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2011

May 2011 Minutes

Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago

Meeting Minutes 25 May 2011

General

  • Approximately 25 members and guests met at 6:30 on the 8th floor of the Helix Building, 310 S. Racine at Jackson.
    • New Members: Vicki Reyes and Bob Vawter,
    • Guests: Wojciech Wlocliowicz ( sp? )
    • Guest Speaker -- Jack Scott - "Shipwreck & Artifact Drawing Techniques" - See below for full details.
  • Tonight's meeting was run by Don Doherty, with refreshments provided by Tony Kiefer

Board and Committee Reports

  • President - Don Doherty
    • Long time member Sam Frank has renewed his membership and interest in UASC. ( And he owns a boat. )
    • Sol Precker, founder of UW Safaris, passed away in April.
    • The NAS 1 course is now available online. See http://www.nasnmc.com for full details.
    • John Gerty is working on a presentation regarding a visit he made to a Coast Guard Museum, at which he found a photo book assembled by a crewman on the Dexter ( later the Buccaneer. )
    • Jim Jarecki e-mailed about a Maritime History Survey.
  • President Elect - Dean Nolan
    • June 11 - Jim Jarecki and Tony Kiefer gave a presentation to the Chicago Scuba Meetup on the history of the lake and some of the shipwrecks in it that was very well received.
  • Secretary - John Bell provided copies of the minutes from the last meeting, which were approved.
  • Treasurer – Bob Gadbois reported on the state of UASC finances.
    • Income this month includes Sam Frank's dues and a $25 projector use fee.
    • Contact Bob for further details
  • Membership – Rosters were provided by Scott Reimer.
  • Steering Committee –The Steering Committee did not meet this month.
    • See last month's minutes for previous and ongoing activities.
  • Survey Coordinator - John Gerty
    • Brian Abbott is unavailable for June 1 and 2, and will reschedule.
    • Sidescanning the Wrecks of Lower Lake Michigan - John Bell project leader
      • Six wreck sites were scanned over the course of two days on the water, with varying degrees of success.
      • Full progress report given later in the meeting. ( See below. )
  • Safety - Chet Childs
    • Nothing to report at this time.
  • Web Site - Jack Bolous
    • Working on establishing a members-only area which will require that paid member sign in with their e-mail and an assigned password.
    • Send any information or suggestions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • ICSSD –Chuck reported on the Illinois Council of Skin and Scuba Divers:
    • July 31 Jim Haigh Memorial Dive
    • Margo met with Bob Foster.
      • We have a go-ahead for the Northerly Island Project.
      • Meeting June 4th for all interested parties at Northerly Island Administration Building. Till around 1:00 ?
      • In water 2nd or 3rd week of July. Coordinate with Coast Guard for protection boats.
      • 3 Major SCUBA Surveys to be done, around 12th Street beach and nearby areas.
      • There will be an opportunity for clubs to set up information booths on the day of "the event". Free parking for us ( vouchers. ) This may open up the option of shore diving in the future.
      • June 4th - Conflict with UASC Haigh Quarry event?
      • Islands to be created east of Northerly Island to enclose a new lagoon.
      • UASC Haigh Quarry outing moved to June 5th.
  • DiveHeart Liaison - Gene Hasiak
    • Finished local Discover Scubas.
    • Taking a group to Cozumel for a week.
    • Trips to the Keys coming up.
    • Working on a more focused group for the Veterans.
    • July 31st event at Haigh. Proceeds to be split between SUDS and DMW.
    • Gene and Diane gave a presentation to the Great Lakes Yacht Club about UASC.
      • One of their members also has a sidescan sonar.
    • Check the DiveHeart web site for info on upcoming events.
  • Other

Recent and New Business

  • Haigh Quarry Day, June 4th
    • Moved to June 5th ( See Above. )
    • Signup sheet going around tonight.
    • Bring some food to grill and/or share.
  • UASC Presentations to Outside Organizations:
    • June 11th - Tony Kiefer will present his Tool Crib Disaster presentation at the Chicago Fire Acaedmy, 558 W. DeKoven Street, as part of a day of presentations put on by the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago.
    • June 11th, Indiana Dunes State Park,Indiana State Dunes Centennial: 100th anniversary of the J. D. Marshall sinking. Jim Jarecki will be doing a presentation, and would like for others to also present, possibly with the Shipwreck Detectives project. Jim could use some help.
    • Chicago Scuba Meetup - Jim Jarecki and Tony Kiefer recently gave an excellent presentation about UASC and the history of the lake and its wrecks, which was very well received.
    • Chicago Fire Academy - June 11 - Tony Kiefer will be giving the Tool Crib Presentation.
  • Letter to New Chicago Mayor
    • Don wrote the letter and mailed it a week ago. Introduce ourselves and let him know we are here and what we are all about.
    • The full text will be posted to the web site soon
  • OTHER: Miscellaneous new business items should be brought up – briefly – now.
    • Mike Brutlag - Door County trip planned for Sept 3rd - 7th, Labor Day weekend.
    • Speakers are always needed.
  • THANKS to Tony Kiefer for providing tonight's refreshments.
  • Sign up for meeting refreshments - Dan Kasberger Refreshments coordinator.
    • June - John & Kat Bell

 

Underwater Archaeology

  • Sector Scan Project -
    • Brian Abbott of Nautilus Marine Group is unavailable June 1st and 2nd, and will have to reschedule.
    • John Bell has done some preliminary sidescanning of some of the proposed sector scanning sites, to identify specific coordinates to drop the sector scanning unit.
  • Field Survey Workshop at Haigh Quarry Day
    • We need survey kits for that project.
    • Note date moved to Sunday June 5th, to avoid a conflict with the ICSSD Northerly Island meeting on June 4th.
  • Survey Projects in June
    • Car Ferry - John Loftus
      • Plans to do some drawing, NAS 2 project for John Loftus, Jim Jarecki, and John Bell.
      • John Bell just got some great sidescan images.
      • Plan to establish a centerline wire and a sliding reference frame.
    • Flora Hill - Michael Angelo's project.
    • Don wants to get his boat active - Val's Wreck? ( Could be a tug or a fire boat? )
  • Sidescan Sonar Survey of Southern Lake Michigan Shipwrecks
    • John Bell provided a progress report as of May 25th, in the form of a short PowerPoint presentation.
      • Hardware used includes the Humminbird 898 Sidescan sonar and the 21-foot Diving Belle.
      • Five software packages used to process the data and view the results, including Humminbird PC, Humviewer, Sonar TRX, Google Earth, and PhotoShop.
      • Very good results were obtained for the Car Ferry Number 2. A poster of the results was presented, which the project participants have been able to use to better understand the other data that they have been collecting for the past 5 years.
      • Some imagery also collected for the G.T.Dorr, Material Service Barge, Illinois / Holly Barge, and the Wings of the Wind. These images will at least be sufficient to establish coordinates for the sector scanning when Brian Abbott is able to come down, as well as for more detailed side scanning later.
      • The Flora Hill was not found, due to inaccurate coordinates.
      • A lot has been learned about the side scanning process, though there is still more to learn.

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday June, 2011

Refreshments to be provided by John and Kat Bell.

Speaker: - TBD

Guest Speaker -- Jack Scott -- "Shipwreck & Artifact Drawing Techniques"

Our special guest presenter this month is Jack Scott, a veteran professional illustrator who has assisted on numerous archaeological finds here and abroad. He has shared his techniques and secrets for drawing shipwrecks and their artifacts through workshops, one of which he did for the UASC in 2003. While Jack may not make you a seasoned pro in one hour, he will demonstrate how anyone can become a better artist with surprising results. Jack gave a very interesting presentation regarding his archaeological documentation drawing techniques, including a large portfolio full of examples. Starting out in a traditional lecture style, Jack's presentation quickly evolved into a more personal discussion format, as everyone crowded around the speaker's table to look over Jack's portfolio and to ask detailed questions.

  • For flat objects, lay it down, cover with plexiglas and acetate, then very carefully trace details. ( Can also do the same with photographs. )
  • Shadows should always be on the bottom and right for properly photographed and illustrated objects. ( Draw the shadows, and people see the object. )
  • Artists typically work on an image scaled up 50% above desired finished size, and scale it back down later.
  • Rapidograph - Technical drawing pens. - Micron pens are $2 equivalents.
  • Design Vellum is preferred paper.
  • Supplies available at several stores, including one next door to Scuba Systems in Skokie.

Other Business

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