Posted by Brendon Baillod on October 31, 19103 at 13:55:15:
In Reply to: Re: Significance posted by Craig on October 31, 19103 at 13:12:57:
There's a small wooden schooner of very early design in 220 ft. of water off Manitowoc. She was initially thought to be the schooner Gallinipper (see my article in the latest issue of Inland Seas) but we now believe she's too small to be the Gallinipper. She appears to be of pre-1860 vintage, possibly much earlier. The wheel would have helped quite a bit to determine her age and identity. I'd love to see the mindless idiot who stole that wheel prosecuted to the fullest extent. If some tek diver needs a trophy, I can sink sink a wheelbarrow out in 400 ft. of water and they can all go out and try to recover it. Then they can argue about who found it first, who used the right mix, dive philosophy, etc. The person who took that wheel probably wouldn't have known the different between it and one bought from a novelty catalog for $20. It's a real shame and a good reason to have laws to discourage that type of thing.
: I agree.
: My point is that its merely a porthole, and it hasnt BEEN on the wreck in 37 years. I think in THIS case its not that big of a deal. However if Brendon's Wheel came up on ebay, I too would be outraged. Speaking of which, you said extremely historic, unidentified. care to elaborate on that please?
: IMHO
: Craig