Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Meeting Minutes 27 July 2011
General
- Approximately 40 members and guests met at 6:30 on the 8th floor of the Helix Building, 310 S. Racine at Jackson.
- New Members: Jackie Rae and Rod and RaeAnn Pedersen
- Guests: About 8, including Bill Marsh, Nat Ward, Michelle Faust, Greg Lane, Debbie Hall, and Blake & Debbie Benedict.
- Guest Speaker - Dave Hall - "Material Service Barge, Tacoma, and Car Ferry #2" - See below for full details.
- Tonight's meeting was run by Don Doherty, with refreshments provided by Scott Reimer
Board and Committee Reports
- President - Don Doherty
- Welcome
- Next month - Valerie Van Heest, UASC founder, MSRA, will be in town Thursday Sept 8th. She could talk to us about the survey of the Thomas Hume - How it was done, etc. Requires moving the August meeting to Thursday September 8th. Those present were in favor of this schedule change.
- 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.
- Contact Bob for further details
- Membership – Rosters were provided by Scott Reimer. A few new members have been added since last month.
- Steering Committee –The Steering Committee met online this month.
- We will make efforts to increase our boating and diving activities. UASC will be subsidizing charters for survey work with Jim Gentile and Windy City Diving, and possibly other charters and/or private boats.
- This season has been hampered by weather and boat repair issues.
- Survey Coordinator - John Gerty
- Brian Abbott of Nautilus Marine Group missed doing the sector scanning July 15th & 16th, due to a flight cancellation home from Norway. His visit has not yet been rescheduled.
- Don Doherty's boat, Count Your Blessings, is now in the water and has visited Val's Wreck.
- Flora Hill - Michael Angelo:
- Need to complete video.
- One quadrant is mosaiced. Another half is shot but not mosaiced. Last quarter needs to be re-shot.
- John Bell needs to get the sidescan images to Michael.
- 1100 frames -> jpegs. Grouped into 135 groups of about 10 each.
- Buccaneer
- Michael Angelo suggested we survey it annually to document its change.
- Beth Plotner reported that a lot of the back structue and the aft mirror are gone. The fiberglass and wood structures are particularly susceptible.
- Safety - Chet Childs
- Nothing to report at this time.
- Web Site - Jack Bolous could not attend tonight's meeting.
- 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.
- –Chuck Miller reported on the Illinois Council of Skin and Scuba Divers:
- July 31 Jim Haigh Memorial Dive
- Oct 2 Pumpkin Carving Dive - Run by Tritons. Free pumpkins provided by Tina Haigh.
- Oct 9 International Beach Cleanup. Diveheart will underwrite insurance. Event will be co-hosted with Diveheart. Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville.
- Oct 22 President Night's Dinner at Sawa's. Applications available now, due Sept 15th. $23 tickets. Grand prize raffle for trip to Divi Resort in Bonaire.
- Helicopter is not going anywhere this year or next. Margo thanks everyone who participated in the petition.
- DiveHeart Liaison - Gene Hasiak
- Luau - Downers Grove American Legion Post, $35, November 12th.
- Jim Haigh proceeds split with wounded warriors.
- Check the for info on upcoming events.
- Other
Recent and New Business
- Northerly Island Survey Project
- Saturday July 23rd several divers and boatowners showed up to survey, but the outing had to be cancelled because Chicago flooded overnight, and the locks were left open for several hours, dumping contaminated water into the lake.
- August 13th, Saturday, will be the next attempt.
- Contact Chuck and Margo Miller if you would like to participate.
- There will be free parking and boat launches for everyone volunteering for this project.
- Project Synopsis: Chicago Park District is looking at expanding Northerly Island into the lake in the form of a lagoon surrounded by a series of new islands. ICSSD is supporting the project by surveying the current conditions of the site, for the purposes of developing the proposal and acquiring funding. If the project is completed, there may be SCUBA diving available in the central lagoon area.
- Sam Polonetzky (sp? ) had a heart bypass, but is doing much better now.
- Shipwreck Detective Program Feature Article.
- A great presentation was done in Indiana by Gene Hasiak and others.
- Door County Washington Island, Ruth Magnus Labor Day Weekend UASC trip.
- Michigan beach hull wreck.
- A woman contacted us about some ship wreckage washed up on the beach near her home, just north of the Cook nuclear plant.
- Jim Jarecki and Don Doherty went out and visited with her. They took lots of pictures and measurements. Jim will be writing up a report.
- There is a well-known shipwreck nearby that the locals swim out to regularly.
- This could be an interesting new project, possibly an NAS 2 project.
- Sector Scanning
- Brian Abbott fell through.
- Jason Martin, has access to sector scanning equipment. John Loftus made contact, and has plans to sector scan the Car Ferry #2 on August 14th.
- Val's Wreck
- Found by A&T Recovery. Numbers given to Valerie Van Heest by Taras and Keith.
- Don took a group out to survey it. Tony Kiefer, Michael Angelo, Don.
- No engine or boilers. Vessell burned.
- Propeller and shaft are visible.
- Michael Angelo preparing a photo mosaic. Don presented the images.
- Plan to make more visits. Need to adjust baselines, do trilateration.
- Could be a tug or a fireboat.
- Tony's images show timber structure and an old sink, plates, a cold cream cup, gallon jug, some small delicate bottles containing fluids.
- Material Service - No new activity at this time.
- Car Ferry
- Pleasure divers report marker is still there and centerline tape is still good.
- Hope to sector scan soon, and then we will know what additional help is needed / work to be done.
- Bob Gadbois retiring tomrrow after 41 years with CBS. CONGRATULATIONS BOB and Best Wishes ! !
- Kat Bell's birthday is today. Happy Birthday Kat.
- OTHER: Miscellaneous new business items should be brought up – briefly – now.
- Speakers are always needed.
- THANKS to Scott Reimer for providing tonight's refreshments.
- Sign up for meeting refreshments - Dan Kasberger Refreshments coordinator.
- Aug -
- Sept -
Underwater Archaeology
- See above, under the Dive Coordinator's report.
NEXT MEETING: TBD
There is some discussion of holding the "August" meeting on Thursday September 8th, so that Valerie Van Heest can be our guest speaker. See above.
Refreshments to be provided by TBD
Speaker: - TBD
Guest Speaker -- Dave Hall
Our special guest presenter, Dave Hall, spoke about his experiences with underwater videography. Dave has been a scuba diver since 1980. His first underwater video was shot with a camera he purchased at a local dive shop. With music transferred from his Sony Walkman to videotape, his new hobby was on its way to becoming his "second career." Dave's equipment, knowledge and experience has steadily evolved since that first project. He credits training he received from Emmy Award-winning videographer Frazier Nivens as a major influence on his work, which has been described as some of the clearest, sharpest quality underwater videography. Over the years, Dave has shot and produced videos for Lake County Diver's Supply, Mermet Springs, Dive Right In Scuba, Haigh Quarry, Sea Dog Divers, and Aquatics Search & Rescue, to name a few.
For UASC members, he presented some excellent videos of the Material Service Barge, Tacoma and Car Ferry #2, the subjects of past and current UASC survey work. More recently, Dave created a video of J.D. Marshall to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its sinking off Indiana's shore. Dave Hall is an Indiana resident. For more about Dave Hall and his company, Underwater Imaging, visit .
Other Business
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00, after which a number of members retired to for further discussions and socializing.