favourite . We have been restricted recently due to Covid , but we are planning to visit further afield locations such as Guernsey , Farne Islands , Scapa Flow and the Second World War shipwreck graveyard off Cape Hatteras in California in coming years .
We also work with other clubs . In 2022 , we hosted a visit from Chester BSAC , who brought their boat to dive HMS Invincible and the submarine A1 with us . And we helped the University of Southampton to give their diver trainees the experience of a RIB dive , by taking them to HMS Invincible . Licensees of protected wrecks are often our members and divers are welcome to contact us to find out about diving any protected site . We ’ ll do our best to help . We also organise Protected Wreck Days to dive various local sites .
Tell us about a recent project …
Alex Denny
Visiting students from University of Southampton
For the past few years , we ’ ve been working in secret on high-profile wreck identification project and have only recently released the details of the wreck named as the Klein Hollandia [ see the March 2023 issue of SCUBA ]. The fieldwork was done by NAS-trained divers , mostly our members , who surveyed it , videoed it , and finally helped to identify it .
What else has the club achieved in the past year ?
We have grown our club membership . Our membership and communications people have been brilliantly proactive in publicising our recent activities above and below water . We support the Save the London 1665 Campaign to help protect the 76-gun Navy ship sunk in tragic circumstances in 1665 . It now lies in the murky waters of the Thames Estuary shipping lanes . Club member Alex Denny walked the Three Peaks in less than 24 hours , raising nearly £ 2,500 , which was then matched by his employer making a grand total of £ 5,000 for the campaign .
How can readers find out more about the London ?
The society holds an annual event on a date near to the day of its sinking , which happened on 7 March 1665 . The 2023 event was the fourth one . You can see artefacts from the wreck at the Southend Central Museum and can donate to the campaign via the dedicated page on the NAS website . nauticalarchaeologysociety . org / Appeal / save-the-london
What ’ s the club planning for the next few years ?
We want to provide more diving opportunities for both members and nonmembers to visit historically important protected wrecks , including A1 and Holland 5 submarines . We also want to identify more historic wrecks : over the next few years we ’ ll be looking at a list of anomalies in the Solent , maybe we will find the next Mary Rose .
Jon Parlour
We also want to set up a monitoring programme on protected wreck sites including Norman ’ s Bay , Iona II , and Holland 5 and on the site of HMS Boxer , which has been adopted by a member . HMS Boxer was Britain ’ s oldest serving Destroyer when it sank in 1918 . The sands on the site regularly move and reveal new artefacts . The site has never been surveyed using photogrammetry , but one of our members has taken on this challenge .
What ’ s your overriding mission ?
We want to continue highlighting the opportunities for diving with a purpose to support nautical archaeology and the protection of our maritime heritage to as many people as we can . The society supports the diving club , and the club supports the society to get archaeological diving done . �
Alby and Sarah NASAC club trip to Plymouth
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