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2007

May 2007

Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago

Meeting Minutes 30 May 2007

General

  •  Approximately 22 members met at Helix.
  • Everyone wished Bob Gadbois a HAPPY 65TH BIRTHDAY ! !

Officer Reports

  • Treasury – Interested parties should contact Bob Gadbois for details.
  • ICSSD – Claire Gadbois reported:
    • LeRoy Winbush recently passed away. LeRoy donated the original Diver of the Year trophy and has been very active in Our World Underwater. He will be missed by all who knew him.
    • July 15th is the Jim Haigh Memorial Dive at Haigh Quarry. There will be a large raffle with lots of prizes, lots of live music, and all divers get 1/2 price admission and free air fills.
    • President's Night Dinner will be Saturday October 20th.
  • Secretary – John Bell reported that:
    • Minutes are up to date on the web.
    • Secretary will be absent from the June meeting and requests that someone else take minutes in his absence.
    • Joan Forsberg will run the July meeting; Howard Openlander will run the August meeting. Leaders requested for future meetings and/or ideas for future meetings.
  • Newsletter – We are still looking for a new newsletter editor.  

Old Business

  •  NARA held a wonderful program on May 8 regarding the UW survey work done on the Rouse Simmons. The presenters will be our speakers at the September meeting.

New Business

  •  Survey Training Class - Cris Kohl reported that:
    • There is a NAS1 course being held in Traverse City Michigan this weekend.
    • Cris Kohl and Jim Jarecki have applied for instructor status, and will be taking Instructor Training Saturday and Sunday.
    • Gail VanderStoep, a Professor at U of MI is an NAS trainer.
  • WUAA summer field project in Door County. June 23 and most weekends to follow. See the WUAA web site at http://www.wuaa.org for more information.
  • Sept 6-8 AGLMH Meeting, Mackinac, MI.. See http://www.algmh.org for more information.
  • Oct 20 2007 will be the Wisconsin UW Archeology and Maritime History Conference. ( Also ICSSD President's Night Dinner. )
  • Gene reported that the Pirate Fest will be this weekend in Port Washington, Friday and Saturday.

Shipwreck Surveys

  •  David Wells - Liz Jurkacek
  • Thomas Hume - Liz Jurkacek
  • Railroad Car ferry Barge No. 2 - John & Ruth Loftus
    • A new buoy has been placed near the bow of the wreck.
    • Approval was given for a new centerline tape to be purchased with UASC funds, to be placed soon.
    • Research regarding the Milwaukee Car Ferry Company continues.
  • Saint Mary - Keith Pearson, Tony Kiefer
    • There exists a full photo mosaic of the St. Mary, except the anchor. It needs to be traced to produce a drawing.
    • This survey started 10 years ago, then was worked on again 5 years ago, and is now being picked up again.
    • There have been some changes, such as the wheel being stolen and of course the invasion of the Zebra Mussels.
  • Rotarian - Keith Pearson, Tony Kiefer
    • There exists lots of information and measurements, but no photo mosaic
  • Straits of Mackinac - Keith Pearson, Tony Kiefer
    • There is a 3D image done by Don Doherty's brother.
    • There is a scale drawing, including documentation of the wall collapse.
  • Flora M. Hill - Cris Kohl and Jim Jarecki
    • ( Steel plated ) Wooden steamer from 1912. Stuck in the ice and scattered.
    • Just outside the harbor, under lots of boat traffic and sailboat races. Therefore only accessible for diving at the beginning and end of the boating season.
  • Wells Burt - Jim Jarecki
    • Revisiting per state's suggestion, to show the evolution after X years.
    • Valerie Van Heest oversaw the first survey in 1989, involving 75 volunteer divers.
  • Ogden Dunes, Unknown #4 - Jim Jarecki
    • Indiana Beach wreck site.

Upcoming Shows / Conferences

  •  

Guest Speaker

  •  Cris Kohl lead tonight's discussion
    • Cris's first topic was a short presentation of aa project status review of a number of UASC projects
    • The second topic was a discussion of a proposal being considered by Michigan legislators to provide an avenue for SCUBA divers to "donate" $15 per year for the privilege of diving Michigan shipwrecks, with proceeds to go for buoy placement and other support for the shipwreck resources of Michigan.
      • There was some concern that such a program would just driver divers away, and hurt the overall dive industry in MI.
      • There was also some concern that the fees would become mandatory over time.
      • There was also little information about exactly who would collect the monies, how they would be collected, and exactly what would be done with the resulting revenues.
      • Some members felt they wouldn't mind paying a small annual fee to support underwater resources, IF the funds could be collected and applied in a reasonable manner.

Other Business