Clive Cussler; Craig Dirgo (45 page)

POSTSCRIPT FROM THE AUTHOR

The National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) has a proud record of achievement. Never has so much been accomplished with so few people with so little financial or technical help.

We’re not a giant corporation—an oil company or university with large grant funding—nor are we a department of the government with a billion-dollar budget. We have very few donations of consequence. Douglas Wheeler, a Chicago businessman and NUMA trustee, has been a generous contributor, as has ECO-NOVA Productions of Nova Scotia, which has engaged me to narrate a series of
Sea Hunters
documentaries on famous shipwrecks. And, except for Schonstedt Instruments, we have rarely been offered equipment without paying the going rental price.

NUMA is a nonprofit, volunteer foundation dedicated to preserving our maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey, and conservation of historic shipwrecks and their artifacts. Our purpose is also to reinforce public appreciation for our maritime past, present, and future by initiating and supporting projects designed to uncover and explore historically significant underwater sites before they are lost and gone forever.

Our goals include the protection of these historic sites through public information programs and to make available our archaeological reports and data on technical progress while perpetuating the names and legends of the sea-loving men and women who came before us.

I used to beg for funding, but because we search for history with no monetary return, few are willing to step forward and contribute. If I were to say we were searching for treasure, with our track record donors would probably line up for a city block. I wish I had a nickel for every person who has offered to help with funding, a boat, or equipment and then never called again.

Perhaps it’s all for the best that NUMA is primarily funded through my book royalties.

Why do I do it? Why do I initiate so many expeditions that are often an exercise in futility? One reason is that if it’s lost, I’ll look for it.

Why do I pour my money into the sea?

The answer probably lies in how I explain my philosophy to people who think I belong in a rubber room under restraint:

When the time comes and I am lying in a hospital bed two gasps away from the great beyond, I’d like the phone to ring. Then as a beautiful, young, buxom blond nurse leans over me and holds the receiver to my ear, the last words I hear before I drift off are those of my banker telling me my account is $10.00 overdrawn.

That’s the way to go.

Or, as I tell the audience when closing the
Sea Hunters
documentaries:

Now it’s your turn to get up off of the couch and go into the deserts, go into the mountains, go under the lakes, the rivers and the seas, and search for history.

You’ll never have a more rewarding adventure.

CURRENT LIST OF NUMA SEARCH
SURVEYS AND DISCOVERIES

1.
ACETON
(H.M.S.)

British fifty-gun frigate that stranded and burned during the Revolutionary War battle off Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, in 1776.

2.
ALEXANDER NEVSKI

Russian steam frigate that grounded on the east coast of Denmark in 1868 with the Russian crown prince aboard. All aboard were rescued.

3.
AMERICAN DIVER

Pre-
Hunley
Confederate submarine that foundered under tow off Fort Morgan, Alabama.

4.
ARCTIC

British steamship that grounded on the east coast of Denmark in 1868.

5.
ARKANSAS
(C.S.S.)

Confederate ironclad that battled the entire Mississippi River fleet and won. Burned by her crew above Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to avoid capture in 1862.

6.
BLUCHER

German heavy cruiser sunk during the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1916.

7.
CARPATHIA

Ship that rescued the survivors of
Titanic.
Torpedoed by
U-55
in 1915.

8.
CARONDELET
(U.S.S.)

Venerable Union navy ironclad that fought in more battles in the Civil War than any other warship. Built by genius inventor James Eads. Sank in the Ohio River in 1873.

9.
CHARING CROSS

British freighter torpedoed by German U-boat off Flamborough Head, England, in 1916.

10.
CHICAGO

Ten-thousand-ton British freighter torpedoed by German U-boat off Flamborough Head, England, in 1918.

11.
COLONEL LOVELL
(C.S.S.)

Cotton-clad Confederate ram. Rammed and sunk during the battle for Memphis in 1862.

12.
COMMODORE JONES
(U.S.S.)

Former New York ferryboat that became a Union gunboat. Destroyed by sophisticated Confederate electrical mine in the James River in 1864.

13.
COMMONWEALTH

British freighter sunk by German U-boat off Flamborough Head, England, in 1915.

14.
CUMBERLAND
(U.S.S.)

Union navy frigate. First vessel to be defeated and sunk by armored vessel. Rammed by the Confederate ironclad
Merrimack
at Newport News, Virginia, in 1862. More than 120 of her crew killed.

15.
DEFENCE
(H.M.S.)

British heavy cruiser sunk during Battle of Jutland in 1916.

16.
DREWRY
(C.S.S.)

Confederate gunboat that fought for three years on the James River before being sunk by Union artillery fire in Trent’s Reach in 1865.

17.
FLORIDA
(C.S.S.)

Famous Confederate sea raider that captured and sank nearly fifty U.S. merchant ships during the Civil War. Captured at Bahia, Brazil, and scuttled near Newport News, Virginia, in 1864.

18.
FREDERICKSBURG
(C.S.S.)

Confederate ironclad of the James River fleet. Blown up by her crew at Drewry’s Bluff in 1865.

19.
GAINES
(C.S.S.)

Confederate gunboat in the battle of Mobile Bay. Run aground at Fort Morgan and burned in 1865.

20. GALVESTON GRAVEYARD OF SHIPS

Upward of a dozen ships ran aground between 1680 and 1880 off Galveston Island, Texas.

21.
GENERAL BEAUREGARD
(C.S.S.)

Confederate side-wheel ram that fought in the battle of Memphis. Heavily damaged, she sank along the west bank of the Mississippi River in 1862.

22.
GENERAL SLOCUM

New York excursion steamer that burned and ran aground off Brothers Island, New York, in 1904.

23.
GENERAL THOMPSON
(C.S.S.)

Confederate side-wheel ram damaged during the battle for Memphis and run aground in 1862.

24.
GLUCKHAUF

Prototype of modem oil tanker. Stranded on Fire Island, New York, in 1893.

25.
GOVERNOR MOORE
(C.S.S.)

Confederate gunboat that was converted from passenger steamer. Fought in battle of New Orleans, then was run aground and burned by her crew to avoid capture in 1862. Loss of sixty-four crew.

26. GREAT STONE FLEET

Large numbers of contacts in area where New England whaling ships were scuttled to block Charleston Harbor during the Civil War.

27.
HAWKE
(H.M.S.)

British cruiser sunk by
U
-9 sixty miles off the coast of Scotland in 1915. Loss of 348.

28.
HOUSATOMC
(U.S.S.)

Union navy sloop of war. First warship in history to be sunk by a submarine, the Confederate torpedo boat
Hunley
in 1864. Five of her crew were lost.

29.
HUNLEY
(C.S.S.)

First submarine in history to sink a warship. After torpedoeing the U.S.S.
Housatonic
off Charleston, South Carolina, in February of 1864, she vanished.

30.
INDEFATIGABLE
(H.M.S.)

British battle cruiser sunk by German navy during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Loss of 1,000-plus.

31.
INVINCIBLE
(H.M.S.)

British battle cruiser sunk by German navy during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Loss of 1,026.

32. INVINCIBLE
(R.T.N.)

Armed schooner that was the first flagship of the Republic of Texas Navy. Captured arms and supplies from Mexican merchant that were later turned over to General Sam Houston. Sunk in battle off Galveston, Texas, in 1837

33.
IVANHOE

Confederate blockade runner captured by Union gunboats off Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama, and destroyed in 1863.

34.
JAMUTOWN

Passenger steamer seized by Confederacy and later fought with
Merrimack.
Later sunk as an obstruction below Drewry’s Bluff in 1862.

35.
KEOKUK
(U.S.S.)

Unique Union monitor with twin nonrevolving gun turrets that was referred to as a citadel monitor. Took more than ninety hits by Confederate guns off Charleston, South Carolina, in 1863. Sunk soon after.

36.
KIRKWALL

British steamer grounded on the east coast of Denmark in 1874.

37.
L’AIMABLE

Explorer La Salle’s flagship. Grounded in Matagorda Bay, Texas, in 1685.

38.
LEOPOLDVILLE

British troop transport that was torpedoed on Christmas Eve in 1944 off Cherbourg, France. Loss of more than eight hundred American soldiers.

39.
LEXINGTON

Extremely fast side-paddle steamboat constructed by Cornelius Vanderbilt. In 1840 she burned and sank in Long Island Sound, New York, with a loss of 151 passengers and crew.

40.
LOUISIANA
(C.S.S.)

Mammoth Confederate ironclad mounting sixteen guns. Never finished, she was moored along shore and fought in the battle of New Orleans. Sunk by her crew to avoid capture in 1862.

41.
MANASSAS
(C.S.S.)

The first armored ship built in North America and the first to see battle. Designed as a ram, she burned and sank in the Mississippi River during the battle of New Orleans in 1862.

42.
MARY CELESTE

Famous mystery ship recovered with no one aboard. Later intentionally run aground on the Reef of Rochelais, Haiti, in 1885.

43.
MERMMACK

NUMA found scattered contacts at Craney Island, Portsmouth, Virginia, where ship was blown up to avoid capture. Wreckage believed to have been dredged out of existence.

44.
MISSISSIPPI
(U.S.S.)

U.S. Navy side-paddle frigate damaged in Battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana, in 1863. Later drifted loose and blew herself to smithereens.

45
. NEW ORLEANS

First steamboat down the Mississippi River. Snagged on stump and sank across from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1814.

46.
NORSEMAN

Confederate blockade runner that was run ashore off Isle of Palms, South Carolina, in 1865.

47.
NORTHAMPTON

Confederate supply ship that was sunk as an obstruction below Drewry’s Bluff in 1862.

48.
ODIN

Early Swedish steamship that ran ashore off the east coast of Denmark in 1836.

49.
PATAPSCO
(U.S.S.)

Passaic-class Union monitor that fought throughout the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. Sank after striking a Confederate mine in the channel off Fort Moultrie in 1865. Loss of sixty-two.

50.
PATHFINDER
(H.M.S.)

Second ship sunk by a submarine and first by a German U-boat. Torpedoed by U-21 in 1914.

51.
PHILLIPE
(U.S.S.)

Union navy gunboat destroyed by Confederate guns during the battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.

52.
PLATT VALLEY

Side-wheel steamer that snagged and sank on the wreck of
General Beauregard
in 1867.

53.
PT-109

John F. Kennedy’s World War II command. Run through by Japanese destroyer Amagiri in Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands, in 1943.

54.
RACCOON

Confederate blockade runner captured by Union gunboat when leaving Charleston Harbor with a load of cotton. Burned in 1863.

55.
RATTLESNAKE

Confederate blockade runner caught by Union navy while trying to enter Charleston Harbor with a load of arms. Burned in 1863.

56.
RICHMOND
(C.S.S.)

Confederate ironclad that guarded the reaches of the James River. After the fall of Richmond she was destroyed by her crew near Chaffin’s Bluff in 1865.

57.
RUBY

Successful Confederate blockade runner that was finally chased ashore on Folly’s Island, South Carolina, an

58.
S-3S

German destroyer sunk during the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

59.
SAMT PATRICK

Four-hundred-ton steamer that burned and sank above Memphis in 1868.

60.
SHARK
(H.M.S.)

British destroyer sunk during the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

61.
STONEWALL JACKSON

Confederate blockade runner that was formerly the British steamer
Leopard.
Ran aground on Isle of Palms, South Carolina, in 1864.

62.
SULTANA

Side-paddle-wheel steamboat that burned in the Mississippi River with a loss of two thousand Union soldiers, making it the worst North American ship disaster.

63.
TORPEDO RAFT

The remains of the torpedo raft towed by
Weehawken.
Located at the north end of Marsh on Morris Island, South Carolina.

64.
U
-
12

German submarine that sank after being rammed by the British cruiser Ariel off Scotland in 1915.

65.
U
-
20

German U-boat that sank the
Lusitania.
Stranded on Jutland shore, Denmark, in 1916.

66.
U
-
21

First German U-boat to sink a ship. Foundered while under tow in the North Sea in 1919.

67.
UB-74

German U-boat that sank after being depth-charged off Weymouth, England, in 1916.

68.
V-48

German cruiser sunk during the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

69.
VARUNA
(U.S.S.)

Union navy gunboat that was rammed three times during the battle of New Orleans. Credited with sinking six vessels before being forced ashore and burned in 1862.

70.
VICKSBURG

Britsh freighter stranded on Fire Island, New York, in 1875.

71.
VIRGINIA II
(C.S.S.)

Confederate ironclad that prevented General Grant’s army from crossing the James River to take Richmond. Burned by her crew to avoid capture at Drewry’s Bluff in 1865.

72.
WARATAH

Passenger liner that disappeared off the coast of Africa in 1911. Two hundred passengers and crew lost.

73.
WEEHAWKEN
(U.S.S.)

Led the first attack on Fort Sumter. The only Union monitor to capture a Confederate ironclad in battle. Sank as a result of a storm off Charleston, South Carolina, in 1864.