Boat Anchor Retriever

I know there are a lot of boat anchor retrievers on the market, though I’m sharing a cheap rope ascending device that has served our specific use case nicely. The problem was that the usual marine devices didn’t work well, or at all, with the 8mm silver shot lines we prefer for deep wreck drops. We only use a variety of shot lines, with variable chain lengths and anchor sizes so the loop/ring types that run through the chain didn’t suit either.

We’ve found this rope climbing ascender however has been great for several years now, and seems to run down the line with little resistant, but cam locks on the return pull very well (even on the cheap, slippery 8mm line). I was skeptical as to whether it would hold up in the salt water, but it’s been going strong for years with no maintenance at all.

For under $20, it’s hard to beat as an anchor retriever – though personally I’d stick with a more reputable brand for rock climbing.

AIS SMB

AIS Enabled SMB Beacon

For years I’ve wanted a solution that can provide real-time tracking for divers underwater, now we have a one. AIS is a marine radio positioning system that at is simplest, broadcasts a vessel’s GPS position for other to track. The system however can be leveraged to send the non-emergency position of other objects drifting in the ocean such as fishing nets, or in our case divers underwater. The signal is then received by the boat’s VHF radio and displayed on the chart plotter.

The conceptual solution is relatively simple; get a low cost Chinese fishing nets AIS beacon and attach it to an SMB that is deployable by divers drifting in the ocean. The problem until recently was putting this in a form factor that isn’t a burden to carry and/or use on deep technical dives. The issue we faced originally was finding a AIS electronics solution in the right form factor, most were large and didn’t suit small diameter pressure housing used underwater. Mounting the antenna in the vertical seam of the SMB was also presented problems (mostly reliability over time).

More recently, low cost and narrow form factor AIS beacons have appeared on the market. I recently took one of these, did some minor tweaks to the antenna, extending the wiring and folding it back on along the board to make it short. I knocked up a pressure rated housing and like magic you have an AIS enabled SMB.

Usage is simple…turn the unit on pre-dive, validate signal on boat plotter, seal canister and dive. Divers then launch the SMB from the bottom as per normal and when the SMB reaches the surface the GPS signal is sent to the boat. The advantage is that the boat gets an active position signal from divers that may have hours remaining to surface.

The solution isn’t perfect, with these issues:

  • Range is yet to be tested and is likely compromised by the antenna being laid back against the battery and circuit board (versus sticking out the end on the OEM solution)
  • Size of SMB seems to matter; I purposely used a small one for initial tests though I’m planning to upsize this. The smaller SMB too 6-9lbs of negative weight to get the SMB erect
  • The AIS beacon I used doesn’t allow programming of MMSI and ping intervals
  • The AIS beacon I used doesn’t seem to be available anymore online, though similar one is here and allows programming MMSI

For interest sake we also carry the Nautilus LifeLine and housing PLBs on deep drift deco dives, but both require the diver to surface which could be hours if initial traditional SMB are not sighted by the boat. We’ve done drift dives in up to 5kts of current which is problematic to say the least. The AIS SMB is simply another tool in the bag to ensure the boat reacquires divers promptly.

 

MV Fairwind – Missing Crew Update

In 1950 when MV Fairwind was lost with all hands, the crew list and media reports listed 5 named Australians and something like “12 blacks”, “12 niggers” or “several PNG natives”. This has always pissed me off, so I’m real happy to play a small part in righting this.

Several years back I was contacted by the living family of Cecil Himogo, who advised me that he indeed was part of the missing crew of the Fairwind. Now 5 years later (and 9 after we found the Fairwind), Cecil’s grandson (Jeremiah Jeremiah) has been able to provide the names of 6 additional members of the crew.

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Barge ’21’ – New Sydney Wreck-ISH

Shipwrecks are a funny thing, lure you in for a look even when you think they’re not going to be much chop. Starring at the multibeam scan we thought piece of wharf, barge, pontoon, even a cataraman yacht. With some ominous weather looming, we jumped in for a ‘quick look’, and found what we had expected – a scuttled barge/pontoon in around 57m of water.

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WTF: SS Wear or What?

Is the shipwreck WTF actually SS Wear? I believe so, here’s why…

Identifying any wreck in 125m can be difficult, but the history behind the shipwreck named “What the Fuck” or WTF is confusing. Discovered by a Sydney Project team in 2006, the WW2 era wreck was originally identified as SS Iron Knight. Subsequent dives proved this to be incorrrect based on size and configuration, so the name WTF stuck. In more recent years, a case has also been made for it actually being SS Coast Farmer.

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