HISTORY
The site believed to be the S.S. Commodore has been known
to the local sport diving and fishing industries in Daytona Beach
and Ponce Inlet, Florida for almost four decades. Local diver Don
Serbousek seized the site and today it is protected under an Admiralty
Claim jointly held by Don Serbousek and PILHA. Monitoring and protection
of the site is under the auspices of the Volusia County Reef Team
.
The S.S. Commodore sank in a January gale off the northeast
Florida coast in 1897. An ocean going steam tug built for the harbor
tug work, the S.S. Commodore finished her career attempting
to run guns to Cuba. The storm that sank S.S. Commodore also
killed or injured every member of the crew. After three days adrift
in a small boat New York Times reporter (and later novelist) Stephen
Crane landed on the Florida coast. His tale of survival resulted
in the short story, The Open Boat, which immortalized the
sinking of an otherwise unknown vessel.
The site believed to be the S.S. Commodore is key to understanding
a pivotal time in American History, World History, and Maritime
History. Currently Kimberly Eslinger, Don Serbousek, PILHA, the
Cambrian Foundation, the Volusia County Reef Team and Nautilus Productions
are working together to identify and preserve this unique maritime
treasure. Continued work at the site and in the archives will be
necessary to fully identify, map, and preserve the site, but PILHA
is well on the way.
(Eslinger, "Preliminary Commodore Site Report," December
2002)
Steamer Queen of
Nassau/CGS Canada
Nautilus
Productions has been working with nautical archaeologist Tane Casserley
of the Monitor National Marine
Sanctuary, NOAA and the Florida
Keys National Marine Sanctuary to document work on the site
believed to be the Queen of Nassau/CGS Canada. For one week in March
2003, Casserley, a crew of research divers from the National
Undersea Research Center - NURC at UNC-Wilmington and videographer
Rick Allen and Kimberly Eslinger from Nautilus Productions documented
the archaeological survey of the wreck site. Nautilus Productions
provided site documentation and recorded activities during the event.
Videographer Rick Allen of Nautilus Productions cruising
the deck of the Queen of Nassau/CGS Canada. Photo by Doug
Kesling, NURC/UNCW |
The unique ram bow of the Queen of Nassau/CGS Canada at
230'. Photo by Doug Kesling, NURC/UNCW |
The windlass of the steamer Queen of Nassau/CGS Canada.
Photo by Doug Kesling, NURC/UNCW |
HISTORY
The steamer CGS Canada was built in 1904 for the Canadian
Fisheries Protection Service, and became the first armed, steel-hulled
cruiser owned and operated by the Canadian government. The Canada's
ram bow, 10-to-1 length-to-beam ratio, and steel hull were a departure
from the previous style of Canadian armed vessels. Consequently,
the Canada marked the transition from traditional wooden
schooners to modern steel cruisers, playing a crucial role as Canada
formulated its young navy. The Canada was the fastest ship
in the Fisheries Protection fleet; it was Canada's first
successful naval training vessel, and the first Canadian naval vessel
to train with the Royal Navy.
In 1924, the Canada was sold to the Florida Inter-Island
Steamship Company. The vessel was renamed Queen of Nassau
and used as an inter-island cruise ship for the lucrative Nassau-Miami
route. Failing financially in its new role, the vessel sank under
mysterious circumstances on July 2, 1926.
| Recreational divers discovered the wreck in 2001, approximately
seven miles south of Lower Matecumbe Key within the Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary, and reported their find to Sanctuary
officials. The site is now the focus of an ongoing archaeological
investigation by a NOAA team consisting of the Monitor National
Marine Sanctuary, East Carolina University, and the National Undersea
Research Center at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
The vessel is in remarkably good condition, lying intact on top
of the sand in 230 feet of water. |
Team members measuring and mapping the midship portion of the wreck.
Photo by Doug Kesling, NURC/UNCW
|
(Casserley, "Queen of Nassau Site Report," 2002)
"Queen Anne's Revenge"
Blackbeard Shipwreck Project
Since 1998 the Nautilus staff has been the official video crew for the
study and recovery of the infamous pirate Blackbeard's ship the Queen
Anne's Revenge (Concorde). Our staff is working hand in hand with North
Carolina's Underwater Archaeology Unit and WUNC-TV documenting this
incredible underwater find. Nautilus' duties include the documentation
of the archaeological survey and recovery of artifacts from the wreck
site. In the fall of 2000 Nautilus coproduced with Bill Lovin of Marine
Grafics a groundbreaking, weeklong live internet broadcast known as QAR
LiveDive from the Blackbeard wrecksite. For the first time ever, live
video and audio was broadcast from an underwater archaeological site to
the World Wide Web. The twice-daily live distance learning programs
reached an estimated 1600 students from as far away as Canada during the
five days of broadcasting. In October of 2001 Allen and Lovin again co
produced DiveLive 2001. This time the interactive webcasts from the
seafloor and conservation laboratories of the Queen Anne's Revenge
Shipwreck Project reached over 3600 students and another 2700 remote
viewers from fifteen states and 2 countries during the five days of
broadcasts.
Nautical Archeaologist Kim Eslinger examining the North anchor
on the Queen Anne's Revenge wrecksite.
Visit www.qaronline.org
or http://ali.apple.com/events/qar/
to learn more.
