Shipwrecks - Time Capsules of Human Civilization

Reuters Report on the Titanic Auction

A couple of weeks ago, Reuters television reported on the successful auction of Titanic-related materials and rarities at the Christies auction held in New York City. Many fantastic items from the Titanic that included plaques and other items from the recovered lifeboats were included in this event. I was invited to this auction but unfortunately had some other projects that kept me away from attending this gala affair.

For those of you that missed this auction, the following link is a Reuters news report about the auction that highlights several of the key Titanic pieces. Included in this film clip is my underwater video footage of the Titanic that I took during my 2003 scientific research diving expedition to the wreck site.  I have been profiled several times by Reuters news service for my underwater video footage of Titanic. The link for this news report can be found at : http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoChannel.aspx?storyid=ba90bbbe52187f3d646516b2d5cef91d12de720d

Additional footage that I have shot on Titanic have found themselves in several television documentaries that include two National Geographic specials, a History Channel special and a commercially-available National Geographic DVD. Our Titanic underwater footage was used by Partisan Pictures for the promotion of the 2004 Robert Ballard  / NOAA expedition to Titanic.

Busy, Busy, Busy..... New Shipwreck Information Gathered

It has been quite a busy time for me over the past month.  I have logged over 25,000 miles, been to 5 different countries on three continents, given 5 Shipwreck presentations on three different ocean liners and presented a scientific research paper on Titanic.  All of this travel has enabled me to provide my blog readers with firsthand research materials for shipwreck study - so it was extremely productive. Even though the amount of blogs has decreased this month, the quality of materials gained through my travels will allow me present you with new, unique and relevant information on the latest developments on shipwreck exploration in the immediate future.

Much of my work has been focused on the Andrea Doria of which I have made many dives and have done over 25 years of research. The 50th anniversary of the Andrea Doria's collision and sinking is being remembered by many throughout the globe and I have been inundated with media requests. Three of this month's presentations have been about the Andrea Doria and were viewed by over 800 people. In addition, I have been working on the Andrea Doria Survivor's Reunion, two Andrea Doria documentaries, a consultant on PBS (Public Broadcasting Systems) Andrea Doria website  and started publicity on a new Andrea Doria book entitled Alive on the Andrea Doria by Doria survivor Pierette Simpson. Yesterday, a newspaper review by the Daily Collegian of my presentation to a scientific crowd at the Pennsylvania State University's Marine Science Program was published. Although the article did not contain the science behind the collision and sinking of the Andrea Doria, I had a great time interacting with students, professors, administrators and guests at this event. In July, I will be leading the Official Andrea Doria Diving Expedition to the wreck site and will be doing some high definition filming of the current morphological changes to the ship.

The final presentation of this week was to an organization of Lockheed Martin retirees about the tragic sinking of the Empress of Ireland at their group's luncheon. They were treated to a brief historical account of the tragedy and a forty-minute, high-quality digital virtual dive to the shipwreck. The Empress is considered a very dangerous dive due to its cold water temperatures, limited dark visibility and ripping currents. It was great to talk to this group about the Empress as this ship is the most tragic ship accident that most people have never heard about.  Later this summer, I will be leading a diving expedition to the Empress and look forward to broadcasting LIVE from the dive site as I did last year.

I will be continuing the series on my expedition to Turkey on the next blog. I look forward to chatting with you about this adventure to ancient nautical times. Look forward to a new Titanic story from a Titanic passengers' family with a unique twist that we will exclusively broadcast later this month. There is so much to write about!

Future Scientific Studies Involving the Biological Ecosystem of Titanic

The Titanic is proving to be a literal treasure-trove for scientific study of the deep ocean floor. Obviously, the difficulty of conducting scientific studies at this depth limits the number and types of comprehensive examination that can be performed on the wreck site of Titanic.

Because there are only five submersibles in the world that can visit the extreme depths of 12,600 feet, where Titanic resides, every visit to the ship have proven to be of tremendous value to the scientific community. Each dive to the Titanic has the potential to discover a new species of plant or animal life - and in most cases, many new life forms has been found and cataloged for further study. The area surrounding Titanic can now be referred to as a natural field laboratory for the study of deep ocean ecosystems. By further understanding this in-situ environment, we can provide the associated research that could aid in the preservation of the Titanic.

From Nautical Research Group’s studies on the bow of Titanic, there is clear evidence of natural deterioration processes that are compromising the structural integrity of the shipwreck. Almost all of these structural changes can be attributed to the interactions between the microbes and the exposed steel areas on Titanic. Other natural factors that are contributing to the collapse of Titanic are the settling pressure effects, as the ship is slowly becoming part of the ocean floor. Many of the unique physical structures on the bow are in danger of total collapse within the next decade or two. Other studies will include the analysis of the sea snow that is raining down on Titanic and its interactions with the microbes. Further comparator data will provide an enormous wealth of information that can provide the scientific community with extremely valuable knowledge. This knowledge can be used as a basis for monitoring the physical condition of Titanic throughout the twenty-first century.

Titanic's Vibrant Underwater Community

Most people think that the deep ocean is a fairly desolate place; void of light and full of slightly anoxic waters. However, the wreck site of Titanic is a very vibrant area for unique sea life and activity. In several of my articles, I have talked about the microbes that are consuming the steel on Titanic. There have been over 20 distinct species of bacteria and two fungal species identified in the rusticles that cover all the exposed steel areas of Titanic. The teredo worms have consumed the ship's teak decking leaving only the caulk as a reminder of where the wood would of been placed.

Not all the sea life on the ship is microscopic. A fish that is a regular visitor to the Titanic site is the rat tail or the Coryphaenoides armatus.  The rat tail is the most common large species recorded at abyssal depths in the North Atlantic. A rare large species that occasionally visits Titanic is the dumbo octopus, also known as Grimpoteuthis. This octopus has large projections that make it look like the Disney character Dumbo and its large ears. Many photographs that you see on the bow section of Titanic will have miniature white lobsters hiding in the nooks of the steel. These white lobsters are called squat lobsters or Munidopsis; and can be the most common large species found on the wreck site. I have seen several varieties of shrimp on the wreck - some red and others that look like miniature candy-canes. Other sea life that look like sea growth or soft corals are called crinoids and hydroids that can be seen growing on several sections of wreckage - including the extreme bow railing.

There are many other varieties of life that can be found on Titanic and every voyage down to the site has the potential for discovery of a new underwater species. The ecosystem around Titanic is teeming with new and exotic life and this is a reason why many scientists are so fascinated with visiting the wreckage.

Titanic's Missing Pieces?

Now that the new discovery of the keel sections of Titanic have been publicly released, it is time for the Titanic enthusiasts to mull over the information. Although a discovery of this magnitude answers several questions, it poses even more questions about its interpretation. The naval architect, Roger Long gave a very plausible explanation of how two relatively intact keel sections could be found in a newly discovered debris field east of the main bow and stern sections of the wreck site. I find that I have so many questions to address regarding his potential scenario of the sinking. At times I found myself talking to the television and saying "No way!". 

Obviously I was not the only one that was saying something similar. Parks Stephenson, one of the show's technical experts that was portrayed at Woods Hole and member of the marine forensics panel of the Society of Naval Engineers, has a different take on the data retrieved from the discovery. His views can be found on his web site at Marconigraph.com and his analysis of the sinking seems more logical to me. That is not to say it is right or wrong, but I am more comfortable with his thoughts at the present time.

I am very grateful to David Concannon and Robert Williams for setting this whole investigative theory into an active hunt for the new evidence. In 2003, both Robert Williams and Fred McLaren spent their entire dives doing "sand sweeps" outside the perimeter of the main sections of Titanic in pursuit of keel pieces. Even though they had limited success, their time spent on the bottom ruled out sections that needed to be explored. I am sure that the limited amount of dives available to the latest research team can owe these researchers a debt of thanks for narrowing their search pattern.

As the new evidence is being "digested" by the many interested Titanic enthusiasts, including me, there will be many new and ingenious interpretations of the new discovery. For further analysis of the bow and stern sections of the ship, please visit our corporate web site and in the text of the homepage, select Educational Services for photographs of the wreck site from this year's scientific research Titanic exploration. I certainly need more information to satisfy my own curiosity. This new evidence does not rule out the grounding theory but certainly assists in a more accurate portrayal of speculation about Titanic's sinking. I think that Roger and Parks explanations, both very different, are a wonderful foundation for further research and study. I commend all of these individuals for putting together a thoroughly enjoyable evening that will be talked about for years to come!

Comparing Titanic's Decay with the Empress of Ireland, Lusitania, Britannic and Andrea Doria

Although Titanic is deteriorating while subjected to the natural force of the Atlantic Ocean, it has been preserved relatively well throughout the past ninety-three years. More recent shipwrecks, like the ill-fated Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria which sank in 1956, is in much worse shape structurally than Titanic. The Doria lies in 260 feet of water about 40 miles southwest of Nantucket Island. The relatively shallow depths, strong currents, aluminum-alloy- based superstructure and weather conditions have battered the Doria to the point where the top five deck levels have fallen down to the bottom of the ocean. With its entire superstructure gone, the Doria is now a huge steel hull with all of its once-beautiful infrastructure lying next to it on its starboard side in a vast heap of metallic wreckage.

It is important to put the decay of Titanic in the context of other contemporary twentieth century ocean liner shipwrecks. These once-opulent liner shipwrecks like the Lusitania, the Empress of Ireland and Titanic’s sister, Britannic have all sunk in different parts of the world and been exposed to a variety of different environmental factors. Despite their environmental differences, all of these fine liners are in relatively similar states of deterioration to that of Titanic. Judging by these many differences in environmental conditions, the fact that their states of deterioration are similar may prove to be a mere coincidence.

Titanic Scientific Studies - Time Estimates for Decay

There are several other scientists looking at the deterioration of Titanic, other than myself, and they have come up with some fascinating projections. This projection estimate was published in 2000 by two Canadian scientists, Roy Cullimore and Lori Johnson out of the University of Regina and DROYCON, Inc. and was looking specifically at the rusticles.

The table below summarizes the potential losses of iron from the bow section under various conditions of rusticle growth formation:

Estimated Time (calendar year, AD) Frame For the Losses of Iron
from the Steel Bow Section, RMS Titanic

Percentile Steel Loss under various Growth Conditions

Growth Rate	10%	20%	30%	40%
Extreme	2020	2026	2034	2045
High	2032	2048	2056	2068
Moderate	2050	2068	2088	2106
Low	2098	2212	2326	2440

Lori has been part of several expeditions, most recently with James Cameron's trip to Titanic in 2005. What has been observed lately on Titanic is that there is an exponential deterioration in Titanic and these projections may be accelerated. We have been using our data from 2003 as a baseline and following out the deterioration throughout the past few years. In 2005, we spent almost 7 hours on the wreck and we were quite surprised to see all the additional deterioration that has taken place. I look forward to see Lori and Roy's latest projections!

The Current State of Decay on the Bow of RMS Titanic

In late July 2005, following our successful scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic on the Russian research vessel Akademik Keldysh, I was very eager to start my analysis of the high-quality, digital photographic data of this historic shipwreck. My major research goals and objectives were the thorough examination of significant physical morphological changes in particular sections within the bow over time. I am very concerned about several areas on the bow that have gotten alarmingly worse since I last visited in 2003. The following paragraph is a brief synopsis from our scientific report that will be published as part of the proceedings from the American Academy of Underwater Sciences annual conference that will be held next month.

The officer's quarters of  RMS Titanic, especially on the port side, are sagging very noticeably and bulging in several places. If this section falls then the Marconi room will be severely compromised. The plating on top of the Marconi room is very thin and starting to show significant rust pits or holes in this plating. The starboard hull gash where at least 4 decks are exposed to open sea is another area of concern. This gash is widening and small cracks and fissures within the outer portions of this area is extending forward. Several of these cracks were not observed two years ago so I know that this is an area for dynamic change. Finally, the aft section of the bow section is sagging much more than 2003 and many of the items in this area are sliding down towards the boilers.

Once these results are officially presented to the public, the latest scientific research paper and its associated PowerPoint presentation will be available to the public at the Nautical Research Group Corporate web site under the Educational Services link.

2006 - Year of New Underwater Shipwreck Discovery and Exploration

The following article is a modified extract of a comment that I made to fellow underwater explorer, Steve Libert about several of my projects over the next three months. I hope that you enjoy....

I thought that it might be tough to top all the exciting and wonderful expeditions that I had in 2005 that included Titanic, Empress of Ireland, the Bermuda Triangle rescue aircraft - Martin Mariner PBM-5, various historical shipwrecks that ranged from naval to merchant and old treasure galleons to ocean liners (including a Blue Riband Cunard Liner Oregon).

2006 is shaping up to be an even better and more historic diving season that will be highlighted by our series of events surrounding the 50th Anniversary of the Collision and Sinking of the Andrea Doria. I will be releasing some new nautical forensic information and underwater video regarding this beautiful Italian liner's sinking that will change the historical perception of that tragic evening. In two weeks, I am off to Florida diving deep in the underground caves using a mixed-gas, closed circuit rebreather (as part of a cave diving course run by two of the world's best instructors - legendary Tom Mount and former British Special Forces diver Andrew Driver). Hopefully we will find in situ evidence for some prehistoric species deep within these underwater caves (a mastodon or mammoth would be nice). In March, I have two presentations to give. The first presentation is at the American Academy of Underwater Sciences meeting at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratory (FHL) in the San Juan Islands -located north of Seattle between the mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia about the latest scientific observations about the biological decay of Titanic. The second presentation of the month will be at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida about Diving to the Italian Liner Andrea Doria. Before the end of the month of March, I am off to the Black Sea and this should be very interesting - perhaps, if I am very lucky, I might discover Noah's Ark (just kidding!). In addition, I have some other "secret" shipwreck explorations and projects that I can't quite divulge yet (don't want the bureaucrats to put a damper on all the adventure) but will provide some significant new information about several historic shipwrecks.

Thank you for your continued support for this web site which is globally the number one blog ( weblog ) for shipwrecks. I find that it is a perfect forum for me to get things off my chest without feeling inhibited about the dives, expeditions and science. As a corporation, Nautical Research Group is thriving and we have been able to pick and choose the best and most interesting underwater projects. Our unique blend of nautical archaeology and deep technical diving - wrapped around our roots in the biological sciences is unparallelled.

Titanic Presentation - A Virtual Diving Tour to the Unsinkable Ship

My 2006 presentation/lecture series on Shipwrecks starts out with a bang on Saturday, January 28th at Rutgers University. The topic for the presentation is a virtual dive to the wreck site of RMS Titanic. This presentation will be provided as part of Rutgers University's Geology Open-House that is FREE to the public.

This presentation will have the latest video of Nautical Research Group's special diving expedition to the shipwreck of the famed ocean liner RMS Titanic. Recently Nautical Research Group has placed a 10-part photographic series on the the current condition of RMS Titanic on their corporate website that has received rave reviews. Here is a quick synopsis of the presentation:

Using the latest in digital videography, complete with edited, raw video footage and instructional voice-overs, David Bright will give you the virtual experience of participating and diving with a scientific research expedition to the RMS Titanic. Leaving port from the Canadian shores of Newfoundland, we will depart on the Russian oceanographic research vessel Akademik Keldysh, the most advanced deep-diving support vessel in the world. Using the sophisticated submersible Mir I and captained by the famous ocean scientist and explorer Anatoly Sagalevitch, we will descend to the bottom of the Atlantic, where we will explore the wreck site of the Titanic. Once on the ship, we will explore the intact bow section of the ship and observe many features of the ship that played roles during the collision and sinking. Particular observation will be given to the microbial decay that has produced rusticles all along the ship. Moving back toward the debris field, we will see many of the passengers' personal effects, as well as other distinctive articles from the ship. As we conclude our visit to the wreck site, we will see the Titanic's huge engines and the mangled stern section of the ship. This presentation combines the exuberant feeling of observing a historic shipwreck and the reverent feeling of visiting the final resting place of more than 1,500 people.

Attached is a flyer (click to enlarge) for this presentation that will be given at Rutgers University in Scott Hall - Room 123 at 11:00 AM. Many shipwreck discoveries have been made by geologists that are mapping the ocean floor and one of Rutger's geology professor-emeritus named Dr. Robert Sheridan was one of the discoverers of the famed Civil War ironclad USS Monitor back in the 1970's. The co-discoverer of Titanic was also a geologist by the name of Dr. Robert Ballard.

Nautical Research Group's Ten-Part Titanic Photographic Series

In order to facilitate our tremendously growing reader base, I have included a permanent reference marker to our extremely successful Titanic Photographic Series on our weblog (blog). This permanent reference can be found on the far left side of our blog between our Archives and our corporation's unique Titanic News Articles.  Within this series, you will get an opportunity to see selective highlights of the shipwreck from the bow, debris field and stern sections of the Titanic.

I have been extremely fortunate to have explored the Titanic shipwreck in 2003 and 2005 as part of two scientific research expeditions to the wreck site. Utilizing the famed Russian research vessel, Akademik Keldysh and the two deep-diving submersibles called MIR, the dive to Titanic is very dangerous, as this shipwreck lies in over 12,600 feet of cold, dark North Atlantic waters. If you haven't seen this photographic series before, you are in for a treat!

New Discoveries Regarding the Sinking of Titanic

I am finally glad that the news about the latest discovery about the sinking of Titanic has been released to the public. I originally started this note as a follow-up comment to Pedro Caleja, author of the Sea Bottom web log site about my thoughts regarding the AP news release. However, on further reflection I thought that it would be better to share this information with my viewers.

The story that was published yesterday about the hull plates on Titanic being discovered was not new to me. Since I have been diving Titanic I knew that there were several scientists and divers that were exploring these hull plates that included David Concannon, Robert Williams and Alfred McLaren back in early 2000. I was not going to divulge to the general public any of their research and was very supportive of their efforts. When the Harris Expedition made some comments this summer, I published the following comment to this weblog on August 23rd:

The story of the Titanic is a very emotional and spiritual tale for many people. From a research standpoint, we know a lot of information about the ship and the people that plied her decks. What we are starting to understand by visiting her via submersibles is how she sank. Bob Williams postulated that the cause of the sinking were due to growler icebergs that breached the keel of Titanic and was the major cause for her demise. A recent visit to Titanic by Michael Harris supports Mr. Williams hypothesis and claims that he has found an undiscovered debris field that may indeed be the keel section of Titanic. With further study, we may be able to determine, without any doubt, the reasons why Titanic sank so fast and consequently killed so many people.

and subsequently I published this web log article on September 8th that proved to be highly controversial (I believe that this is a very poignant web log so please check it out!):

http://shipwreck.blogs.com/shipwrecks_historical_tim/2005/09/titanic_reveale.html .

Dr. Bob Ballard has had a very rough time as of late. Dr. Ballard is a geologist and not a shipbuilding structural engineer. I believe that the headline about him "getting it all wrong" is very much overstated. Dr. Ballard had made many initial and significant findings about Titanic that were very instrumental in getting to the point of this latest discovery. Without continued scientific visits to the ship, we would not of been able to know these new and landmark historical facts. Parks Stephenson (mentioned prominently in the AP news release) is a very good guy to have on this Woods Hole panel. He is a leader in the marine forensic science arena and I have had several email discussions with him about Titanic. He was a member of James Cameron's Expert Panel that included Ken Marschall and Don Lynch. One of the expedition leaders of this History Channel Expedition that provided the bulk of the science information about this find was David Concannon, a fellow Explorers Club member and Philadelphia lawyer, who made the earliest discovery of these plates back in 2000.

Titanic Photographic Series - Part X Titanic's Huge A-Frame Engines

The last scheduled part of our series will take a look at the huge A-frame engines that are very prominent on the stern section of the shipwreck of RMS Titanic. The engines are the largest structures on Titanic. In the longitudinal photograph of the Engine, you can clearly see the over-pressure release valve and steam whistle. The first four photographs show the top part of this huge engine and the last two show the lower portions of these engines where the gears are visible.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.

In the course of this ten part Titanic Photometric Series, we have explored the entire length of the ship from bow to stern giving you selected highlights of this beautiful shipwreck. Many thanks for taking this exciting adventure with Nautical Research Group and making this web log the most viewed shipwreck informational blog on the Internet. Look for our new video segments from Titanic after the Holidays!

Titanic Photographic Series - Part IX Underneath Titanic's Stern Fantail and the Port Propeller

The next part of our Titanic Photographic Series will look underneath the Titanic's stern fantail and specifically explore the port propeller. With the collapsing of the fantail area, getting to observe the port propeller is a very tricky and dangerous maneuver for the MIR submersible. Our submersible pilot, Genya Cherniev, is an expert pilot and we were able to get up close to the propeller without any difficulties.The first two pictures takes us directly under the stern fantail and where the rudder once was placed. The middle picture is a panoramic view of the port propeller with two of its three blades exposed. The final two photographs are close-up shots of the propeller that show the prop shaft and a blade of this propeller. Please note in the extreme close-up that the bronze of the blade is very pristine and our submersible lights are reflecting off this blade to show off a golden hue. Another noteworthy observation is that the original red paint and nuts are clearly visible.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs from the stern section that will highlight the huge Titanic engines. The size of these engines are truly unbelievable!

Titanic Photographic Series - Part VIII Titanic's Fragmented Stern Section

Following my brief five minute presentation at the United States Capitol about the loss of six US Navy aircraft sixty years ago on Thursday, I have decided to place seven photographs of the stern section of RMS Titanic on the corporate website. I would like to give a special welcome to the Titanic Modeling group who are looking over these photos to assist them in creating a model of the wreck site. To augment their study, we have announced the release of detailed video of our Titanic expedition that will be released on our corporate website starting in January 2006. This will help to put the photographs in perspective to various locations on the shipwreck. Additionally, Nautical Research Group will be releasing a comprehensive virtual dive DVD using our high-definition video in April 2006.

The following part will show various locations on the stern section of Titanic. As Titanic descended through the depths, the stern decks imploded due to the escaping air that was not able to equalize at these extreme pressures. The result is that the stern of Titanic looks like it went through a food processor. The two photographs show the extreme aft section of the stern and its associated rusticle formation. The next two photographs will explore the top of the poop deck area and the remains of one of the stern cranes. The single photograph is adjacent to the crane and shows how fragmented and indistinguishable the stern area of the Titanic has become since her sinking. The last two photographs show the port side stern railing just above the propeller and its adjacent starboard side rail that illustrates its collapsing decks.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs from under the stern section of the ship and port side propeller.  You be be amazed at the preservation of the propeller!

Titanic Photographic Series - Part VII Titanic's Massive Boilers

As previously announced, due to the great success of our Titanic Photographic Series, we will be adding two more parts to the series for an overall total of ten. Additionally, we have announced that we will be including selected video clips of Titanic starting in January. Once again, thank you very much for making this site the number one blog for shipwreck research and information.

The following part will feature the boiler room area at the aft end of the bow section of RMS Titanic. There were a total of twenty-nine boilers on Titanic. Of these twenty-nine, twenty-four were double-ended and five were single-ended boilers. Each of the double-ended boiler is 15 feet nine inches diameter and twenty feet long and contained six furnaces. The single-ended boiler had the same dimensions but were 11 feet nine inches long with three furnaces. Overall Titanic had 159 total furnaces and from the porthole of the submersible, appear quite massive. Our final picture of this part shows how the aft section of the bow is starting to settle and materials from above are sliding down towards the boilers.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs from the stern section of the ship.

Guest Author - Rob Goldsmith History Channel Titanic Diver

Today's web log article is submitted by Rob Goldsmith, the UK History Channel Titanic diver and my submersible dive partner on this year's Titanic expedition. Rob's article will formally announce support for this link on our site to his wonderful web site that has many Titanic pictures from our expedition - including some pictures of me. I hope that you enjoy his site!

Guest Author - Rob Goldsmith regarding his wonderful Titanic web site:

Rob Goldsmith's Titanic web site is no ordinary Titanic enthusiasts website, it tells the story of my personal journey from my interest in the Titanic from the age of eight through to my dive to the wreck site in July 2005 which I was lucky enough to win in a competition run by The History Channel. The website contains a day to day weblog as well as a comprehensive photo gallery. The photo gallery shows a large collection of shots including the wreck, submersibles, Keldysh and general life on board ship. Explore the site further to see photo galleries from Biggin Hill Airshow and the Goodwood Revival, probably the most famous classic car event in the world. Finally get to know me better by looking at pages showing my work as a freelance cameraman and my interest in the Mini and sign up to my free discussion forum.

Rob's History Channel documentary aired in the UK last month to overwhelming success. There are plans to distribute this show to other areas of the world and we will announce this on our blog. In order to visit his site, we have placed his link on the right hand column of this web log. I know that you will enjoy all the pictures!

Titanic Photographic Series - Part VI Starboard Hull Deterioration on the Bow

I was planning on showing the structural starboard side hull damage on the bow and the boilers for this part of our series; however, the structural damage to the starboard bow is too great and will be the most important concern to the overall integrity of RMS Titanic. Therefore, I will devote this entire part of my Titanic photographic series to this alarming damage as it will be an area of continued future study to evaluate the on-going condition of Titanic.

Part Six contains a great view of the structural damage that is naturally occurring on the starboard hull just below and forward of the bow cargo crane. The picture in the upper left shows Mir I exploring the front superstructure below the telemotor. From this angle, you can see how the mast has collapsed at such a sharp angle. The remainder of these pictures are quite dramatic when you realize that at least four deck levels are opened to the ocean on the starboard hull. As the ship is starting to collapse on the inside, the structural integrity of this area is being compromised and further deterioration is proceeding along the starboard hull. Observe the cracks and separation of the hull plates that will only get worse over time that threaten the overall integrity of the entire bow of Titanic.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs from the boiler room at the aft bow section of the ship.

Titanic Photographic Series - Part V Titanic Officer's Quarters, Marconi Room and Promenade

Normally we have this photographic series available on-line Thursday evening; however, this week we had a very interesting adventure. As you probably know, our corporation, Nautical Research Group is involved with underwater projects throughout the world. For the past two weeks, we were in Florida monitoring underwater sites looking for potential damage due to the fierce tropical storms that have battered the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters. Little did we know that a small tropical depression named Wilma would become a full-fledged hurricane and it was decided to stay in Florida during the time that Wilma reached the southwest shores of Florida. Although we were about 80 miles north of the hurricane strike, the winds and rains were very significant. Because of this devastation in southern Florida it took several days for us to get back to our New Jersey base. Therefore, as a way to make this up to you, I am including an extra high-quality digital photograph for your review.

These wonderful five photographs show the decay of the upper structures of Titanic's bow. The upper right picture shows Captain EJ Smith's quarters complete with his porcelain tub. The photograph in the upper right is taken from the starboard side officer's quarters and clearly visible is the electric winch for the lifeboats. The middle photograph is taken above the officer's quarters where the expansion joint is seen and the Marconi room is observed. Note the electrical wires from within this room. The lower left hand photograph shows the port side officer's quarters around the expansion joint that has widened to expose another porcelain tub. Our final photograph of Part Five is the port side first class promenade.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs that show the starboard hull damage due to natural decay and a trip to the boiler room.

Titanic Photographic Series - Part IV Titanic Mast Collapses over the Past Year

One of the most stunning observations of this year’s diving expedition to RMS Titanic is the discovery of the mast collapsing since the Ballard expedition. Nautical Research Group was the first to break the news about the significant collapse in the mast just about the crow’s nest where Frederick Fleet made the infamous statement, “Iceberg, right ahead”. This series of photographs are the first that document this observation that occurred sometime between June 2004 and July 2005. Using our photometric analysis from 2003, we ascertained that this section of the mast was in serious danger of collapse and it took less than two years for this event to occur. The metal sections of the mast are starting to peel and the integrity of the steel is crumbling. At no part of our analysis have we observed that this collapse was caused by anything other than natural decay. Further examination of the mast show that there are other portions of the steel casing within the mast that have similar natural decay. Because of the collapse just above the bell stanchion of the crow’s nest area, the remainder of the mast distal to this break has shifted and the mast top has fallen from the boat deck area, near the bridge, down towards A-deck as shown in our final photograph. From a peripheral view, the mast looks like a huge water slide with the upper portions of the mast coming off the forecastle of A-deck down to the decking of where the cargo winches, windlass and cargo hatches are located.

These high-quality digital photographs were taken this summer while diving with Russian pilot Genya Cherniev in the MIR II submersible. To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs that show the officers quarters, promenade and Marconi room areas.

NEW Titanic Documentary to Air on UK History Channel

The debut of the latest diving expedition documentary to RMS Titanic will premiere on the British History Channel in the UK tonight. This film will follow the adventures of Rob Goldsmith, the winner of the History Channel's contest, on his experiences in visiting this wreck site. Nautical Research Group's president, David Bright, was proud to be a member of this expedition and give Rob a first-hand view of this stunning shipwreck. The film is being produced/directed/filmed by documentary expert Andrew Brooking and I was honored to be a part of his documentary.

The Titanic dive management plan using the MIR submersible was meticulously created and planned by me following a thorough debrief of our 2003 scientific research expedition to the shipwreck. I met with both Genya Cherniev and Anatoly Sagalevitch, in advance, for endorsement of my plan and then briefed my partner Rob Goldsmith and producer/director extraordinaire Andrew Brooking on the plan. Our entire dive to the ship would be a huge filming session utilizing six cameras. Genya would be filming the ship via the HD videocam that was attached to the robotic arm of MIR II. Rob Goldsmith, who was being featured by the British History Channel, so they had him come along with me as his "tutor" to show him the wreck, was using two cameras. I brought with me 3 cameras, each with a different purpose and plan. Additionally, I took the History Channel's camera and filmed pictures of Rob and Genya within the MIR. Andrew's documentary will be premiering in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, October 18th at 10:00pm; Wednesday October 19th at 1:00pm; and Saturday October 22nd at 9:00pm. Hopefully, there will be a showing of this documentary outside of the United Kingdom so we will let you know the latest developments.

Titanic Photographs - Part III Helm and Bridge

Nautical Research Group is pleased to announce the distribution of the third part of our eight part series of our high-quality digital photographs from our 2005 Scientific Research Expedition to RMS Titanic. The third part of our photographic series will take you on a brief tour of Titanic's bridge area and the only structure left on the bridge - the ship's telemotor. Besides the bowsprit of Titanic, this telemotor is the most recognizable view of this legendary liner. These photographs will show the collapsed area of the bridge surrounding the telemotor and an up-close view on the condition of the beautiful bronze helm stand that allegedly was damaged by salvagers. As you can see, the telemotor is in a relatively pristine state.

These high-quality digital photographs were taken this summer while diving with Genya Cherniev in the MIR II submersible. To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this home page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing stunning new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news.  Next week, we will be publishing the latest photographs that show the recent discovery of the bow mast collapse distal to the crow's nest.

Titanic Photographs - Part II Bow and Anchor

The second part of our photographic series from the 2005 scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic has been placed on our corporate website.  These high-quality digital photographs were taken this summer while diving with Genya Cherniev in the MIR II submersible. The second part of this series will show pictures of the bow sprit, the port side anchor, auxiliary anchor and the huge links of the anchor chain.

To access these new photographs, as well as other Titanic photographs, scientific research paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation go to our corporate website at http://www.nauticalresearch.com and within the text of this page select the link entitled Educational Services. This will bring you to our educational page where all this valuable information can be viewed and downloaded for personal use only.  I will be placing stunning new photographs from various sections of  RMS Titanic every week so you might like to syndicate our site to be notified of the latest news. It is very easy to syndicate our site by going to the link on the far left column of our blog.

Living Legend - US Navy Submersible Leader Don Walsh

I have been around diving for thirty-five years now and there are many pioneers in diving that I have met. The latest living legend that I met while lecturing out on the Russian research vessel Akademik Keldysh over the Titanic wreck site is Navy Captain Don Walsh USN-Ret. Captain Walsh is the leading United States naval expert on submersibles and was the head of their undersea submersible program for many years. Although this would be considered quite an accomplishment, Don is most famous for another wonderful achievement.

As a young lieutenant, Don Walsh was a member of the elite US submersible team that started the exploration of the deep ocean floor. When the revolutionary submersible Trieste became available to the US Navy, this elite squad of naval professionals were quick to seize the opportunity. On January 23, 1960, Don and French submersible pioneer Jacques Picard journeyed to the bottom of Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean's  Marianas Trench. At 37,800 feet, the Challenger Deep is the deepest spot known in all the oceans. No one has been back since and this feat will never be broken.  For this remarkable accomplishment, Don graced the cover of every news magazine throughout the world and was awarded a presidential medal by President Eisenhower.

Exploration of the deep oceans is still on-going; however, there are only 5 submersibles in the world that can dive deeper than the 12, 600 feet where Titanic resides. With the announced news that Wood's Hole's famous submersible Alvin will be retired, that leaves only the two Russian MIRs, the French Nautile and the Japanese Shinkai as the only submersibles that can do deep ocean exploration-although none of these vessels can make it down as deep as the Trieste did that historic moment in 1960. For that reason, Captain Don Walsh is immortalized as the deepest diver of all-time! As for the Trieste, she can be seen on display at the Washington (DC) Navy Yard.

New Commercially Available Titanic DVD Announcement

Nautical Research Group is proud to announce the development of a new, commercially available DVD that will feature high-quality digital video and Dolby sound from our two 2003 and 2005 scientific research expeditions to the wreck site of RMS Titanic. This video is slated for release in April of 2006 and will feature a virtual adventure of diving down to the Titanic without ever getting wet.

Interweaving the complete story of the construction, sailing and sinking of the famed Titanic, we will be leaving port from the Canadian shores of Newfoundland and depart on the Russian oceanographic research vessel Akademik Keldysh, the most advanced deep-diving support vessel in the world. Using the sophisticated submersibles Mir and captained by the famous ocean scientist and explorer Anatoly Sagalevitch, we will descend to the bottom of the Atlantic, where we will explore the wreck site of the Titanic. Once on the ship, we will explore the intact bow section of the ship and observe many features of the ship that played roles during the collision and sinking. Particular observation will be given to the microbial decay that has produced rusticles all along the ship. Moving back toward the debris field, we will see many of the passengers' personal effects, as well as other distinctive articles from the ship. As we conclude our visit to the wreck site, we will see the Titanic's huge engines and the mangled stern section of the ship. This presentation combines the exuberant feeling of observing a historic shipwreck and the reverent feeling of visiting the final resting place of more than 1,500 people.  Please subscribe to this blog for further information on the delivery schedule, pricing and purchasing of this exciting adventure DVD.

Photos and Science on the Titanic - Ready to View & Download

On our Corporate website at http://nauticalresearch.com , we have placed our scientific research paper and its associated PowerPoint presentation that was given at this past week’s Oceans 2005 conference in Washington, DC. This paper is part of a preliminary analysis on the gross morphological structural integrity changes due to natural processes on the bow of RMS Titanic. This paper is not meant to be an all-inclusive summary of the microbial effects on the ship, as the wonderful scientists, Roy Cullimore and Lori Johnston, are the experts in this field and would be in the best position to discuss their groundbreaking work. While looking at these downloads, please browse through our highly graphic and informative Corporate website. Throughout the website, we have pictures of Titanic, as well as many other famous wreck sites that we dive and conduct research.

Please note that this research paper and the presentation are covered by the corporate copyright protection act. This act will allow you to use this information as an individual and to place links from your websites or forums to the corporate source. You may not alter or copy these materials for re-distribution to another website or forum but feel free to discuss the contents of the items with links to the source on any internet forum or website that you wish. Additionally, you can make personal copies of the items but can not use the text or pictures in any other publication or website unless permission is granted by the corporation. These requests can be handled by our Corporate Affairs area at info@nauticalresearch.com. We wholeheartedly endorse the sharing of this educational information!

Finally, the method for retrieving this information can be found by going to our main Corporate website and then selecting Updated News from the left-hand column. The presentation links can be found under the September 26, 2005 submission. As mentioned on an earlier blog, we will be revamping the Corporate website to provide an Educational section that will include all our original articles, science, photos and video from various well-known and famous shipwrecks.

SPECIAL NOTE : We have released our exclusive 2005 RMS Titanic Scientific Research Expedition series of stunning photographs on the Corporate website. The first series is a never-before-seen complete Wellin davit mechanism with its double rocker arm that was found in the stern section of the ship. There has never been reports of a finding of a complete davit mechanism ever found on Titanic and this photo shows that this davit mechanism is in great shape!

Scientific Abstract on the Deterioration of Titanic

The Titanic is proving to be a literal treasure-trove for scientific study of the deep ocean floor. Because there are only five submersibles in the world that can visit the extreme depths of 12,600 feet, where Titanic resides, every visit to the ship have proven to be of tremendous value to the scientific community. Each dive to the Titanic has the potential to discover a new species of plant or animal life - and in most cases, many new lifeforms has been found and cataloged for further study. The area surrounding Titanic can now be referred to as a natural field laboratory for the study of deep ocean ecosystems. There are very few scientific works about Titanic that have been released to the general public; however, in the future we will be seeing more scientific data presented that will provide a keen insight into the local environment surrounding the ship. By further understanding this in-situ environment, we can provide the associated research that could aid in the preservation of the Titanic. Obviously, the difficulty of conducting scientific studies at this depth limits the number and types of comprehensive examination that can be performed on the wreck site of Titanic. The following is an abstract of a scientific research paper that I presented yesterday at the global Oceans 2005 conference in Washington, DC. The entire five page paper will be placed on our corporate website next week.

Comparative Photometric Analysis of Structural Degradation on the Bow of RMS Titanic

Abstract - A comparative, qualitative photometric survey of RMS Titanic was undertaken to subjectively analyze the condition of the structural integrity of the ship since her discovery in 1985 to the present. The goal of this study is to visually observe the rate of degradation of the condition of the bow section of the ship. Photographs taken from previous expeditions commencing from 1986 to the present were analyzed and compared to monitor the structural decay of the hull and superstructure over the course of time. The observations of this subjective analysis reveal a rapid decomposition of many areas throughout the bow of Titanic. Many decks have collapsing walls, rotted out structure, and vibrant growths of rusticle development. There is a significant widening of the bow expansion joint over time that is clearly evident in this part of the ship. Additionally, there is a very huge tear in the starboard plate aft of the number one davit that is expanding with each passing year. The results of this analysis show that the bow of RMS Titanic has been losing its structural integrity at a rapid rate and she is in danger of total collapse.

Titanic Revealed?????

Recently, many global media reports have been written about the submersible expedition down to Titanic regarding the finding of keel pieces in a “new debris field” located 900 meters away from the ship's stern. This claimant said he had found previously unseen damaged pieces of the ship's hull that are said 'to support his theory that the Titanic rode up onto the iceberg before sinking'. Unfortunately, the theory that he claims was his and his discovery of hull plating far from Titanic were nothing new to several dedicated Titanic researchers that have been visiting the wreck site for the past six years.

The theory regarding the notion that Titanic was a victim of a grounding was initially introduced immediately following the sinking.  In fact, that notion was well publicized as early as 27 April 1912 in a popular English newspaper and has been promoted by several dedicated Titanic researchers in the time since. Among those have been three veteran Titanic divers and Explorers Club members named Robert Williams and famed Arctic submariner Dr. Alfred McLaren, in close collaboration with David Concannon. These explorers have postulated this theory many years ago and have made several dives to Titanic to map out the limits of the debris field and observe hull pieces that lie beyond the immediate vicinity of the ship and known areas of debris. All divers that have been visiting Titanic over the past five years knew that Williams, Concannon and McLaren were gathering additional evidence to their research and had sworn people to utmost secrecy. Obviously this secret was revealed and these noble explorers had their opportunity to reveal the extent of their many years of research and their combined expenditures of many hundreds of thousands of dollars ruined.

In an unprecedented response, Robert Williams has created a website that will provide the high-level evidence for the work that he is doing at the wreck site of Titanic as well as other deep ocean locations. While looking through this wonderful website, you will be able to see all the amount of hard work that he has contributed in formulating and expanding the "grounding" theory and to also gather definitive evidence that Titanic's rapid influx of water was due to a keel breech indirectly caused by the grounding.

*** Setting the record straight is the right thing to do!

Titanic Logs - July 17th Great adventure, Nice to be Home!

This is our last segment of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

We had a late breakfast this morning following a night of revelry and festive spirits. It is time to take on the onerous task of packing all my bags and cleaning out my cabin that has been my home for the past couple of weeks. We plan on taking on the St John's harbor pilot at about 10 am and will arrive at the dock at 11:30 am. Once on the dock, there will be a rapid change of passengers from one expedition to another, as James Cameron's group will immediately board Keldysh.

There were many other people on this expedition that made the entire adventure very pleasing. In particular, three members of Deep Ocean Expeditions staff were wonderful. This includes our two gourmet chefs, Robert Bartl and Michael Holz, and our ship physician, Dr. Tia Renouf. Passengers that observed the entire Titanic experience but did not dive included Snezhana Proznina-Russia, Danny Goldsmith-UK, Brigitte Saar-Germany, Andrew Brooking-UK, Joan Walsh-USA, Melody Anderson-USA and Hubert Much-USA. I would like to thank all the people from Deep Ocean Expeditions for their guidance and support throughout the entire trip. This includes Mike McDowell, Belinda Sawyer, Rob McCallum, Peter Batson, Kelvin Magee, Don Walsh and Ralph White. Deep Ocean Expeditions is one of the finest adventure operations in the world and I would highly recommend their services. A link to their operation can be found on the right side panel of this weblog. Finally, I would like to personally thank all the officers and crew of the Keldysh and MIR for a wonderful expedition. These nautical experts and scientists are the leaders in their field for underwater ocean exploration!

One final note--we will be distributing our high-quality digital photos and video from this expedition in the next few weeks. Details on this distribution will be given in a future weblog (blog) article so please come back soon for a viewing of these fine photos and film.

Titanic Logs - July 16th Take Her to Port!

This is our series of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

Last night, we left the dive site of Titanic for our return to the port town of St. John's Newfoundland, Canada following the retrieval of the MIR submersibles. The weather is clear and the seas are calm and we are anticipating our arrival at the dock in St John's at noontime on Sunday, July 17th. Since there will be a short turnaround at St John's, with James Cameron and his crew boarding Keldysh for a return trip back to the Titanic site, the transponders were left on station. By now, everyone is ready to go home and return to dry land.

Since we have about a day and a half run time into shore, there are several activities planned throughout the day. As for me, I have the entire day free and I spent a majority of it down in the submersible lab where Kelvin Magee is preparing for James Cameron's arrival once we hit port. Kevin is in charge of the fiber-optic cabling for the live remote feed from the MIR down on Titanic for the Discovery Channel. Since Kelvin is a technical diver, we had a close kindred spirit as it relates to our underwater experiences. The tech diving community is very small and everyone knows everyone-and we had a good time chatting about some of our diving colleagues. In our world, it is amazing the things that you can do with duct tape and electrical ties! The amount and creativity of the technology used to report live from Titanic is staggering. Almost everything had to be created from scratch and it took quite a bit of innovation to make it all work together. I was truly impressed with James Cameron and his entire operation. This was an incredible achievement to accomplish and they should be congratulated!

Titanic Logs - July 15th Last Dive Day

This is our series of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

Today is our last dive day out on the Titanic site and everyone is very enthusiastic for our last set of aquanauts. Once again, the weather has been terrific and the seas are very flat and calm. Another pod of whales has come to visit with us for our launch of the MIR submersibles. In MIR I this morning, we will have Reda Anderson from Beverly Hills California, Nik Halik from Melbourne Australia and the submersible will be piloted by Victor Nescheta. Reda brought along her granddaughter, Melody on Keldysh's decks to see her off. As a favor to her granddaughter, Reda brought with her Melody's large stuffed Scooby-Doo doll for a trip down to Titanic. My good friend Nik is an investment manager and spends quite a bit of time in both Greece and Russia. While in Russia, Nik is going through astronaut training and hopefully will be in a position to explore outer space soon. Being in the MIR submersible is very much like being in a small space capsule.

Thirty minutes later, MIR II is launched with Genya Cherniev at the controls. The aquanauts for this special MIR trip down to Titanic are our expedition leader Rob McCallum from New Zealand and my fellow technical diver from Vancouver Canada named Kelvin Magee. These two aquanauts and Genya, who is the most skilled at video presentations, will be laying out the framework for James Cameron's Live Documentary for the Discovery Channel later this month (July 2005).  Following a day of further relaxation, I had two presentations to give to the other fellow passengers. The first presentation was a multi-media showing of the collision, sinking and diving to the wreck site of the Canadian Pacific liner, Empress of Ireland. The second presentation was more of a voice-over on Robert Ballard's late-2004 National Geographic Titanic  documentary called Titanic Revisited which Nautical Research Group provided film footage for its use. Following dinner, we cheered the last of our comrades that made the dives to Titanic.

Titanic Logs - July 14th Back in the Saddle

This is our series of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

'Dive Day 4' and everyone is excited to be back in the saddle again! As for me, I will be spending a relaxing day reporting on the dives via this weblog and preparing my lecture tomorrow on the Empress of Ireland. Today's divers are quite the characters and having them all down on Titanic during the day will make for a very quiet Keldysh.  In MIR I will be my original dive partner, Trevor Montgomery AKA Monty from Melbourne Australia and the other diver is Steve Wickens, a UK engineer currently working in the Middle East. Fresh from 'walking' last evening's "red carpet", Anatoly Sagalevitch will be piloting MIR I. Once again, we have had excellent weather and MIR I launched around 9:50 am followed about 30 minutes later by MIR II with Victor Nescheta at the helm. The divers in MIR II are two of the Arizona boys named John Lennon and Chris Vinger. Both of these fine gentlemen brought with them pictures of their wives, children and pets. All throughout the expedition, these great guys talked very fondly of their families and it was nice to see pictures of their home life.

As MIR II was launched, a large pod of pilot whales were seen off our bow. There must of been over a hundred whales that were seen jumping through the water. Following the launch of the submersibles, our resident deep sea organism biologist, Dr. Peter Batson gave us another fantastic lecture about the deep-sea animals that reside at 12,000 feet and include many of the 'critters' that we routinely encounter while down on Titanic. Following lunch, we had some videos of Deep Ocean Expeditions trip to French Polynesia and a viewing of James Cameron's documentary on Bismarck. Bismarck is a wonderful dive and the battleship is in great condition. For those into doing things to the extremes, Bismarck is even deeper than Titanic by almost 1000 meters. I look forward to the day that I get a chance to visit this wonderful remnant of World War II.

Titanic Logs - July 13th Day of Rest

This is our series of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

Today is a day of rest for me, as well as the crew of the MIR submersible team. We have had three straight days of perfect weather and successfully accomplished 6 submersible dives to the Titanic. Last night, I had a very late night after our MIR submersible was recovered by Keldysh. By the time we got back on the deck of Keldysh, it was almost 9:45 pm and MIR I had already been back for over 3 hours. I felt very satisfied with our dive and visited all the spots that I had planned on visiting with the exception of the Grand Staircase. As we disembarked from the MIR, I was given a flute of champagne (or sparkling white wine?) and proceeded to down the flute in one gulp, followed by a bathroom run. My modified diet had served me well while in the MIR for over 12 hours. When I got back out on deck, they gave me the entire bottle of champagne and brought me to the dining room for a wonderful gourmet meal. Stripping out of the NOMEX fire-proof suit, I had a scrumptious meal with many of my fellow observers that took an opportunity to grill me about my wonderful experience. By the time I finished dinner and changed, it was about 11:30 pm but I was too excited to sleep. I decided to stay up with my good friends from Arizona ( Brian Day O'Connor, Chris Vinger, John Lennon and Eric Crown) until the wee hours talking about our Titanic adventures and other sultry tales.

The next morning, I got a chance to sleep in until 8 am and made sure that I returned the NOMEX suit back to Mother before she tracked me down.  I was slated to give two Andrea Doria presentations today - one of the presentations was our Corporation's copyrighted film and the other one was presenting Peter Gimbel's early 1980 expedition to this beautiful Italian liner. Today's activities included a Group Expedition Photograph and later our big BBQ dinner extravaganza out on the patio deck of Keldysh. During this buffet, the Russian crew re-introduced me to "Sheila". Sheila is not a person nor anything living. Sheila is their special homemade vodka that they make somewhere in the deep bowels of Keldysh. I have no idea what is in Sheila but I can certainly attest that it is VERY strong. The movie for the evening was James Cameron's Titanic. I would of thought that everyone had watched this film many times and that the attendance would be sparse. However, I was so wrong as everyone came to watch the film including Anatoly Sagelevitch, who was one of the stars of the film.  In his movie role, Anatoly had this famous line "No gold???" that sent our audience into an uproar. I really admire and respect Anatoly. He is truly a warm and wonderful person!

Titanic Logs - July 12th Time to Return to Titanic Pt 10

This is our series of supplemental logs that were taken from our scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic earlier last month. I hope that you enjoy!

Moving away from the extreme stern area, I asked our submersible pilot, Genya, to visit the huge A-frame engines. As we came along side of the shattered stern section, I am amazed at how violent the implosion of this stern section was during its rapid descent to the ocean floor. Although certain items were clearly recognizable, the difficulty was trying to put these items in the overall context of what Titanic originally looked like.  As we made our way to the engines, a startling sight appeared in the debris area adjacent to the main stern piece. There on the ocean floor laid a perfectly intact lifeboat davit. I had never previously seen a lifeboat davit in the stern and quite frankly was surprised. With the shearing action on the stern and its rotational descent, I would of expected the davits to have been torn off and destroyed. This davit looked in perfect condition and very similar to those found lying on the bow's decks. The finding of this davit conclusively proves that the break in Titanic was at the stern expansion joint and there should be other davits found in the stern ar