SHIP Recon Report: 06-3: Lower Potomac River
IMH Divers were out in force this weekend, putting in two days on the Lower Potomac River.
The official marine forecast said "Small Craft Advisories, south winds at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots,
seas 3 to 4 feet." Well, April Fool! It was gorgeous ― some wind, bright sun, calm seas, a beautiful
spring day. Six of us went out to continue our reconnaissance of the lower Potomac River.
Our gallant crew included Captain Giorgio Sciubba of the Italian Navy, Erik Rebeck of the Olney Scuba
Adventure Dive Club, Isabel Mack, Aimee Fullman, Kirk Pierce, and Dave Howe of IMH.
We based at St. George Island for the weekend. The area is said to hold a number of vessels that were
scuttled in 1776 from a flotilla commanded by John Murray, the fourth Earl of Dunmore and the last
Royalist governor of Virginia.
We confirmed two wrecks but were unable to get good measurements. One was visible along a creek
bank and would require excavation to assess; the other is a modern barge in deeper water, but the current
and poor visibility prevented manual measurement by tape.
We also got fuzzy sidescan images of another possible wreck (but divers found nothing), and we found
nothing on sidescan at four other reported sites in shallow water. If anything is there, it is deeply buried
in silt.
So we have not found Lord Dunmore's fleet ― yet.
2 APRIL:
Another beautiful day. Six crew again. Captain
Sciubba, Aimee, and Erik left for other
commitments, but we were joined by Larry Stern
of IMH and by Jim and Jay Sanborn, local
residents and sculptors of note. One of Jim's
works is at the CIA headquarters in Langley VA,
and has developed its own cryptic or cryptological
cult.
We tried again to measure the barge, to see if it
might be STC 410, a tank barge that exploded at
the Piney Point oil terminal in December 1986.
Measurement by sidescan sonar showed the wreck is too small to be that barge, but we need to confirm
those measurements manually while we gain confidence in the reliability and precision of our sonar.
We'll be back. We also looked again for yesterday's fuzzy wreck but found nothing; and then we
confirmed the positions of two other known sites on the trip back to Tall Timbers Marina.
MORE TO COME:
We will continue work in the area after we deploy the U-1105 buoy later in the month. We hope to finish
the entire river below Piney Point by 30 June 06, and then recon the area from Piney Point through the
Wicomico River before 30 June 07.