DEEPWRECKDETECTIVES
A diver investigates the bogey wheels
A Tale of Two Trains
Charter boat skipper David Wendes and a team of his regulars finally solve a mystery that has been bugging him for some 15 years
I
’ ve long been fascinated by Victorian engineering , specifically marine engines . Having been a keen wreck diver since the late 1960s and now operating my dive charter boat Wight Spirit from Lymington on the edge of the New Forest , I ’ ve seen first-hand the many examples of compound engines , triple-expansion engines , steam turbines , oil engines , boilers , pumps and so on that have lain on the seabed for anything up to 150 years .
Every time , I marvel at : the innovation , invention , design , manufacture , construction and operation of these engines ; their durability and reliability ; and their survival to the present day , albeit on the sea floor . Some of these engines still stand eight or nine metres tall . Two world wars sent thousands of ships to their underwater graveyards , and today divers love to explore their remains .
A chance encounter in 2004 , however , added a different dimension to my wreck diving ; I was attending an event where I became engrossed in conversation with a fellow wreck enthusiast . He had become engaged in marine
ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CATHY DE LARA
survey work , while I continued to dive on , and identify , the many wrecks off the Isle of Wight ( eventually I wrote a book about them , South Coast Shipwrecks off East Dorset and Wight 1870-1979 ). Anyway , my friend told me he ’ d been contracted to conduct a specific survey to locate a missing
The first view of the engine ’ s main drive wheels
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