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Wednesday, October 24,
2007
Weather. Sunny, mid 70’s
Water temp. 61
Visibility. 2 feet
Current 1.5 knots in the morning and .5
knots in the afternoon
This morning we started prepping for our virtual
field school with Metro High school. The specially designed facemasks
that let you talk underwater and the web link were tested. Once on site
Dr. Smith and Anne dropped down onto the shipwreck and began work,
waiting for the live link to start.
At 11 o’clock Dr. Smith received her first question
of which she was able to answer underwater. Unfortunately the signal
was not strong enough for a direct link so questions and answers were
relayed, however, it proved to be a very successful pilot program and
has given everyone lots of ideas for future projects.
On the second dive, Dr. Smith, Anne, MJ and Maddy
began prepping the site for mapping, because the visibility is so
limited we decided on some procedures to make things more efficient. We
numbered the frames using neon pink flagging tape with a number written
on it. Stapling underwater is quite a trick. The visible reference
numbers will help when we begin mapping tomorrow. Also, we embarked on
a little dusting. The heavy build up of silt on the shipwreck obscures
the details of the frames and planks. Lightly brushing the silt off the
exposed frames makes all the details such as the fasteners on the copper
sheathing stand out. We can now easily map and photograph the details.
The Clarksburg wreck is truly a beautiful shipwreck
and has incredible historic architecture. All the archaeologists are
very excited to continue mapping as this is when you start to find all
the little pieces that make this ship so unique!
Anne
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