Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Meeting Minutes
May 28 2008

General

•  Approximately 30 members met at 6:30 at the 8th floor of the Helix Building, 310 S. Racine at Jackson, including several guests and new members.
• Tonight's meeting was run by Joan Forsberg, with ( merveilleux! ) food provided by Delphine Pontvieux, Gabrielle Lewis, and Ruth Loftus.
• UASC extends deepest sympathies to the families of Tony Keifer's brother and Captain Bill Prince. More details on the passing of Captain Bill will be available at nordicdiver.com.

Board and Committee Reports

• Secretary - John Bell distributed the minutes from the last meeting, which were approved.
• Treasury –  Bob Gadbois reported on the state of UASC finances.
  • Credit card receipts are in.
  • Contact Bob for further information.
• ICSSD – Claire Gadbois reported on the Illinois Council of Skin and Scuba Divers:
  • ICSSD meets the third Thursday of every month at Mr. Beef and Pizza in Mount Prospect.
  • July 20 - Jim Haigh Memorial Dive at Haigh Quarry. Live band, auction, food on premises, grills available. There may be free air fills and/or half-price entry, subject to correction.
  • September 20 - International Beach Clean Up at Haigh Quarry. It will be another ZebraMussel “roundup.” The more Zebra Mussels collected, the more raffle tickets distributed. ICSSD T-shirts available for sale.
  • October 5 - Underwater Pumpkin Carving Dive at Haigh Quarry. Sponsored by CASA. ICSSD T-shirts available for sale.
  • October 11 - Presidents' Night Banquet and Raffle at Charlie's Charhouse
• Membership – Roger Brown was not present at the beginning of the meeting. John Bell promised to send out updated membership lists, based on Bob Gadbois' paid-dues spreadsheet..
• Newsletter – Cris Kohl - May/June newsletter is available, hot off the presses.
• Other:

Old Business

New Business

• Door County Dive Trip - June 27-29, Joan Forsberg Coordinator.
  • Two six-pack dive boats are reserved for a total of 12 divers.
    • Seven UASC members have paid so far.
    • Openings will be made available to non-UASC members once all UASC members have had a chance to sign up.
  • Dive charter is Dive Diva Charters, 920 495-1496.
  • Cost is $115 / day for two days of diving, for $230 each.
  • Two morning dives per person. Afternoons are free, and there is lots to see and do for divers and non-divers alike in Door County.
  • Non-divers welcome! :-D
  • Likely dive sites include the Frank O'Connor, the Pilot Island Wrecks, the E.R. Williams, R. J. Hacket (sp?), and the Louisiana.
  • The Patio Motel in Sister Bay has rooms at $69 / room for two persons, or $76 for three persons.
    • They have 8 rooms including two queen suites, a.k.a. The Party Rooms.
    • There are also rollaway beds available.
• Clean-up Days for Members’ Boats - Boat owners are encouraged to inform UASC ( e-mail members@uaschicago.org ) when they are doing work on their boats that members can help out with. Members are encouraged to respond positively.
• The Buccaneer project - See guest speaker below.
• N.A.S. Courses - Cris Kohl spoke regarding some upcoming underwater archaeology courses being offered by the Nautical Archaeology Society through Northwestern Michigan College. This is a weekend course, currently free except for the textbooks. The June and September courses are both full, but there may be another course added.
• Construction Assistance for Chicago Maritime Society
  • 6th Floor, Helix Building.
  • Help wanted.
  • Trig Waller
  • Every Saturday 11:00 to 4:00
  • There are also projects one can work on at home.
  • Contact Joan Forsberg for information on how to contact CMS if you are interested in helping.
• Shipwreck Survey Projects - See Below
• UASC Shirts - Jim Jarecki got nominated to head the project, and Michael Angelo volunteered to help with artwork. Delphine Pontvieux has contacts with a screen printing shop.
• NEXT UASC MEETING: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday June 25. Speaker, Topic, and Refreshments TBD.
• Future guest speakers:
  • Patrick Hammer - July
  • Pete Chval - June - Rotarian and St. Mary's ?
  • Suggestions always welcome.  
• Other:
  • Chris Kastle announced the recent release of "From Lumber Hookers to the Hooligan Fleet, A Treasury of Chicago Maritime History", edited by The Chicago Maritime Society, containing an article on Maritime Music by Tom and Chris Kastle. Autographed copies available from Chris.

Shipwreck Survey Projects

• Material Service - Jim / John L / Tony
• Barge No. 2 - John Loftus
• David Wells - Liz Jurkacek
• The Straits of Mackinac

Guest Speaker

• Jim Gentile has long worked in the areas of diver training and safety in the Chicago area. Besides teaching scuba, he also teaches CPR and O2 Provider courses. He runs a scuba charter boat business (a 34-foot R/V Aquatica) to the popular dive sites off Chicago, including to The Straits of Mackinac (he was involved in the sinking of The Straits of Mackinac Project, and he was the first diver to visit the site immediately after the scuttling). Utilizing the expertise he acquired in The Straits of Mackinac sinking in 2003, he is spearheading the sinking of the old tourist boat, the Buccaneer, to create a fantastic, new dive site for Chicago area divers.
  • Looking for help cleaning up, ~ 1 to 2 days / month.
  • Hope to get it cleaned up by July.
  • Currently at Marine Services in Dalton, IL, near Cottage Grove & 140th.
  • Need someone to manage projects on weekends, as Jim works weekends.
  • Roger Barski and crew will do welding, e.g. fastening the propellers permanently.
  • There exists power and a dumpster. Continuous pumping to keep it afloat.
  • Blueprints to be acquired.
  • The mailing list buccaneer@uaschicago.org will be used for communications between UASC members and Jim regarding this project. Contact Secretary@uaschicago.org if you would like to be added to this list. ( NOTE: Add Jim@WindyCityDiving.Net to buccaneer list. )
  • Project leader / coordinator needed.
  • Survey on land?
  • Approximately 9.5 miles from the nearest harbor?
  • Other ideas to make the project more attractive are welcome.
  • Grant being written through the Tim Early Foundation.
• Cris Kohl added a very interesting and colorful history of the Buccaneer.
• Roger Barski spoke about the specific plans to clean up and modify the ship.
  • Training site for public safety divers to practice diving on hazardous waste sites.
  • UAC - Underwater Archeology Conference Midwest.
  • Moraine ? providing support and materials.

Other Business

•  The meeting was adjourneda at approximately 9:00, after which a number of members retired to Ricobene's for further discussions and socializing.