Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago

Meeting Minutes 25 September 2013

(Meeting Minutes written September 26th, 2013 by Kathleen Bell)

General

• Approximately 40 members and guests met at 6:30 pm. This month’s location was the Chicago Maritime Museum located on the 6th floor of the Helix Building on the southwest corner of Racine and Jackson.

Board and Committee Reports

• President – John Bell welcomed everyone.
• Vice President report – Robert Hughes was present.
• President elect report – Bob Rushman was present.
• Secretary – John Gerty was not present. Kathleen Bell took minutes. The August minutes are available on the website
• Treasurer –Bob Gadbois, reported on the status of the Treasury.

Old Business

• ICSSD Beach Cleanup (9/21) was successfully held at Greenwood Beach in Evanston. Waves prohibited diving, but the beach was cleaned, and BBQ was consumed.
• The UASC DVD Library, courtesy of Bob Gadbois, is currently being cataloged and backed up by John Bell, who will post an inventory on the website

New Business

• Survey Reports:
  • Car Ferry Barge No. 2: No update.
  • Car Ferry Barge No. 2 Reference Grid: Two dive days during the past month; one more dive day needed; expected to complete report on time for deadline required by permit.
  • Val’s Wreck: Nothing new to report.
  • Flora Hill: Nothing new to report.
  • Silver Spray: Jonathan Plotner has completed the snorkel survey; has a plan for a dive survey, and needs 2-3 dive days (and a dive boat)
  • Wells Burt: Jim Jarecki met with Dawson Museum, who is open to an arrangement to receive the wreck artifacts. However, the artifacts belong to the people of the State of Illinois, held by permit by UASC, so it may be difficult to release them out of state. Jarecki to provide Kim Kreiling with an inventory of the artifacts.
  • Solon H. Johnson: Tony Kiefer has completed additional surveys of the wreck. Stakes have been replaced. The scouring of the wreck at the stern revealed new artifacts – plumbing, fittings, parts of tools, a few dozen bricks. These have been photographed. The keel has broken off and is buried at the back. The wreck has undergone significant changes, and continues to change from dive to dive. (Note, the bow has totally disappeared). Jarecki has completed additional research, including the discovery that the shot line used in the rescue was sent to St. Louis in 1903 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
• Thursday Night Dive Charters with Windy City Diving- only one use in 2013; will schedule again in 2014
• Upcoming meetings:
  • October: Patrick McBriarty on Chicago’s Moveable Bridges. Chicago Drawbridges is a documentary directed by Stephen Hatch and narrated by Patrick McBriarty, author and bridge historian, chronicling the importance of the bridges in the making of the Windy City, from the very first wood footbridge, built by a tavern owner in 1832, to today’s iconic structures spanning the Chicago River. Informative and entertaining this 56-minute film tells the story of Chicago’s development through the bridges Patrick McBriarty’s upcoming book, Chicago River Bridges, received the 2013 Henry N. Barkhausen Award for original research on Great Lakes Maritime History from the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History See http://www.chicagodrawbridges.com/ for more information.
  • NOTE: THE OCTOBER MEETING WILL BE HELD AT JAK’S TAP
  • November: James Delgado (NOAA) Dr. Delgado is currently the Director of the Maritime Heritage Program at NOAA, formerly the President and CEO of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, and was the Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vancouver, British Columbia for 15 years. Previously, he was the head of the U.S. government’s maritime preservation program and was the maritime historian for the U.S. National Park Service. Dr. Delgado co-hosted The Sea Hunters along with best-selling author Clive Cussler, from 2001 to 2006. He is the author of over 32 books and numerous articles on nautical archeology, and is a talented speaker and storyteller.
  • Elections will also be held at the November meeting, send officer nominations to Jim Jarecki, Chet Childs and/or don Doherty, who will present them at the October meeting
  • NOTE: THE NOVEMBER MEETING WILL BE MOVED TO 11/20 DUE TO THANKSGIVING. LOCATION TBD
  • January: Joan Forsberg will present on the Great Lakes Shipwrecks of 1812, and will have copies of her newest book on the storm of 1913. Joan is a past president of UASC, a well-known maritime historian, scuba diver, author, lecturer, photographer, and videographer who loves to explore shipwrecks, particularly those in the Great Lakes. She is a member of the International Woman Divers Hall of Fame and has her underwater archaeology certifications from Great Britain’s Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS). Joan was inducted into the international Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2011 she was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and received the Underwater Archaeological Society Award for "many years of leadership and dedication".
• Thank you, Jim Jarecki, for arranging our speakers.
• Other Events:
  • ICSSD President’s Dinner, October 19th at Angelo’s in Elmhurst. Claire Gadbois and Scott Reimer have tickets ($35). Buffet, raffle (Divi Resorts is a prize). Bring non-violent, non-stuffed, toys with batteries if required for Toys for Tots collection.
  • WUAA Annual Conference, October 26th at Discovery Center in Milwaukee.
  • December/Holiday Party – Scott Reimer is arranging.
  • New Year’s Eve Party - TBD 
  • NAS Level I Course: Another course is being proposed; 6 members present indicated interest 
  • NAS Level III: Credit is being applied for those participants in the ROV Workshop held in the spring. Submission of a syllabus appears to be sufficient to earn this credit.
  • The Brendon Baillod program on Research Methodology: Scheduling conflicts have delayed this for the time being.
• Upcoming Shows (Robert Hughes to coordinate UASC booth)
  • Our World Underwater (2/14-2/16)
  • Chicago Maritime Festival (2/22)
  • Ghost Ships (3/14 – 3/15)
• Chicago Maritime Society update (Jarecki): CMS is in the process of packing and moving, temporarily to the 1st floor, then to 35th St. 
  • UASC donated $500 towards moving costs
  • CMS could use volunteers to help pack, weekdays from 10-4, call the office or Jarecki for more information
• ICSSD reported by Claire Gadbois: 
  • October 19th President’s Night Dinner : At 6:30pm at Angelo’s Restaurant in Elmhurst
  • The council is working on printing and distributing the NOAA rip current brochure, for the safety of the community

Other Business

• Thank you Dan Kasberger, Victor Banks, the Brutlags, Kat Bell and others for providing tonight’s refreshments
• Happy Birthday to Mike Brutlag.
• Sympathies to the Ruth and John Loftus on the recent passing of Ruth’s father and John’s uncle.
• Milwaukee Amateur Underwater Film Festival will be held in March. See http://www.milwaukeediveapparel.com/ for more information. They will also be launching an online photo competition, specific to Great Lakes Shipwrecks.

Featured Speaker: Cal Kothrade

Cal Kothrade is an award winning maritime artist, underwater photographer, and published dive travel author, specializing in wreck mosaic photography, digital renderings, and fine art paintings. Cal is the founder, and producer of the Milwaukee Amateur Underwater Film Festival, Founder of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Photo Contest (new in 2013), Curator of the Our World Underwater Art Flows like Water Art Exhibition, as well as a member of Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, and Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association.

Subject: The Prins Willem V

A talk on the wreck of the Prins Willem focusing on little known information about the ship and showing video documentation of how the ship has been deteriorating in recent years. He will also discuss the art of underwater videography and how to create edited videos suitable for showing at film festivals.