Nautical but Nice …

Friday 9th Feb was a busy night for members of the Planet Divers scuba diving club as they were treated to not one, but two guest speakers.

Paul Stratford, club member and licensee of the recently discovered wreck in Normans Bay(believed to be the British warship Resolution built in 1665) invited Ian Barefoot from the Nautical Archaeological Society (NAS) to discuss the role that this voluntary organistion has in educating, recording and interpreting British Maritime History.

Whilst awareness of Archaeology has increased since Tony Robinson (who’s an avid scuba diver by the way) appeared on our TVs, most people’s perception is sitting in a muddy hole with a toothbrush.

In fact, the physical collection of artifacts is only the tip of the iceberg, and the majority of archaeology is using the physical information to better understand the technological, social, and economic conditions at the time.

It was also suprising to discover that the majority of marine archaeology is in fact out of the water. It’s a very rare and exciting occasion to be involved on a Mary Rose, or indeed in our local case, an HMS Resolution.

NAS runs a series of courses to help educate divers into the specific challenges of working underwater to survey and record details of wrecks and other items of interest without damaging the wreck.

I’m looking forward to doing my basic training so that I can join Paul and other club members as we can put our newly acquired skills to good use.

Wishing you health, success and happiness in everything you do,

Jon