2013 - Madeira and Hesper - Closing Report
Corey Daniel | Published on 7/20/2013
Closing Report:
Madeira
This year's project volunteers consisted of Ken Knutson, Jack Decker, Randy Flacksbarth, Joe Musial and myself. Tom Peterson also joined us using his personal boat. Weather was good on Saturday and everyone had two great dives. There were some minor changes observed. The porthole below the fantail was no longer laying flat. It was angled up as if sand washed away on one side to allow movement. A brief thought of the hull shifting and pushing on it more was excused due to no other signs of hull movement. Also noticed was the movement of two large pieces of hull in the stern section. They formed a wall or corner that restricted access into the rear most part of the stern. These two pieces had fallen in a 2008 spring storm and slightly covered the porthole that allowed a diver to peer into another room where there was a ladder. Now the pieces shifted more towards the swim thru area. The sand bottom seems to move around the pilothouse year to year, sometimes exposing more or less metal. This year not as much. The pilothouse is still holding up, not appearing to have changed much from last year. Wrapped up the day with a nice cruise past the lighthouse.
Hesper
The group enjoyed one nice long dive on Sunday with fairly calm waters. I always enjoy this wreck for how much ship building techniques you get to observe. For some reason 40 degree water feels colder on this wreck than the Madeira. Not much to report here, the wreck is fairly protected and no movement is noticed of any part of the wreck. A fully intact carcass of a doe deer was seen under the port side forward of the engine mount area.
Thank you to everyone who participated for your hard work, input, and good times. Hope to dive with you again next year.
Corey Daniel