Recovery

Written By Bill Haire
Host of South Carolina Outdoors
Wednesdays 7:30 PM ETV
Sundays 12:30 PM TV15

For S.C. Outdoors, this trip was scheduled to be a spear fishing adventure, but as with most dives, things sometime change. As we gathered our gear at the dock, I couldn’t help but overhear a discussion between Matt and Captain Tuck. The discussion was about 1800’s musket rifles and as an avid outdoorsman, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. As I would discover, Captain Tuck had found a case of old musket rifles on a previous dive on the same ship wreck we were headed to that morning. My mind quickly turned from spear fishing to thoughts of gold coins, port holes and other valuable ship wreck items. So, as we pulled away from Harbor Gate Marina, I discussed with Keith (cameraman) the options of changing the T.V. shoot from spear fishing to ship wreck discoveries.

As we left the rocky jetties of the Little River inlet and settled-in for the 1.5 to 2 hour ride to the ship wreck, most of us found a comfortable spot and napped, but a few stayed awake to discuss the dive.

When we reached the dive spot, there were acres of bait fish on top. As the divemaster jumped over to tie us down, we all got geared-up and ready to splash down. The sea was about 2 to 3 foot with water temperature in the 80’s. One by one, we headed down to the 90 foot mark and the wreck. As I was headed down, around 40 to 50 feet I noticed a huge object just under me about 30 feet down. I couldn’t make-up the full object but I saw enough to know it was bigger than me, and until I could see it better, I was moving the other way.

As I reached the bottom, I saw C.B. on the bottom and he motioned to me. As I reached him, he pointed toward the wreck, and there under part of the wreck was an octopus. This was my first experience with an octopus and it was very exciting to see such a creature in real life that I had only seen on TV. C.B. started wiggling his finger in front of the octopus and it started to come out of it’s hole. C.B. continued and the octopus actually grabbed his finger then, in a flash, sprayed ink and went back to its hole. Obviously C.B. wasn’t the right flavor. As C.B. continued to play with octopus the sun light above diminished and as we looked up there it was a huge 9 to 10 foot Manta Ray. This is what I saw on the way down, finally my mind was at ease. Wow a huge Manta Ray swimming just above us, what a thrill. The ray stayed around throughout the entire dive, what an experience. As the ray swam above us we plundered about the wreck looking for artifacts. Everyone found something and it was time to surface. What a great first dive.

On top, excitement and enthusiasm filled the boat as we all discussed the dive and what everyone saw. As we were busy discussing our discoveries, the dive master was down deep looking for the case of rifles. When he surfaced and announced he had found a half buried case of muskets, the focus changed for excitement to strategy. Matt and Captain Tuck were the planners, while the rest of us were there to follow instructions. After an hour of discussion and planning we headed down to get our, pot of gold. The plan was to go in groups of 2 or 3, so everyone could work on the artifact at different times, as not to run out of air or bottom time. Once we reached the site and it broke free from the bottom of the ocean, we used air bags to float it to the anchor line then up to the surface. I was in the third and last batch of divers and when I reached the site, the case of muskets were just about free from the bottom of the ocean. Within seconds it broke free as we filled the bags full of air and floated it to the anchor line. As the first batch of diver air ran short they headed to the surface to help retrieve. We connected the case to anchor line and continued to fill the air bags until it starting floating to the top. Once the case reached the top, Tom and I helped to hold it steady because the sea had picked-up to almost 4 feet. We held the case for about ten minutes and waited for the others to surface, but due to the rough conditions and the sharp crustations that had built up on the case, the ropes broke, sending our jewel back to the bottom of the ocean. It was a sad sight, at the top, watching it sink ever so slowly back down. We were all heart broken as we discussed what we could have done differently. As we discussed heading back heartbroken and frustrated, Captain Tuck made a suggestion that would give us one last opportunity. When the dive master returned to bottom to untie the anchor line, he could retie the air bags, refill them with air and send the case back to the top. Wow, that’s allot to ask from one person, but he was willing. As he jumped in, all eyes were on the bubbles from down below, looking for the yellow air bags with our case of artifact muskets attached. After about 15 minutes, Matt announced, “I see it, here it comes”. As it reached the surface we all hustled to bring the hung object to the back of the boat for transportation home. After about a two hour ordeal of loading the heavy case onboard, we headed back to the dock.

Once at the dock, we could unload the case and take a closer peek and the musket rifles inside. Over all there are about 18 to 24 muskets in the case, of which, 8-10 should be in excellent condition. We will let the case soak in fresh water for about 8 months and then take another look and decide what to do with the artifacts.

This was one of the best dives I had ever done and I can’t wait to see the video and the muskets. Thanks to Captain Tuck and the rest of the crew, it was a successful dive. Look for this dive show to air the first week of September.

Please Contact CB at Scuba Madness for Show Dates and Times
843.667.DIVE
cb@scubamadness.com