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SECTION 2 Because of the ever expanding nature of this subject, and the size that the original page was becoming, it has been decided for the sake of convenience to divide it into two parts. The first part consists of original Battle of Flamborough Head material, while this section will concentrate on material concerning the searches made for the wreck of the Bon Homme Richard. It is hoped, that should the wreck site be confirmed, then here too will eventually be posted developments of further discoveries and announcements concerning any future of the wreck.
NOTE An announcement in today’s, Thursday, 18th July 2002, Yorkshire Post newspaper, repeated on BBC’s teletext news service says that the wreck, assumed to be that of the Bonhomme Richard has now been protected by law, in order to prevent looters from destroying vital evidence. The wreck now cannot be dived upon without prior UK government permission; any dives made without such permission will be prosecuted under the ‘Protection of Wrecks’ Act 1973. American history protectedA WRECK which divers believe is the US Navy's most historic ship was placed under special protection yesterday after it emerged it was under threat from a rival wreckhunter. Since 1976 John Adams has stuck to his belief that the wreck in Filey Bay is the famous Bonhomme Richard, diving her year after year with his three sons, Gary, Neil and Richard. Over the past year there have been a number of attempts by other parties to muscle in on the wreck as growing evidence suggests it is the remains of the ship which sank in a battle off Flamborough Head in 1779, during the American War of Independence. The ship has almost mythical status in the United States where every schoolchild knows the tale of how its captain, John Paul Jones, became the first man since the Norman invasion to take on and defeat the British on their own doorstep. John Paul Jones is now considered the "father of the US Navy". At the weekend a diver was heard in Filey insisting he was going to dive the wreck. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said yesterday the site has been protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 because of concerns that it may be stripped within days. Arts Minister Baroness Blackstone said: "I felt it was vital to urgently protect what is believed to be the Bonhomme Richard while further investigations take place by our experts. "This designation does not mean that divers will never be able to visit this wreck. It is our policy to protect the best examples of underwater heritage while encouraging greater access to them. "We, however, need to ensure that any activities carried out on or near historic wrecks are appropriate." Wreck thought to be vital piece of American history protected
The designation means divers need licences to visit the wreck. Tony Green, secretary of the Filey Underwater Research Unit, welcomed the move and said it had given the team vital breathing space. He said: "It's silly season at the moment. There have been a number of attempts to get in on the wreck. "We heard on Saturday of another threat and requested protection for the wreck. "If somebody thought it was the Richard and wanted a piece of it we could lose a vital bit of evidence.'' The Bonhomme Richard was commanded by John Paul Jones and was part of a small fleet of ships fighting the British in UK waters during the American Revolution. During the 1779 battle it engaged the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough. After a long engagement, Jones captured the Serapis, but the Bonhomme Richard sank. The Department said the order would be reviewed before the end of the year. UPDATE 1
From the BBC Ceefax service Monday 9th September 2002. Search resumes for 200 year old wreck. “An underwater search resumes today off the East Coast for a ship believed to have sunk more than 200 years ago. The wreck is thought to be the Bonhomme Richard, an 18th century warship which sank in 1779 close to the Flamborough Head. It is safeguarded by the government under the Protection of Wrecks Act due to concerns it may be stripped and plundered by treasure hunters. The project, sponsored by the National Geographic and US Park Rangers, could provide a boost to local tourism.”
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“We are certainly intrigued and excited by the five sites we’ve found,” said Melissa Ryan, Project Manager at OTF, “but we cannot determine if one of them could be the Bonhomme Richard until we can get a much closer look at them.”
This summer, the team condu cted surveys of the ocean floor using a magnetometer, which can detect large amounts of metal underwater, and a high-tech sonar system that can help to identify man-made objects on the ocean bottom. Next summer the team will us e a Remotely Operated Vehicle, a type of robotic underwater camera, to conduct close-up investigations of the wreck sites.
The Naval Historical Center (NHC) is OTF’s main partner in the search, and is the official history program of the Department of the Navy. Its Underwater Archaeology Branch advises the Navy in matters related to historic preservation of U.S. Navy ship and aircraft wrecks.
"When we started this project, finding the Bonhomme Richard seemed like the proverbial needle in the haystack,” said Dr. Robert Neyland, head of the NHC’s Underwater Archeology Branch. “However, after our experience surveying last summer and looking at the quality of the data collected, it might be comparable to a needle in a snow ball -- one that is melting away through the application of science and technology. We have used computerized drift modeling, state of the art remote sensing equipment, and Geographic Information Systems to manipulate all of the data and pinpoint likely search areas and targets."
“The fact that we’ve identified new wreck sites that weren’t previously known is exciting,” said Captain Jack Ringelberg, President of OTF. “I am eagerly anticipating more detail from these wrecks that will be derived from computer imaging software at the Naval Historical Center.”
Other Bonhomme Richard Project collaborators include the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal Ocean Mapping/ Joint Hydrographic Center, the College of Exploration, and the Bridlington Regeneration Partnership in Bridlington, U.K.
“There is another component to a shipwreck search that we should always keep in mind,” said Ryan. “We might discover other wrecks that might be of cultural or historical interest, even though we weren’t looking specifically for them. This is why we want to be very thorough in our investigations.”
An important aspect of the project involves teachers, students and the public, who followed the search through the Internet. Lesson plans, school visits, and an interactive website are helping to raise awareness in the public and the education community of one of the most fierce and pivotal battles in U.S. Naval history. During the two weeks prior to last summer’s expedition, the search team visited more than 300 students, and gave public presentations to nearly 200 people.
The Ocean Technology Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Groton, Connecticut on the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus. Its mission is to foster excellence in ocean exploration, marine research and education.
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NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 9, 2006
Contact: Lee Dooley
ldooley@appsci.com
401-789-6224
Computer Modeling Used to Help Close a Chapter in U.S. Naval History
NARRAGANSETT, RI – A coalition of scientists, historians, and nations get closer than ever before to locating the shipwrecked remains of the Bonhomme Richard, one of the most famous ships in U.S. history using computer modeling technology provided by Rhode Island company Applied Science Associates.
The Bonhomme Richard, captained by American naval hero John Paul Jones, sank in the North Sea in 1779, after claiming victory over the British ship HMS Serapis in one of the most pivotal battles of the Revolutionary War. The shipwreck search effort is organized by the nonprofit Ocean Technology Foundation (OTF) in Groton, Connecticut, and the Naval Historical Center (NHC) in Washington, D.C. As part of the search efforts, OTF brought Applied Science Associates (ASA) and JMS Naval Architects & Salvage Engineers onto the project to help pinpoint the wreck site.
| "What we needed to do existed in two separate software programs, so ASA built us a hybrid application--combining their oil spill prediction software and their Coast Guard search and rescue software," says Rick Fernandes, a naval graphics expert at JMS aiding in the project. "The software uses physical laws, as well as tidal and wind data from the period, times and locations given by eyewitnesses," to plot the most probable resting place of the vessel. Eric Comerma, a Ph.D. senior researcher at ASA, led the complex challenge of data integration into a geographical information systems (GIS) framework and he insists that “collaborating with this dedicated team in the search for the Bonhomme Richard is such fulfilling work because it is both challenging as well as historically significant.” |  |
Assisting ASA’s Eric Comerma, was US Coast Guard Special Operations Search & Rescue expert, Art Allen, who played a key role in the development of the object drift modeling methodology that was integrated into the modeling. This was data integration never before brought in to models of this purpose and was used to more accurately represent the effects of the wind and current on the slowly sinking vessel. Due to the complexity of the battle circumstances, which consisted of a large ship taking on water and damage, sails burning, yet becoming fully disabled while trying to sail over a period of 36 hours, new and additional factors were integrated by the team. With key knowledge and experience from Art Allen, one of the world’s leading experts on disabled vessels at sea, this modeling software is first of its kind.
Melissa Ryan, OTF's project manager for the expedition, said of the modeling techniques used in the search, "As far as we know, no one has ever attempted to input as much historical data before." The data include details given by people who witnessed the battle from afar and by sailors on both the U.S. and British sides of the fight. The famous battle took place off a spit of land named Flamborough Head and was seen by hundreds on shore.
Fernandes said the ASA modeling tool generates a "probability matrix" from the huge amounts of data it processes. Users get a chart and visual of the search area and the tracks of a drifting object representing Jones' sinking ship. Based on the tracks, the survey vessel will be able to sweep the probable area where the Bonhomme Richard lies. Summarizing ASA’s role in getting so close to the famous warship, Rick Fernandes claimed, "We couldn't find a better fit than ASA on this project. No one else had the combination of tools and talent for our rather unique problem.”
Planned for summer 2007, the team will conduct more surveys of the ocean floor using a magnetometer, a sonar system, and a Remotely Operated Vehicle, a type of robotic underwater camera. Applying this high-tech equipment, the OTF survey team will conduct close-up investigations of five possible wreck sites that the teams have narrowed the search to. JMS and ASA’s computer modeling work enabled the promising results from the OTF’s 21-day survey during the summer of 2006. "When we started this project, finding the Bonhomme Richard seemed like the proverbial needle in the haystack,” said Dr. Robert Neyland, head of the NHC’s Underwater Archeology Branch. “However, after our experience surveying last summer and looking at the quality of the data collected, it might be comparable to a needle in a snow ball--one that is melting away through the application of science and technology. We have used computerized drift modeling, state of the art remote sensing equipment, and Geographic Information Systems to manipulate all of the data and pinpoint likely search areas and targets."
click on image for a larger version
The OTF and NHC have set up a Web site, bonhommerichard.org that provides more details on the search effort.
For more information about the drift modeling software, visit http://www.appsci.com.
# # #
Additional photos from the expedition are available upon request for feature stories.
Contact Lee Dooley by e-mail ldooley@appsci.com or by phone 401-789-6224 for more information.
About Applied Science Associates (ASA):
ASA is an international leader in the development and application of computer tools to investigate marine and freshwater environments. Since 1979 ASA has been helping clients understand and manage marine and freshwater environments worldwide. Combining proprietary computer modeling tools with the consulting capabilities of an exceptionally diverse technical staff, the firm provides a broad range of services and software to international, national and local government agencies, private industry and educational institutions. ASA has extensive experience with clients involved in oil and gas, power generation, ports and harbors, wastewater, coastal management and crisis response, ecological risk assessment, hydrodynamics, dredging, water quality and coastal engineering.
In addition to its Narragansett, RI headquarters, ASA has offices in Australia, and Brazil. The company’s website, www.appsci.com, contains numerous scientific reports written by its staff and extensive information about its software and services.
2007 SEASON
Via Email from Melissa Ryan, Project Manager, about the 2007 season search for the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard.
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 2:50 PM
Subject: Voyage to Find Resting Place Of Bonhomme Richard Eliminates 2 Sites
Update on latest BHR Expedition:
We have recently returned from this year's expedition, which took place in mid-August.
In spite of some adverse weather conditions and the relatively short three days we had at sea, the cruise was very productive in that we were able to discount two of our five previously identified targets as being the Bonhomme Richard. We also visited a third target, which was completely buried by a sand wave and was not conducive to exploration by the remotely operated vehicle. It is not unusual for objects on the seabed to become covered and uncovered due to the very dynamic North Sea environment, but this certainly adds extra challenges to working in that region. Data gathered from this cruise has allowed us to further narrow our search area as we continue moving forward with the project. We are applying for funding from NOAA and other organizations, and will continue our efforts with the aim of mounting another expedition next summer to investigate the remaining targets and conduct additional remote sensing operations, if necessary.
Below is an article which appeared in our regional newspaper and gives a good synopsis of the expedition. Thanks to all of you who supported us! We have already begun planning for another expedition next summer, and will need your support once again.
From the pages of http://www.theday.com/news/Region.aspx the local Connecticut news outlet to whom belongs the copyright for the following:
“Melissa Ryan, the foundation's project manager, said Monday that the third target identified during the group's 2006 expedition could not be examined because the strong currents of the North Sea had buried it under sand. Ryan said the foundation, which is based at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus, plans to return to the North Sea next summer to examine the buried site as well as two others. "It's always disappointing when it doesn't happen the first time, but this was a good, productive cruise. We're happy with the progress we made," Ryan said.
The expedition aboard the National Science Foundation research vessel Oceanus took place Aug. 14 to Aug. 16, but bad weather prevented the researchers from working half of that time. Ryan said archaeologists on board ruled out the first wreck when the remotely operated vehicle taking video and photos of the bottom showed a cargo of cut stone blocks. No such cargo was on the 151-foot-long Bonhomme Richard, which was carrying iron ballast. The second target ended up being a large pipe from a drilling wellhead. She said the third site was completely buried, something the researchers knew was a possibility. The group did not have time to inspect the other two sites.
"Now we're looking forward to next year's expedition," Ryan said. "Hopefully we'll have the research vessel for a longer period of time." She said the foundation would have to raise another $400,000 to cover the cost of next summer's work. Much of that cost involves the use of the research vessel. The Navy's Supervisor of Salvage and Office of Naval Research provided the remotely operated vehicle and paid for the cost of using the Oceanus during the just-completed expedition.”
Note ends. Any further updates regarding the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard will be posted here as soon as they are made known.
Designed by Richard Hayton 2006
email richard@yorkshirehistory.com