water , 45 minutes goes in a blink . Since 2019 we have dived in April through to December and the visibility can be anything from 2m to 10m . We tend to determine particular tasks in advance and tailor them to the conditions expected or experienced – there is no point in trying to record the wreck with photogrammetry in 2m viz . First timers never get given a job – they have a chance to go for an explore with the waterproof site plan so that they can get their bearings and a chance to witness what a wreck looks like after 350 years in the English Channel . They can make notes and always come back with so many questions about what they have seen .
One of the first things divers notice are the large rectangular cut blocks of stone in the middle of the site . They are definitely man-made , and at 3.5m long must be very heavy . Divers often ask if these are ballast to help keep the ship low in the water , but they are far too big and heavy and would have been cumbersome to move . These are a cargo .
PHOTO : JAMES CLARK
The gunmaker ’ s name
Bronze Gun 1 with cuttlefish
PHOTO : JAMES CLARK left : Marble tile , above and the conserved jug
Next , divers notice the mass of cannons on the wreck – iron ones and bronze ones . While the iron ones are all rusted and concreted , two of the bronze ones have been very helpful in identifying the ship . The name Ouderogge appears on Gun 1 and Gun 8 , and the emblems on the cannons show that they were made for the Admiralty of Rotterdam in the Netherlands . One of the guns has even revealed its date of manufacture – 1670 .
Diver unearths Bellarmine jug
PHOTO : JAMES CLARK
33