UKDIVING ENVIRONMENT
Taking it further
Recording Wrecks
Jane Maddocks says much can be achieved by dive clubs surveying their ‘ regular ’ wreck dive , and offers advice on how to record its vital statistics
‘ Environment ’ is a big word . If we ask 20 people what it means , we will probably get 26 ideas about what it is , and how it affects BSAC members . At the moment , lots of attention is focused on plastics and underwater litter . I have already talked briefly about taking litter off wrecks , the importance of not getting too task orientated , and making sure that you can safely tidy away what you need to take to the surface . It would be a great branch project to remove litter from the wrecks we dive .
Wrecks are part of the marine environment . They are usually the result of something going horribly wrong . Their end is often violent , noisy , and can include substantial loss of life . After a time underwater , the noise and the violence are forgotten . They become quiet . In some cases , they become an underwater garden , in others a stark metal or wooden home to marine life in its many forms .
Wrecks change over time . They break up , through natural or man-made processes , pieces break off , guns topple over , and the rudder becomes part of the seabed – hard to see unless you know it is there . BSAC branches , schools and centres are ideally placed to create small
projects that record these changes yearon-year . These recorded changes would then be part of the story of the wreck and the divers who decided to get involved in the recording .
Sometimes the very word ‘ project ’ can put people off . But it doesn ’ t have to be a multi-national venture , involving hefty budgets and mass media involvement . Some years ago in the Solent , a BSAC branch wanted to identify a First World War shipwreck . They measured , photographed , recorded cargo , and checked the identities of ships sunk in the same action . They held two branch away-day weekends , involving diving , research , and barbecues . Some members did the BSAC Wreck Diver Course and the Wreck Appreciation Course , while others delved into shipwreck directories . Two completed Nautical Archaeology Society courses . Still others found three brass letters from her name board by looking around the scour pit . In the end they confirmed her identity , using a combination of skills .
But more than that , they had fun , learnt stuff , used skills that they had acquired , and used their diving for a purpose . It was not big budget , but it was a project that gave their diving a bit of extra excitement .
Wrecks are
“ But more than that , they had fun , learnt stuff , used skills that they had acquired , and used their diving for a purpose ” deteriorating all the time . We need to start recording what is there now , so changes can be monitored . It is a form of preservation by record . As BSAC members we can make an impact by recording the wrecks we dive . They are our ordinary bread and butter wrecks , of no great importance to the world perhaps ... but you never know . Diver observation counts . Many of us dived the Arfon , only to find we had been diving ‘ not the Arfon ’ when an eagle-eyed diver found that the number of boilers was wrong . The genuine Arfon has since been found and protected .
If your branch has a much-dived wreck , this could be an opportunity to record it . At the least , you can record length ; width across ; depth of hull . Then note down propulsion , engines , or masts . Is it made from wood , metal , or both ? Does it have guns ? If the identity is known , then how did it sink and what is there now ? Small cameras have made all the difference , so go ahead and get some footage . Then put it on YouTube .
Get some of your members qualified with Seasearch if they are not already , and record the species living on and in the wreck . Write a short report about what you have found and send it to me at
jane . maddocks @ bsac . com I will make sure that it goes onto our site , so that when you repeat the survey in the next few years , changes can be noted . It can be anonymous , but we can discuss that when your project comes in . Keep your eyes open for the relaunch of the Wreck Award . Your club wreck could be the winning entry for 2022 . �
42