Posted by Tim on September 14, 19100 at 01:07:13:
In Reply to: Re: bless our preservation laws posted by J.M. on September 12, 19100 at 22:20:07:
: Howard,
: There are some major differences between Great Lakes shipwrecks and North Carolina Wrecks; as well as some similarities. The process of degradation, encrustation and decay is much faster for a wreck in salt water than it is in the fresh, cold and dark waters of the Great Lakes. All shipwrecks, regardless of where they are, are in a constant state of degradation. The major contributor to this degradation is not, and never will be, humankind, it is Mother Nature. All the will of a thousand lawmakers and ten thousand laws will not change the fact that nature is the mover and the shaker above and below the water. The mindset that seeks to hold on to these insignificant, degrading, items of our past is the same one that would recreate and twist the history of it for political gain. In salt water the wrecks can deteriorate significantly in as little time as a generation. In contrast, many of the wrecks in fresh water will take many lifetimes to disappear into dust, but I can guarantee that this will happen. Instead of being “shocked” by these types of facts you could be telling us how you propose to turn this or that wreck into a medium that is accessible to your fellow man and is much more durable and long-lasting. The shortsighted see rules and regulations and enforcement as the solution.
: My best bet is to enjoy it as I see it and then let it go. I cannot help anyone by prompting the “authorities” to punish them. By reporting them to the authorities I am failing them both as neighbors and as fellow humans.
: Respectfully,
: J.M.
: : Last month I took a trip to Morehead City North Carolina. Beautiful beaches and, clear, warm water and hundreds of wrecks. While diving one wreck, 100 ft visibility, 80 degrees warm, 100 ft down and 30 miles south east from the outer banks another dive boat parked on the wreck and put two divers in the water. While I was exploring the wreck and enjoying the sea life that had made it home I encountered these two divers with a hammer bashing the wreck, tearing up the pipe and wires to retrieve a small brass fitting. The amount of damage they did in just a few minutes was unbelievable. I was shocked and when I ascended I told the captain of the charter I was on what had happened. When I said we need to report these people to the authorities, he sadly bowed his head and explained to me that NC had no laws to protect these wrecks from vandals, treasure hunters or artifact scroungers.
: : After all my years of wreck diving in Lake Michigan, this was the first time I witnessed divers willfully destroying a wreck. Thank our legislatures, the dive community and everyone responsible for our preservation laws and my condolences to the wreck divers of North Carolina, who will eventually loose all of their underwater history to these barbarians.
WELL said J.M. I could not agree more. Tim