Deep Dark and Dangerous:
On the Bottom with the Northwest Salvage Divers
by Rebecca Harrison
BOOK CHAPTERS:
Introduction: Who Were These Divers?
The lure of the ocean, the spellbinding tales of exploration on the high seas, and the mysteries of the deep have fascinated people throughout the ages. Tall, wind-filled sails outlined against brilliant skies, dark blue swells rising and falling to the rhythm of the universe, and a fresh ocean breeze in one's face is what many of us envision. The hardworking commercial divers, those people of courage and ironclad determination whose lives are on the line each time they descend to the bottom of the sea, or the murky dark of powerful rivers, do not share these visions.
The Finch Family: Four Generations of Salvage Diving
Generations of the Finch family, from 1813 to the present, dived in the seas all around the world. They were the first men to dive in the austere Alaskan waters for riches beneath the unforgiving ice pack floors. Henry Silas Finch was one of a few men who dared to dive in the Alaska territory in the 1900s. Because of his sheer willpower, Captain Finch became the first diver ever to touch bottom along the Bering Sea and live to talk about it.
Fred Devine: Pioneer Salvage Master
Fred Devine, a noted Northwest salvage master and diver, accomplished more than 300 salvage operations during his lifetime. Much of his success was due to his ingenuity and his impressive craft, the Salvage Chief, which Devine created and designed from a World War II surplus LSM hull in 1949.
The Toughest Dive
No diver wants to think about it: when the river swallows its victims, it is he who must descend for the recovery. Many times, the bodies are trapped under pilings, rocks or the steel hull of a sunken vessel. Never is the dive more horrifying than when the body is that of the diver's own father.
Art McCray: The Legend Continues
Walter McCray instructed his son, Walter Art McCray in diving. When most boys were learning to toss a football, Arthur could calculate the pressure at specific depths, operate the lines and hoses and regulate an air gauge. He spent four years under his father's masterful guidance.
Guests of the Emperor
When Robert Sheats enlisted in the military in November 1941, he had no idea that months later he would be a witness to the Japanese bombing of the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines. At the age of twenty-six, Sheats was trained as a gunner and deep-sea diver for the U.S. Navy. When captured by the Japanese, diving saved his life during the battles between the Japanese and Americans in Manila Bay.
From Diver to Writer
The author of over a dozen books for children and several articles and stories for adults, including the book, North to Danger, Walt Morey began gathering his stories while deep sea diving in Prince William Sound, Alaska. All of his stories are based on his own experiences and those of his lifelong friend, Virgil Burford. The time he and his friend spent in Alaska became the inspiration for several of Morey's future juvenile fiction books. Even the Kodiak brown bear, which moved him to write, Gentle Ben, was a real bear he saw while
inspecting fish traps near Cordova, Alaska.
Divers Who Maintained Bridges and Dams
These men were the cream of the crop diving specialists who accepted the risks associated with their incredible projects. The wind, rain, on the surface and the dangerous soft silt on the bottom, can make these innocent-looking jobs more lethal than any salvage work.
A Look at Some Specific Dive Jobs:
The Diamond Knot Disaster
In the midst of the dense fog at 1:15 a.m., about three miles off Race Rocks, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the bow of the Fenn Victory slammed fourteen feet into the Diamond Knot's starboard side. The U.S. Coast Guard received the ships' distress signals and quickly called for the Pacific Salvage Company out of Victoria, British Columbia, and the Foss Launch & Tug Co. from Port Angeles, Washington, to come to their aid.
Wreck of the Lost Engine
When he was asked to retrieve a lost train engine from the bottom of the deep, narrow gorge of the Deschutes River, Fred Devine had to go as far as The Dalles Dam to gather the right kind of diving equipment for this challenging job.
Explosion!
By 10:30 a.m., leaning onto the disfigured port wing of the ship, Pat Joseph took a deep breath before reaching into the bag that was attached to his belt. He felt for the remaining rod, and was relieved that this would be his last cut. As the 300 amps of electrical energy and oxygen began to light, Joseph kept his eye on the tip of the white rod. He followed his hand through the dim water and reached towards the steel. The touch of the arc to the ship sent Joseph fifteen feet through the water in an exploding frenzy. The flood, caused by the explosion of an unusual
combination of gases within the hull of the ship, shook the pier. Joseph lay bleeding and unconscious on the bottom of the ocean.
See the author's page and all of Harrison's books and Kindles at: Amazon.com
Check out all of Harrison's books at: Books by Becky
To reach Rebecca, please email her at: [email protected]
On the Bottom with the Northwest Salvage Divers
by Rebecca Harrison
BOOK CHAPTERS:
Introduction: Who Were These Divers?
The lure of the ocean, the spellbinding tales of exploration on the high seas, and the mysteries of the deep have fascinated people throughout the ages. Tall, wind-filled sails outlined against brilliant skies, dark blue swells rising and falling to the rhythm of the universe, and a fresh ocean breeze in one's face is what many of us envision. The hardworking commercial divers, those people of courage and ironclad determination whose lives are on the line each time they descend to the bottom of the sea, or the murky dark of powerful rivers, do not share these visions.
The Finch Family: Four Generations of Salvage Diving
Generations of the Finch family, from 1813 to the present, dived in the seas all around the world. They were the first men to dive in the austere Alaskan waters for riches beneath the unforgiving ice pack floors. Henry Silas Finch was one of a few men who dared to dive in the Alaska territory in the 1900s. Because of his sheer willpower, Captain Finch became the first diver ever to touch bottom along the Bering Sea and live to talk about it.
Fred Devine: Pioneer Salvage Master
Fred Devine, a noted Northwest salvage master and diver, accomplished more than 300 salvage operations during his lifetime. Much of his success was due to his ingenuity and his impressive craft, the Salvage Chief, which Devine created and designed from a World War II surplus LSM hull in 1949.
The Toughest Dive
No diver wants to think about it: when the river swallows its victims, it is he who must descend for the recovery. Many times, the bodies are trapped under pilings, rocks or the steel hull of a sunken vessel. Never is the dive more horrifying than when the body is that of the diver's own father.
Art McCray: The Legend Continues
Walter McCray instructed his son, Walter Art McCray in diving. When most boys were learning to toss a football, Arthur could calculate the pressure at specific depths, operate the lines and hoses and regulate an air gauge. He spent four years under his father's masterful guidance.
Guests of the Emperor
When Robert Sheats enlisted in the military in November 1941, he had no idea that months later he would be a witness to the Japanese bombing of the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines. At the age of twenty-six, Sheats was trained as a gunner and deep-sea diver for the U.S. Navy. When captured by the Japanese, diving saved his life during the battles between the Japanese and Americans in Manila Bay.
From Diver to Writer
The author of over a dozen books for children and several articles and stories for adults, including the book, North to Danger, Walt Morey began gathering his stories while deep sea diving in Prince William Sound, Alaska. All of his stories are based on his own experiences and those of his lifelong friend, Virgil Burford. The time he and his friend spent in Alaska became the inspiration for several of Morey's future juvenile fiction books. Even the Kodiak brown bear, which moved him to write, Gentle Ben, was a real bear he saw while
inspecting fish traps near Cordova, Alaska.
Divers Who Maintained Bridges and Dams
These men were the cream of the crop diving specialists who accepted the risks associated with their incredible projects. The wind, rain, on the surface and the dangerous soft silt on the bottom, can make these innocent-looking jobs more lethal than any salvage work.
A Look at Some Specific Dive Jobs:
The Diamond Knot Disaster
In the midst of the dense fog at 1:15 a.m., about three miles off Race Rocks, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the bow of the Fenn Victory slammed fourteen feet into the Diamond Knot's starboard side. The U.S. Coast Guard received the ships' distress signals and quickly called for the Pacific Salvage Company out of Victoria, British Columbia, and the Foss Launch & Tug Co. from Port Angeles, Washington, to come to their aid.
Wreck of the Lost Engine
When he was asked to retrieve a lost train engine from the bottom of the deep, narrow gorge of the Deschutes River, Fred Devine had to go as far as The Dalles Dam to gather the right kind of diving equipment for this challenging job.
Explosion!
By 10:30 a.m., leaning onto the disfigured port wing of the ship, Pat Joseph took a deep breath before reaching into the bag that was attached to his belt. He felt for the remaining rod, and was relieved that this would be his last cut. As the 300 amps of electrical energy and oxygen began to light, Joseph kept his eye on the tip of the white rod. He followed his hand through the dim water and reached towards the steel. The touch of the arc to the ship sent Joseph fifteen feet through the water in an exploding frenzy. The flood, caused by the explosion of an unusual
combination of gases within the hull of the ship, shook the pier. Joseph lay bleeding and unconscious on the bottom of the ocean.
See the author's page and all of Harrison's books and Kindles at: Amazon.com
Check out all of Harrison's books at: Books by Becky
To reach Rebecca, please email her at: [email protected]