrence, an archaeologist for the sanctuary.
Divers who do reach the wreck are not allowed to remove or disturb any
artifacts because of the historical value, as well as its status as a grave
site.
Nearly 200 people perished when the ship sank on Nov. 27, 1898, in an
intense blizzard that would become known as the Portland Gale. Many of them
were Mainers, either employed as members of the Portland-based crew or
travelers on their way home from Boston after the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Portland was one of the last of the luxury coastal steamers and was
furnished with chandeliers, red-velvet carpets and fine china. It was
propelled by paddle wheels on its sides and stuck to calm coastal waters.
The steamer left Boston Harbor and headed north as two major storms were
about to collide over New England. Though no one predicted 100 mph winds or
60-foot waves, other vessels were returning to port to avoid the weather, so
why the captain decided to make the voyage remains a mystery.
Based on the ship's location north of Cape Cod, and the amount of damage
witnessed by the divers and via remote-controlled cameras, experts believe
that the ship tried but was unable to return to Boston, and then struggled
for hours to ride out the waves and wind, getting battered to the point that
it likely lost its power or ability to steer.
The above-deck structures either were swept away by the storm or broke off
as the ship sank.
The sight of dishes and furnishings strewn around the ship as far as he
could see was clear evidence of that struggle, Foster said. There also was
obvious damage to the paddle wheels, one of which is now enshrouded in a
fishing net.
Around the staterooms, the divers saw a scalloped sink and a soap dish,
among other artifacts.
"There are personal effects laying all over the place," he said. "They're
all reminders of the people who were on the ship."
No human remains were visible, and the divers did not try to go inside the
fragile wooden ship, Foster said.
"The wreck is covered with and is full of silt," he said. "If there are
remains still in the ship, they are buried."
The five men who dove to the Portland this summer are friends who get
together to explore various wrecks, sometimes identifying sunken ships for
the first time.
"We like to explore. We like to figure out what these things were," Foster
said.
In this case, they planned and prepared for what was by far their deepest
dive, Foster said.
"Most of the preparation is really...
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