Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS July 2018 Waterfront News News From Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute


new for REMUS, which played an instru- mental role in fi nding the wreckage of Air France 447 in 2011. The airplane had crashed in 2009 several hundred miles off the northeastern coast of Brazil and landed deep in the ocean on some of the most rug- ged seafl oor terrain on Earth. REMUS was also used to map and photograph the Titanic wreck site during a 2010 expedition. The San José discovery carries consid-


In November 2015, the MAC survey team and WHOI researchers returned to Colombian waters for a second search eff ort. Side scan sonar images gave the crew the fi rst indications of the fi nd from of the wreck. To confi rm the wreck’s identity, REMUS descended to just 30 feet


New Details on Discovery of San Jose Shipwreck


The Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti-


tution (WHOI) recently obtained authoriza- tion by Maritime Archaeology Consultants (MAC), Switzerland AG, and the Colombian government to release new details from the successful search for the three-century old San José—a 62-gun, three-masted Spanish galleon that sank with a cargo believed to be worth billions of dollars. The ship, which is often called the “holy grail of shipwrecks,” went down with a treasure of gold, silver, and emeralds in 1708 during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succes- sion.


The legendary wreck was discovered


off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, on Nov. 27, 2015, by a team of international scientists and engineers during an expedi- tion aboard the Colombian Navy research ship ARC Malpelo led by MAC’s Chief Project Archaeologist Roger Dooley. It was found more than 600 meters below the surface during a search initiated by MAC and approved by The Colombian Ministry


of Culture. The search was supervised by Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia (ICANH) and Dirección General Marítima (DIMAR). “In order to ensure a successful search,


we retained the services of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which has an extensive and recognized expertise in deep water exploration,” said Dooley. “This part- nership was key to the discovery of the San Jose.”


WHOI played a crucial role in both


the search and discovery of the fi nal resting place of the San José, which had remained a great mystery to marine archeologists, histo- rians, governments, and treasure hunters for decades. Specifi cally, the institution provid- ed and operated an autonomous underwater vehicle called REMUS 6000 to survey an area off Colombia’s Barú Peninsula. “The REMUS 6000 was the ideal tool for the job, since it’s capable of conducting long-duration missions over wide areas,” said WHOI engineer and expedition leader Mike Purcell. Finding high-profi le wrecks is nothing


this version of their history in that I’ve not had more than a few weeks to really acquaint myself with the Hampton Boat’s pedigree and have, in my studies, consulted the writings of the sages Chapelle, Gardner and others. And came to my own conclusions. I am of the opinion that the Hampton


Boat of today is the direct successor to the Hampton Boats, fi rst built by Enock Chase of Seabrook NH, built along the Northshore and “The Bight”, from Essex to Portsmouth starting about 1801 to get out to the Isles of Shoals; from there becoming known and built for Casco bay, Muscungus and to the east’ard. The original form looked more like a smaller, nimbler version of Out- ward Bound’s Expedition boats. Outward Bounders were designed for a larger crew than a sailing Hampton boat which could be handled by one or two men. I think it possible that Cy Hamlin had the Hampton boat as well as the lifeboats of the Coast Guard in mind scaled up to 30 ft size when he designed the original Hurricane Islanders. The big Why? comes when one looks


at the alteration from double ender to fl at counter transom stern. The fl at sterned Hampton did exist while sail still prevailed, accounts are vague but the double enders were being replaced by transom boats steadily through the second half of the 19th century. I contend, although it is not recorded, that the change came as a result of changes in fi shing techniques which made over the stern lines more important than before.


The utility of a double ender is that it


will ride a following sea, especially a break- ing one, with greater safety than a fl atter end- ed boat can do. An important consideration of seaworthiness when sailing (or rowing) in waters where a following sea, breaking on a contrary tide or rising wind is a daily likelihood. Running for home, loaded with catch, beating the tide, the dark, the fog, the weather. The transom stern seems to have arisen


erable cultural and historical signifi cance for the Colombian government and people because of the ship’s treasure of cultural and historical artifacts and the clues they may provide about Europe’s economic, so- cial, and political climate in the early 18th century. The Colombian Government plans to build a museum and world-class conser- vation laboratory to preserve and publicly display the wreck’s contents, including cannons, ceramics, and other artifacts. REMUS was initially deployed off the


Malpelo to survey an approved area in June 2015. The overall search area was divided into search blocks, and in the initial blocks surveyed, the shipwreck was not found. Un- fortunately, the entire area of search blocks could not be completed in this fi rst expedi- tion due to time constraints. In November, the WHOI team along with MAC and under the supervision of ICANH and DIMAR, returned to the search area determined by previous historical research to fi nalize the survey in the blocks that had not been com- pleted.


“During that November expedition,


we got the fi rst indications of the fi nd from side scan sonar images of the wreck,” said Purcell. “From those images, we could see strong sonar signal returns, so we sent REMUS back down for a closer look to collect camera images.” To confirm the wreck’s identity,


REMUS descended to just 30 feet above the wreck where it was able to capture photos


The great transformation of the boat


of a key distinguishing feature of the San José—its cannons. Subsequent missions at lower altitudes showed engraved dolphins on the unique bronze cannons. “The wreck was partially sediment-cov-


ered, but with the camera images from the lower altitude missions, we were able to see new details in the wreckage and the resolution was good enough to make out the decorative carving on the cannons,” said Purcell. “MAC’s lead marine archaeologist, Roger Dooley, interpreted the images and confi rmed that the San José had fi nally been found.”


“Once again, WHOI’s expertise in


AUV technology and operations has result- ed in an important discovery,” said WHOI Vice President for Marine Facilities and Operations Rob Munier. “We are pleased to have played a part in settling one of the great shipwreck mysteries for the benefi t of the Colombian people and maritime history buff s worldwide. We look forward to our continued involvement to answer the basic oceanographic research questions associat- ed with the fi nd.” The REMUS 6000 is owned by the


Dalio Foundation and operated by WHOI under an operations and maintenance agree- ment.


Fueling a Deep-Sea Ecosystem Surprisingly productive microbes are a key source of food in the abyss Miles beneath the ocean’s surface in


the dark abyss, vast communities of sub- seafl oor microbes at deep-sea hot springs are converting chemicals into energy that allows deep-sea life to survive—and even thrive—in a world without sunlight. Until now, however, measuring the productivity of subseafl oor microbe communities—or how fast they oxidize chemicals and the amount of carbon they produce—has been


Continued on Page 23.


P H P   J L  T Continued from Page 7.


in the mid-coast Maine waters and bays. Builders, localities and fi sheries determined the who and the what of variants that seem to be recognized as Hamptons from Cape Ann to Nova Scotia, from 1800’s to present day. I have diligently researched the descriptions and looked closely at the illustrations, line drawings and grainy photo reproductions. There’s not a lot in boat literature because the Hamptons were, for the most part, too mundane, common and “low” to catch the attention of writers who were, in their day, writing for a far more affl uent and leisurely readership than the semi-literate owners of such craft. The backwater fi sherman’s; the 1, 2 or 3 men rowing and sailing out to the sea buoy to fi sh or pull traps, working everyday but the Sabbath, from Portland and any of the waterside farms, villages and island communities feeding large families in any way they could; by catching bait fi sh, pulling lobster traps for the canneries and big resorts catering to the well to do sum- mer folk, servicing the wealthy’s seaside cottages, checking ,repairing or harvesting the weirs when tide allowed.


By the


look of the photos, the boats often worked in company, all going out together, more or less, when weather and the fi sh cooperated.


called the Hampton came with the engine and the motored workboat was born. Boat- wright David Sinnett of Bailey’s Is., Casco Bay is due the credit of innovating the strip planking method now exclusively employed and the placement of the engine power that would transform the type. Strip planking is cheaper than other methods because it allows for the use of discarded boat-worthy timber, too small and unsuitable to the con- struction of larger craft. With the engine came a simple copying


of the Hampton “new style” with variations by who was building and where on the coast the boats would operate and for what particular purpose But the original model was time and waters tested and seems to have remained little changed until bigger engines made possible bigger and faster boats. Bigger and faster meant more traps and more money . The arms race that ensued goes on today. The Hampton boat has not fallen out


of favor but its utility as a, the, workman’s workboat has been superseded by others and the owners of Hamptons (current day) are of a rather diff erent character than the humble folk who formerly fi shed the boats. There were hundreds ,perhaps thousands, of recognizably Hampton hulls used all up and down the coast well through the thirties (and includes Nova Scotia) and certainly there were survivors from prior builders down to the ’60’s. The “Tillie” can be seen at the small boat shed at Maine Maritime Museum. An excellent survivor of her tribe and currently in a condition probably closer to how they all looked in the days of their


greatest numbers and usage than the more refi ned and yacht-like descendants of our time.


Put yourself back in the 1890s almost


anywhere on the coast of Maine and see around you, in your mind’s eye, the way it was then, with the same old Atlantic weather determining fog, wind or bright sparkling day. There is a lot more people in working boats. You know most of them as they are your neighbors and relations. By moonlight or predawn, by one’s, two’s or three’s, the men arrive at the docks, fl oats or the shingle beach to launch their craft which are beat up, partly painted, scummy and sea worn. Just as today, most have the name of wife, mother or some loving woman hand lettered on bow and stern. A group of eight or ten boats all row out together (not much wind in the early hours) towards the ledges as the tommy cod are running. A smaller group de- part to disperse to hall traps for the big hotel catering to the burgeoning summer trade. “Skinny” Birdsall and his brother, (whose wife just had another baby, her ninth), head off up the cove to tend the weir that the family has owned for twenty years. They will meet up with some others


from the next island who also have weirs along the shore there. A few go towards the lumber dock to pick up the necessaries for that new “cottage” the rich fella from Boston’s having built on Mark Island. Ev- ery boat’s gear is hand made locally ‘cept Cap’n Talbot’s who made some cash money. The pop-bang of motors will not be heard for another ten or so years and the roar of multi-cylinder power another thirty. Such was the hey days of the Hampton.


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