Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Update--Have they found the USS Grunion?
A couple of weeks ago, this blog told of my experience in meeting one of the members of the expedition that was looking for the submarine, USS Grunion. The vessel was lost to enemy action in the Aleutian Islands in the early days of World War II. According to the updates posted to the website http://www.searchforthegrunion.com the sidescan sonar used in the search has detected a target that could possibly be the vessel.
I urge everyone to check out the website. This expedition is history as it unfolds, yet it is getting very little attention. Over the past few years, there have been some very remarkable discoveries of wrecked historic vessels by the likes of Robert Ballard and Clive Cussler. Ironically, each discovery seems to engender less and less interest and excitement, as if the voyages of discovery have become routine, less than newsworthy, and very ho-hum. This situation reminds me of the early 1970s when moon landings had become so “commonplace” that they were no longer covered live. I do hope that we never loose the sense of wonderment that I would see in 5th graders in the Santa Barbara School District when I would talk to them about the maritime heritage and mysteries of the area.
I urge everyone to check out the website. This expedition is history as it unfolds, yet it is getting very little attention. Over the past few years, there have been some very remarkable discoveries of wrecked historic vessels by the likes of Robert Ballard and Clive Cussler. Ironically, each discovery seems to engender less and less interest and excitement, as if the voyages of discovery have become routine, less than newsworthy, and very ho-hum. This situation reminds me of the early 1970s when moon landings had become so “commonplace” that they were no longer covered live. I do hope that we never loose the sense of wonderment that I would see in 5th graders in the Santa Barbara School District when I would talk to them about the maritime heritage and mysteries of the area.
# posted by covediver @ 10:31 PM 
