Deep Blue Marine (DPBE)

[Capt Billy]

Thanks Nycrew for your post that addressed the staying safe part. I have just found out last night we have a means of internet - some type of free trial for two months. I will have to admit one of the hardest things about being here is the complete lack of news and information (in English) about anything from the states. It was only last night that I saw that the Florida Marlins were in first place in their division, at least for the time being… I was thinking when you mentioned about staying safe, the other day when I was excavating under a large pile of iron shaped like a tripod when all of a sudden something just hit my mask and ripped it right off my head and after getting it back on and clearing the water from it I saw that I had been checking the stability of the top of the tripod shaped conglomerate but hadn’t noticed that the inside piece wasn’t connected to the part that I had been checking. This piece must have weighed several hundred pounds because it had pinned my airlift down and it took Dave and I an extra tank of air apiece to get the airlift out from beneath it. Had I had a bottle of rum on deck that morning I think I would have spent the rest of that day drinking for I was pretty rattled by this little episode. Most all the fun stuff we’re finding is trapped under cannons or these big iron conglomerates. We have airlift bags to move some of this stuff but before moving things we need to map and log and photograph all items. This is huge undertaking and I have taken on this job. The archeological part of this site is very difficult and time consuming. I have set up grids, taken measurements, shot compass headings and logged every artifact’s position. The drawings take up most of my off time. The amount of work that goes into this end of it is staggering and why do any of it if its not done right? So I go over it again and again and if something doesn’t match I do it over even again. I do know and understand the significance of doing this right. I think after diving on this site over a hundred times you develop a love of some sort and I would not be able to just stand there while somebody just rips it apart searching for only artifacts with monetary value. I also know if we do this right we will be here a long time. And with all the local gossip on other wrecks in our permitted area it only seems inevitable that one day we will stumble across something big. I want to thank all you folks who support our endeavors. This crew gave up a lot and left behind family and friends to make a go at this. Its nice to see a post now and then from people who do support us.