Salvage of the float of the waterplane at the Crash site
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This dive site is called the Crash site because this is the location of the wreck of a small airplane. But this airplane didn't crash. It was an OS2U Kingfisher scout plane aboard the gunship USS Erie. It fell overboard after the USS Erie was hit by a torpedo from the German submarine U-163. This happened in the afternoon of November 12, 1942. The wreck of the airplane is widely scattered since then because of wave actions and most of the parts are not easily recognized. One part that is clearly recognized is one of the floats of this waterplane. But being underwater for more than 60 years it started deteriorating rapidly the last few years. So in order to try to save it for the future the plan was born to salvage this part. This is what we did during this dive.
A group of 8 divers met near the crash site. After a briefing where everyone got a task assigned we headed in the direction of the part. My task was to take pictures of the whole event. The part was at a depth of 23 meters. There the group worked to get
Read more: Salvage of the float of the waterplane at the Crash site
Annabay, October 21, 2007
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Normally on Sunday we dive the Mediator wreck, but this Sunday we decided to start from the Mediator site and to dive along the quay towards the Emmabridge (aka the Swinging Lady). In the past a lot of people walked on the quay and bridge and threw away there empty bottles and a lot of these ended up in the water.
Anything can happen
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During the second Curacao Dive Festival in 2007 one of the keynote speakers, Ty Sawyer, editor of Sport Diver Magazine, told the audience what he loved about Curacao. One of the things he mentioned is the feeling that "anything can happen". And he is right.
When we were diving at Boca Sami at our normal depth of around 20 meters (70 feet) I saw something white shimmering beneath me. My buddy and I decided to check it out and we found this sailing boat sitting on the bottom at 42 meters (140 feet) with the "wind" still blowing in its sails.
A few days earlier there had been a sailing contest called "Sami Sail". It is a yearly recurring event. Apparently this year something unexpected happened and one of the boats sank. This didn't make it into the news papers, so we didn't expect to find anything special during this dive. Luckily I had my camera with me, as I do on almost every dive (you never know what happens) so I was able to take this shot. The picture made it into one of the local newspapers under the heading "Underwater Sailing" and in a newspaper in The Netherlands. And, as my buddy pointed out to me later that week, a picture of this boat, the Lagun, taken during a Sami Sail race event some years before, was included in a book about architecture in Curacao.
Two weeks later we decided to check if the boat was still there but it wasn't. Probably it was lifted with the help of the nearby Dive Operator, Eric Wederfoort.