Clive Cussler; Craig Dirgo Page 41

  After researching the matter with the help of Hester Gardner, curator of the Fairlee Historical Society, I decided to give it a go. I contacted my old survey pal, Ralph Wilbanks, and arranged an expedition. Though Doc Edgerton had swept the lake with his sidescan sonar fifteen years before, Ralph decided to use a sidescan again in hopes that a newer, advanced navigation system might make a difference. I learned that a pole could be easily pushed into the bottom mud up to five feet. This, of course, led me to believe that any chance of finding the long-lost boat would depend heavily on a magnetometer survey to detect any iron that Morey had used to assemble the boat as well as the engine. After 175 years, it seemed likely that the boat had sunk into the soft mud.

  In September of 2000, Ralph arrived in Fairlee, Vermont, with Diversity in tow, along with his experienced underwater survey associate Shea McLean. He was joined by writer Jayne Hitchcock and her husband Chris.

  Lake Morey is in a pretty setting, set in a valley amid wooded hills and surrounded by picturesque homes. Five hundred eighty acres of water, it is shaped like a sea slug, forty-two feet at its deepest point. Several probes into the bottom revealed it to be very soft up to eighteen feet.

  Ralph divided the lake into search lanes on his computer. He began mowing the lawn with a cesium magnetometer towed off the port side, while the sidescan sonar sensor was towed off the starboard stem. Two computers were tied in with the GPS positioning system. The software then tracked the fifty-foot lanes. After two days of recording several small hits, they decided to spend the third day diving on them to investigate. After marking each one with a buoy, Ralph and Shea traded going over the side. They found old barrels at one site and railroad ties at another. The most promising target turned out to be a forty-foot curved section of pipe.

  On the final day, while cruising toward the dock, a boat approached and asked if they could search for a wallet belonging to a boater who was lost overboard. Ralph thought that it would be the same as searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack, but the man persisted, saying there was a medal in the wallet that belonged to the boater’s son, who had recently died. Ralph and Shea looked at each other, knowing they couldn’t refuse.

  The general area where the wallet had sunk was pointed out, and Shea volunteered to go in. Everyone thought it was a lost cause, but in less than three minutes Shea broke the surface with his hand raised in the air, clutching the wallet. The boater had tears in his eyes as he showed everyone the medal. Then he gave Shea two soggy fifty-dollar bills. Shea tried to refuse, but the man would not take no for an answer. That night, Shea treated Ralph and the Hitchcocks to dinner.

  Ralph covered the entire lake from shore to shore, even dragging the sensor through the growth along the banks. Over two hundred lanes were searched, with no solid results. Ralph and I strongly believe that Morey’s boat was never scuttled in the lake. Its most likely demise probably involved being broken up either for firewood or lumber.

  The real pity is that Morey’s ingenious power plant, possibly the first internal combustion engine in the world, was lost to the engineers of the future, who would have given their eye-teeth to study it.

  The residents around the lake believe that Morey’s wonderful boat is still out there, waiting to be discovered. But in our minds, the mystery has been solved. Aunt Sally is not in Morey Lake. The brilliant inventor most likely scrapped her.

  As the man suggested, “No Vermont Yankee would throw away a good boat and engine.”

  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 bec
ame 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.