Mystery Maritime Explorers, Miri-Day 6 & 7

After arriving back at the marina, we get an interview with their benefactor on the wreak project, local businessman and owner of the marina, Troy Yaw.  Later in the morning we head back out again to get a selection of underwater pick-up shots.  The rest of the day and the next is spent conducting interviews with everyone and getting one last group discussion.  Saturday, Eric and I are heading back to KK.  Overall, we feel we have gotten some good footage and the makings of a very interesting story. 

Mystery Maritime Explorers, South China Sea, Luconia Shoals-Day 5

Conditions hold for another two dives before some swells come up from the southwest making further dives more treacherous.  There was a unusual shape the showed up on the depth sounder on the way in, so we decide to go check it out.  We make several attempt to get a drop line on it but the current takes our line out of position and it is too deep to dive on safely.  Returning to the reef we pick up our mooring line but with the swells coming in, Hans doesn't feel it is secure and we are surrounded on three sides by reef.  So it is decided with conditions deteriorating we will head back to Miri.

Mystery Maritime Explorers, South China Sea, Luconia Shoals-Day 4

We arrive at the reef to over 2 dozen little fishing boat and their 'mother ship' off in the distance.  These are apparently Chinese fishermen flying under a Malaysian flag to fish these reefs.  They are not sure what we are about so they just go about their business like we were not even there.  We get an anchor out and later will set up on a mooring that Hans arranged the last time they were out here.  Phil, Roze and Tristan prepare for the first dive.  Eric is ready before them and goes in with his camera.  Most of the time is spent setting up the delivery system with two baskets on lines along with a floater to bring it up to the surface.  The floaters have a habit of leaking so the lines are there as a precaution.  At a depth of 40 meters the divers are limited to just 9 minutes so they have to work fast.    As per usual, the floater fails on both baskets and they are hauled up with the line.  Conditions are good so there will be two more dives during the day.  Later after dark, Eric takes Tristan down for a night dive, with the lights used for filming the wreak takes on a little more clarity than during the day and they are able to get a much clearer outline of the ship.

Mystery Maritime Explorers, Miri-Day 3

When morning arrived, things had settled down and we made our way back into the marina.  A few of the neighbours help us tie up back in the berth and we all settle down for some breakfast and to rearrange our plans.  Since we needed to wait again until the afternoon before heading out again (this is so we arrive at the reef in the early morning), we decided it was a good opportunity to film Roze's interview in the artefacts room in the flat.  From Roze we learned how they came to find the wreak of the Viscount Melbourne, a detail account from the assistant ship's navigator of what happen after the ship struck the reef and the work she is doing to preserve the artefacts that they have brought up from the ship.  After the interview, Eric and I continued to film all the artefacts that were on display and met up with the rest of the crew back on the Southern Sun.  Fortunately, our second departure out to the Luconia Shoals was without problems and we had a smooth sail through the night.

Southern Sun Archaeology is now Mystery Maritime Explorers: If you have an open mind life's wonderful surprise...

Southern Sun Archaeology is now Mystery Maritime Explorers: If you have an open mind life's wonderful surprise...: If you have an open mind life's wonderful surprises can enter and enrich your experiences: Well mine must be open right now cause I am on a...

Southern Sun Archaeology

(title unknown):

On my way to learn how to preserve Historical Wooden Ships and their Artifacts:

We, the Captain and I have found an English Cargo Ship at the bottom of the sea off Borneo. It was on its way from Singapore to Macao when it was blown off course, then becalmed, then ran onto the reef in the middle of the South China Sea on the 8th January 1842. She was carrying a cargo of Saltpeter, Rice & Cotton and had two passengers on board, a 22 year old woman Mrs Dare with her two children a 2 month old and 2 year old .........and a Colonel Campbell  who was being re-stationed from Madras to Macau a total of 72 persons on board.  We know this because the 16 year old apprentice on board at the time kept a log and that log was published in the Singapore Times one hundred years after the event and after 4 days of research in the Singapore National  Library we came across this article on microfilm.( I have since found out that the two month old Julius Dare went on to establish Rugby in Japan)

It is a remarkable story and one that will share with you at a later date ............... watch this space  :-) 

I am now on my way to the Netherlands to learn as much as I can from the "experts" about historical wooden ships and their artifacts. I have been looking after the artifacts form the Viscount Melbourne ( I am also salvaging them) and by a "chance meeting in Miri I met an Archaeologist who happened to be in Miri for ONE NIGHT!!!  As Joke waited for her beautiful 16year old daughter to have her nails painted I was having coffee at the shop near by. We acknowledged each other, then I asked her to join me, which she did. It took forever for those nails to be pained and so we girls managed to find out about each others life stories, and I was totally blown away that I should meet he on her on her one and only night Miri 

                                             Myself & Joke on our chance meeting in Miri

Believing as I do that there are no coincidences I understood that I had to whisk her off to "my" artifact room as I craved to have an "expert" guide me, and I also needed to know that I had preserved them correctly......oh by the way, our intention is to have these artifacts go into a museum, they are NOT for our own personal gain.......... So now here I am on my way to visit this very interesting woman, her co- workers and her family

   

Maritime Mysteries Explorers-Miri, Day 2

Just after breakfast, we had our Skype call from Frank Joseph Hoff, which we filmed although we were able to get a picture from Frank's end.  Still we have the audio and the reactions from the wheel house of the Southern Sun.  To add to the importance of this call, Frank was able to add Dr. Robin Harger to our conference call, who would agree to help Hans secure some needed contacts in the Indonesian government.  Dr. Harger is a noted marine biologist and author, who spent 14 years with UNESCO in its Jakarta office before he retired as a director of the International Oceanographic Commission.  He gave Hans a contact within the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, who will help him navigate through the usual bureaucracy.  After finishing what had to get done before departing, we sailed out of the Miri marina just after 3 in the afternoon.  As luck would have it, we ran right into a squall and pandemonium  ensued with sail flapping, rain pounding down on the crew as they struggled to everything back under control with Eric and I filming all the action as it happened.  This was an opportunity that was too good to pass up but I must confess, being a sailor that I did feel a bit guilty not helping out.  We got through the storm but it was far from smooth sailing and it got later in the day it look like there was another one developing on the horizon.  Captain Hans decided we would be better off returning to the marina and leaving tomorrow when things had settle down.  The blackened skies continued to follow us back to Miri and when we were in sight of the shore night had fallen with no moon or stars to light the way into the channel.  With the storm coming up fast behind us it was much to dangerous to try and make it into the marina channel so we headed up into the wind to ride out the storm in open water and wait until morning to enter the marina.  Needless to say, we had a bit of a rough night.