Anybody done this before???

Hi there, I was wondering if anybody on here has actually found something of interest lying on the ocean floor or maybe even a old boat or something. What would the signs be that there mite be something buried under the sand. I have access to a remote coastline in Sa not frequently explored and I must admit it would be way cool to actually find something of importance there and I have a feeling that its actually very possible as there are two river mouths in the area that can or could service as a trade line and even a few bays that could have afforded sheltered anchorage at first glance but gets pretty rough and stormy all of a sudden, perfect conditions to land a ship on the rocks as they tend to stretch pretty far into the ocean at most places. They also discovered a cave in the area a few years back where they found remains of cave men and later sivilisations, we also found lead ballasts close to one of the river mouths a year back, but the ship to which they belonged lies quite shallow so what was there has allready been taken :( , but if theres one the possibility for more is there or am I being hopefull? Just wondering

I think if you had good visibility, some sort of undferwater flying sled towed 3 miles per hour would be the way to go short of sonar tows.

I dove in Yap and we found some never seen before 10mm and up rounds which was kind of cool.

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Originally Posted by RebreatherDave

some sort of undferwater flying sled towed 3 miles per hour would be the way to go short of sonar tows.

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Have you ever seen the footage of the great whites in South Africa going after the towed decoy? I dont think imatating a fishing lure would do much in the way of discouraging sharks.
Theres always underwater metal detectors or magnetometers. When you get a hit go and have a look or just go on a scooter. They work great as small dredges as well as getting you around quicker. Turn them around and face them down and watch the vis dissappear:D

Matt

I did some kite surfing lessons in Maui.....for practice you are supposed to tow yourself around while dragging yourself in the water.

I told the instructor that now I knew what it felt like to be a mackerel being trolled as tiger shark bait.

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Originally Posted by oceanic

Hi there, I was wondering if anybody on here has actually found something of interest lying on the ocean floor or maybe even a old boat or something. What would the signs be that there mite be something buried under the sand. I have access to a remote coastline in Sa not frequently explored and I must admit it would be way cool to actually find something of importance there and I have a feeling that its actually very possible as there are two river mouths in the area that can or could service as a trade line and even a few bays that could have afforded sheltered anchorage at first glance but gets pretty rough and stormy all of a sudden, perfect conditions to land a ship on the rocks as they tend to stretch pretty far into the ocean at most places. They also discovered a cave in the area a few years back where they found remains of cave men and later sivilisations, we also found lead ballasts close to one of the river mouths a year back, but the ship to which they belonged lies quite shallow so what was there has allready been taken :( , but if theres one the possibility for more is there or am I being hopefull? Just wondering

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I have my own RIB and I have a side scan sonar towfish and a mag and love searching any water. I was doing a scan of a lake in the NW of England called Ullswater and at just over 30 meters I found a 1920s houseboat. All the fittings are still on it so I know I was the first to find it. It's a wonderful find and I put the video here if you want to check it out.

http://www.divetheworld.com/Diving/S...Ulls/index.htm

I also found a massive 4 engined seaplane called a Short Sunderland in a lake in Ireland and i have since found that some of the crew are still on it. I'm planning to go over with some friends and we have found out the registration of the aircraft and the name of the crewmembers and we are going to be flying the pilots little brother and sister for a memorial over the wreck. When their brother was lost in the crash his father flew to Ireland and paid to have the lake dragged looking for his son and couldn't find him. He died of a broken heart and I would like it so that we could now add some closure to the story.

I did a video of another Short Sunderland as a tribute to all the crews that were killed in WWII and you can see if here if you like.

http://www.divetheworld.com/Diving/w...9044/index.htm

Steve

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Originally Posted by Stevect

I found a 1920s houseboat. All the fittings are still on it so I know I was the first to find it. It's a wonderful find and I put the video here if you want to check it out.

http://www.divetheworld.com/Diving/S...Ulls/index.htm

I also found a massive 4 engined seaplane called a Short Sunderland in a lake in Ireland and i have since found that some of the crew are still on it.

Steve

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shoot... all I ever found was $1 on a reef in Laguna.. :p I need to start diving with you to find something good! (but not a dive like this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...10/wdive10.xml :eek: )...

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Originally Posted by SoCalDiveGirl

shoot... all I ever found was $1 on a reef in Laguna.. :p I need to start diving with you to find something good! (but not a dive like this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...10/wdive10.xml :eek: )...

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This never really happened. The whole thing got pulled. if you look at the date of the article it was two days before 9/11 so the military had other things on their mind after that.

I have just got myself an underwater hand held metal detector that is really cool.

Steve

I have worked on ship wreck searches and treasure recovery projects. If you are looking for wreck near rocky shore or in shallow bays the problem is those wrecks are usually flat and buried so side scan sonar doesn't do you much good. If you are lucky enough to have a magnetometer and know how to use it, you can narrow down search areas and then search grids on the bottom with hand held metal detectors, but it is a slow process and a massive undertaking for one person (but it is fun as heck! :) ) As far as I know those rigs only pick up ferrous metals, so wood and stuff wouldn't be detected. To find wrecks from 1700's or newer, probably the best place to start is the library . . . really ancient stuff, sounds like your common sense reasoning might be a good place to start, and then a LOT of diving ... :D

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Originally Posted by seasnake

I have worked on ship wreck searches and treasure recovery projects. If you are looking for wreck near rocky shore or in shallow bays the problem is those wrecks are usually flat and buried so side scan sonar doesn't do you much good. If you are lucky enough to have a magnetometer and know how to use it, you can narrow down search areas and then search grids on the bottom with hand held metal detectors, but it is a slow process and a massive undertaking for one person (but it is fun as heck! :) ) As far as I know those rigs only pick up ferrous metals, so wood and stuff wouldn't be detected. To find wrecks from 1700's or newer, probably the best place to start is the library . . . really ancient stuff, sounds like your common sense reasoning might be a good place to start, and then a LOT of diving ... :D

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I have an Aquascan 2000 magnetometer and a sub bottom profiler that can help me as it can see through 40 meters of silt.

Steve

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Originally Posted by Stevect

I did a video of another Short Sunderland as a tribute to all the crews that were killed in WWII and you can see if here if you like.

http://www.divetheworld.com/Diving/w...9044/index.htm

Steve

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I was startled when the wreck shots shifted to black-and-white footages of another time, of crew in action. (Brought home the sobering recognition of wrecks as war graves.)
Filming words on grave stones ("son") was an inspired move too.

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Originally Posted by PinayDiver

I was startled when the wreck shots shifted to black-and-white footages of another time, of crew in action. (Brought home the sobering recognition of wrecks as war graves.)
Filming words on grave stones ("son") was an inspired move too.

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I wanted it to be a tribute to the crews and I wanted to have a theme of here it is now and here is how they were and at the end of the day they were young and someones son or father.

Steve

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Originally Posted by oceanic

Hi there, I was wondering if anybody on here has actually found something of interest lying on the ocean floor or maybe even a old boat or something. What would the signs be that there mite be something buried under the sand. I have access to a remote coastline in Sa not frequently explored and I must admit it would be way cool to actually find something of importance there and I have a feeling that its actually very possible as there are two river mouths in the area that can or could service as a trade line and even a few bays that could have afforded sheltered anchorage at first glance but gets pretty rough and stormy all of a sudden, perfect conditions to land a ship on the rocks as they tend to stretch pretty far into the ocean at most places. They also discovered a cave in the area a few years back where they found remains of cave men and later sivilisations, we also found lead ballasts close to one of the river mouths a year back, but the ship to which they belonged lies quite shallow so what was there has allready been taken :( , but if theres one the possibility for more is there or am I being hopefull? Just wondering

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Check out this recent find at Red Sea Mystery Wreck and yes, that's the bell lying there in the debris field. If there are any Maritime Archaeologists out there I would to hear what you have to say.

Steve