Cooperation with the French Navy in search for the
Alabama. September 1985.
Though we were not invited to attend, the French Navy
graciously accepted my location projections and inspired
by our 1984 expedition to find the Alabama when no one
had bothered to look for 120 years, went out and found
her. She lies quite close to the estimated position from
several sources, including Commander Winslow's chart of
the battle. The Captain of the Kearsarge didn't miss it
by very much.
This all comes by phone calls to Cherbourg since the
French Navy did not consider me a brother anchorclanker
or place me on their man-of-the-year-list after the
disaster the year before.
They did, however, send me a diagram showing how they
found the wreck on the bottom as sketched by their salvage
divers.
They indicate a wreck that is incredibly intact. More
so than I would have expected of a wooden ship underwater
for 120 years in an area with currents up to five knots.
The diver who went down on the wreck said she is 58
meters deep, deeply buried in a sand and silt bottom,
not very scattered but well concentrated. Visibility
is almost nonexistent. Not an easy dive.
I'm leery the Alabama could be found and surveyed in
only two days, particularly a detailed drawing by one
man under the conditions he described. But down deep
I sincerely hope the report is genuine.
Now the fun begins. Being the pioneer didn't provide
me with world acclaim or the thrill of actually discovering
her grave, but at least it impelled others to do the
job. I really threw open the lid on Pandora's box.
Everybody and their brother is fighting over the ship's
bones. The French claim rights since she lies in their
waters. The British want to raise the hull and set it
inside the dry-dock where she was built in Liverpool,
and all of a sudden our ingenious American bureaucrats,
after ignoring the Alabama's existence, want to get
in on the act. They have grandly announced that she
belongs to the United States. The clowns at the State
Department sent a letter to the French stating the claim.
So what will happen? For one thing French divers will
go out now to her known location and began stripping
the wreck. Con artists are already sniffing around to
make a hit. Fights will erupt in law courts, attorneys
will make money, backs will be stabbed, and the famous
old ship will continue to lie down there rotting away.
God, why do I bother? What drives me to continually
open worm cans? Is the challenge truly worth it, or
do I belong under restraint in a rubber room?
Stay tuned.
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