Diver UK – August 2019

(C. Jardin) #1

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AN AUSTRALIAN WRECK-DIVERhas
confirmed the identity of a celebrated
41m tugboat that sank more than
100 years ago off South Australia.
Four years ago Steve Saville found
and dived the wreck of what he now
knows is the Nyorasteam tug at a
depth of 50m, 30 miles off Cape Jaffa,
between Adelaide and Melbourne.
He had spent three years trying to
pinpoint the tug’s location, eventually
finding it by scanning an area of
seabed indicated by marks left by the
only two survivors and information
from local fishermen.
However, he was unable to follow
up on his brief initial air-dive because
of other work and wreck-research
commitments. Then, last December,
he made a series of trimix dives, but
was hampered by persistent poor
visibility at the site.
Saville resumed diving in February,
but only in June was he able to obtain
clear footage confirming the identity
of the wreck.
The Nyorawas built as the Nepean
in South Shields in England in 1909.
Owned by Huddart Parker & Co, it was
said to have been one of the best-
known tugs operating out of


Melbourne at the time.
It sank in exceptionally stormy
winter weather on 9 July, 1917, while
towing the Astoria. This motor sailing
ship had arrived in Sydney from
Portland, USA with a large cargo of
timber, but its engines had then failed.
After towing the Astoriaall the way
from Sydney to Port Pirie on
Australia’s west coast to unload, the
two vessels were making their way
back to the east coast.
Nyorabegan listing, believed to
be because its coal had shifted, and
when its engine-room was breached
by waves Captain William McBain
ordered his crew to detach the
Astoriaand abandon ship.
By then the tug was listing too
much to lower the lifeboats, however,

and the Nyoratook 12 of its 16 crew
with it as it went down.
Captain McBain and Able Seaman
Gordon Lansley had been thrown
into the sea and managed to reach a
damaged upturned lifeboat, along
with two other crewmen who later
died from exposure.
Conditions made it impossible for
the Astoria crew to effect a rescue, but
McBain and Lansley used a plank to
row towards land overnight, and were
eventually spotted by two lighthouse-
keepers, who won acclaim for rowing
out in rough seas to rescue them.
Saville has shared news of his
discovery with descendants of the
survivors and the lighthouse-keepers,
and was planning to host a dinner for
them in July. n

Wreck diver completes tugboat mission


THE WRECK OF A 19th-century sailing ship has been
discovered in the Gulf of Mexico by chance during sea trials of
the research vessel Okeanos Explorer, operated by the USA’s
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The team were testing new equipment on their ROV Deep
Discovererand were surprised when it registered the wreck.
Marine archaeologists around the USA were quickly called
in to join the livestreamed dive, which was extended by three
hours. A photo-mosaic of the wreck-site was produced using
high-definition video imagery collected during the dive.
Experts believe from the wreck’s shape and the remains of
a windlass that it was a 38m-long timber schooner or brig built
in the mid-19th century. The bottom of its intact hull was still
sheathed in copper that had kept it free of fouling.
All structure above the waterline was missing which, with
charring of remaining timbers, suggested that the ship might
have burnt in a fire before sinking. n


Wreck find takes scientific team by surprise


OZDIVERDOWN

The bow of the wreck.

NOAA

The Nyorasteam tug, seen carrying
out a tow in its heyday.

The Nyoraas it looks today.
Free download pdf