There is so much out there with continuing education, sometimes it can be a little bit overwhelming trying to choose what the next steps should be. A lot of it may also depend on the region you live in and what your local dives may entail. The bottom line is… the adventure has just started.
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by Tamara Thomsen:
Photo Credit: Tamara Thomsen
On November 2, 1905 the goliath, wooden steamer Appomattox attempted to navigate into the harbor at Milwaukee’s North Point through fog and smoke so dense that the ship was enveloped in darkness. For nearly two weeks efforts were made to release the steamer, but she was eventually abandoned and broke up. Her machinery was subsequently salvaged, and today she lies in 20 feet of water only 150 yards off Atwater Beach just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her hull broken and scattered across the sandy bottom.
To many divers, a broken hull like that of the Appomattox holds less appeal compared to more intact vessels – even ships that are entirely stripped of rigging, gear, and artifacts. But to an underwater archaeologist or any diver with an analytical eye, these sites present a prime opportunity to study and learn about wooden vessel construction. The advantage of broken hulls like the Appomattox’s is they offer a view of many construction details that are hidden in more intact vessels. Like a fingerprint in a forensic investigation, construction features identified in the scattered remains can offer means of identifying a shipbuilder.
The Appomattox was launched in 1896 by master shipbuilder James Davidson, and was the world’s largest wooden bulk steamer ever built. Davidson’s career straddled the transformation from wooden to steel hull construction on the Great Lakes, but Davidson continued to push the engineering window to extend length limits of wooden ship construction at a time when many of his contemporaries switched to building with iron and steel. He utilized wide steel arches to strengthen his hulls (called hogging trusses), which ran the length of his hulls longitudinally. Internally in his hulls, Davidson utilized a lattice-like iron basket frame attached to the vessels structural frames. This prevented the wooden planking from separating and opening up due to the burden of stress and work in waves, and under cargo weight.
In 2003, archaeologists from Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program along with many local volunteer divers endeavored to piece together the history of the Appomattox. Like virtually assembling an expansive puzzle on the bottom of Lake Michigan, nearly all pieces of her 319-foot hull were located and documented in the survey. However, one gargantuan piece of the vessel was missing – the entire length of the starboard side of the ship. When I visited the Appomattox to photograph the wreck, I heard stories of another local wreck previously identified in the early 1980’s by local divers as the steamer Josephine. It was located just inshore, so we plunged into the cool waters of Lake Michigan once again to survey this vessel.
By examining the dimensions and spacing of diagnostic timbers on the Josephine, and the absence of a keel, it was determined that the “Josephine” was in fact the missing starboard section from the Appomattox shipwreck! Our careful observations led to the conclusion that this was not a separate shipwreck as was previously thought. Not only were the two ships united as one, but archaeological clues found in the “Josephine” wreckage allowed us to discover an important missing characteristic to Davidson’s vessel construction.
The presence of both interior and exterior steel arches spanning the entire length of the vessel’s sides provided evidence for Davidson’s use of hull-strengthening techniques. After this discovery on the so-called Josephine, reinvestigation of the main wreckage site yielded previously undiscovered remnants of an interior hogging truss. This is the first time this construction technique has been archaeologically recorded for one of Davidson’s vessels.
Much of what we know of Davidson’s work we have learned from the archaeological record, which exists on the lakebed today. The discovery that two shipwrecks were actually fragments of the same ship combined with careful surveys of the wreck at both locations provided important historical evidence for Davidson’s reinforced hull construction. As a result of this work, the Appomattox wreck site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tamara Thomsen is a Maritime Archaeologist with Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology program. Her research has resulted in thirty-eight Great Lakes shipwrecks added to the National Register of Historic Places. She has participated as a photographer, researcher, and research diver on projects ranging from the USS Monitor with NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries to RMS Titanic with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has been an active TDI Instructor since 1996 and is a 2014 inductee into the Women Diver’s Hall of Fame.
by Joshua Norris:
At any given point throughout the day, there is a dive shop employee hearing a story that is repeated time and time again. An individual will walk in or call and start a conversation by explaining “I used to dive all the time but then ______________ happened and now…” The reasons usually revolve around some sort of life change. It could be a divorce, prolonged sickness or injury, or a new addition to the family. No matter what the reason is, the fact remains that the diver has been dry too long and now wants to return to the sport they love. How can this be done safely? Divers should know that leaving their gear and knowledge hanging in the closet or garage for ten years equates to needing some sort of an update. Sadly, this is not the case in many instances. Needing to update or at least service your equipment is arguably the least of your worries. Having the ability to dive with confidence is something that perhaps has been lost during a diver’s time off. With the SDI Inactive Diver Course, an individual has the opportunity to ask all of those “embarrassing” questions that they may not otherwise get to once on a boat.
What is the SDI Inactive Diver Course?
This course is designed for individuals who feel the need to reinforce their skills and knowledge prior to scheduling a dive. Spending time with an instructor in a contained and monitored environment allows a diver to slowly remind themselves of what diving is like instead of jumping right back into the water and realizing their comfort level has diminished. The course begins with a reintroduction to the knowledge side of diving. The instructor will take time to bring the student up to speed with current standards and practices. From there, the student will conduct a dive under the supervision of the instructor in a controlled environment. During this dive, the student will perform the open water skills. The goal of the course is to make the diver who may question themselves into the diver who knows the answers.
So how long is too long out of the water?
There is no magic switch that will force a diver to become uncomfortable in the water after “X” amount of time. How long someone is out of diving does not dictate when the Inactive Diver Course should be completed. The comfort level of the individual in the water does. It is ultimately the responsibility of the diver to inform a dive professional if they are not 100% confident in their skills and knowledge prior to diving again. Without this information, the dive professional cannot and should not assume that someone will have issues in the water while others will not. To minimize the chance of having an incident, the diver should go through the course if they feel the slightest need. In essence, if you are questioning yourself then you need to entertain the idea of participating in the Inactive Diver Program. It is an easy way to regain confidence.
When a diver stays out of the water too long, skills begin to deteriorate and comfort levels start to fade. Going through the SDI Inactive Diver Course is the best way to refresh those skills. This is especially true if the diver is coming back from an injury of some sort. While the body may feel better, the way in which one dives could be impacted. Once the diver is comfortable and confident, the anxiety and hesitation should fade away. At that point, the diver can begin to remind his or herself why he or she got into this sport to begin with. It is important to remember that meeting people from all walks of life is one of the diving industry’s unique offerings, on a single dive boat there may be a range of individuals – from heart surgeons to cash-strapped college students. The SDI Inactive Diver Course leaves you no excuse for missing diving.
Joshua Norris
Air Hogs SCUBA
www.airhogsscuba.com