Detail of the breach of one of the decorated bronze guns found on the NW68 wreck
Partially buried bronze cannon on the NW68 site
Some of the mysterious marks seen on the lead ingots on the NW96 site
Diver ’ s finger points to the date on the cannon - 1628
with many from the World War periods . One of the early wrecks they were able to identify was the Gerarda , which sank on its maiden voyage from Shields to Genoa on 21 October 1882 , after colliding with another vessel . She was positively identified thanks to the recovery of the ship ’ s bell .
They were also the first to explore an even earlier shipwreck , the Faith . This was a combined sailing and steam powered vessel , built in 1852 and which sank just three years subsequently , in 1855 . The team recovered many items from the wreck , including two bronze cannon . The Faith is now designated as a Scheduled Monument and many of the items from this wreck can be seen in the Isle of Wight ’ s Shipwreck and Maritime Museum .
In the early 1980s , the pair discovered and identified the wreck of HMS P12 , a First World War patrol vessel , built by JS Whites of Cowes ; she sank in 1918 , after a collision that cut her in half . More recently , they discovered and identified the wreck of the JOHN & PHOEBE . A small coastal sailing vessel , she was carrying a cargo of stone destined for London when she sank in Colwell Bay after striking the Warden Ledge during bad weather in 1806 .
As for the future , Martin said that they still have several other marks yet to be dived and explored . “ Hopefully there will be more exciting discoveries still to come , and we will be continuing to search for more .” �
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