![]() ![]() It was really a race against time, but out of a possible five days, we had two where conditions allowed us to dive. Immediately after this announcement, we returned to the Sir Wilfrid Laurier in order to perform the first dives on the site of the shipwreck. The Underwater Archaeology Team is seen preparing to dive on HMS Erebus. Marc-André Bernier: Back in Ottawa, the discovery of one of the two ships of the Franklin expedition could finally be announced to Canadians. Photos of Prime Minister Steven Harper, Minister of the Environment Leona Aglukkaq and members of the Parks Canada team at the announcement of the find of HMS Erebus. Off the port stern quarter of the wreck, we could also see a number of detached deadeyes.Ī storm had been blowing for a few days prior to the ROV dive, and that had served to churn up the sea, so it wasn’t very easy to see and so we reluctantly had to recover the vehicle and start planning for a return visit with our diving equipment. We of course found two cannon off the stern. In that time, we saw a number of features, which clearly reinforced that this was one of Franklin’s ships. Underwater shots of various features of HMS Erebus taken by the remotely operated underwater vehicle. We were able to make a somewhat brief 40-minute dive on the site, where we were able to get the first visuals on the wreck. The Underwater Archaeology Team is seen preparing to launch a remotely operated underwater vehicle.Ī few days later, we were able to return once again to the newly discovered site, this time with our remotely operated vehicle, with a high-definition video camera system. Ryan Harris: I would liken it to winning the Stanley Cup. Jonathan Moore: What was the reaction like? Scientific detachment, or. Jonathan Moore: So that was about what, five, ten minutes ago? Ryan Harris: I would say so. It’s definitely a shipwreck and we’ve got to learn a lot more about it. I think we could tell exactly what it was in a few seconds. We surveyed one line in this new interesting survey area, so this is the second line in this new area, and we had just started southbound on the second line and passed right over top of this wreck structure. Ryan Harris: Well, we’re looking at the first sonar contact that we’ve imaged since starting the survey here in 2008. Ryan Harris and other members of the Underwater Archaeology Team are seen looking at a computer screen on the research vessel Investigator. There was absolutely no doubt that it was a wreck, and thanks to the measurements that we could take from this image, we knew it was one of the Franklin wrecks. The wreck sonar image is shown on one of the screens. In fact, the first images we received in this case showed a complete picture of the wreck. Marc-André Bernier: So that is how the day goes: we have a sonar image that scrolls along a screen. Various images of Ryan Harris examining the sonar images and from the vessel towing the side-scan sonar. The vessel navigates the water and then we see one of the crew member lowering the side-scan sonar into the water.įrom there, we would motor out to conduct a full day of survey with towed side-scan sonar, starting at about 7:00 in the morning and continuing until 8:00 in the evening when we would come back to the ship to refuel and start preparing for the next day. Ryan Harris: So, each day of the survey, the Parks Canada research vessel Investigator would be carefully lowered from the well deck of the Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The crew is carefully lowering the research vessel Investigator from the well deck of the Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier. ![]() The underwater archaeology team is seen going about their daily work of searching using side-scan sonar. The discovery on an island of a davit fitting from the ship gave a clue as to the location of the wreck. Since 2008, the search has drawn from Inuit knowledge, both past and present. The Coast Guard’s icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the HMCS Kingston from the Royal Canadian Navy, the Martin Bergmann provided by the Arctic Research Foundation, and the One Ocean Voyager from One Ocean Expeditions.Ī photograph shows people at an event in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, followed by photographs of a metal artefact from the ship. Marc-André Bernier: The 2014 search for John Franklin’s ships relied on several research vessels. The video begins with shots of the various research vessels that were involved in the search for HMS Erebus. Title: with narration by Marc-André Bernier and Ryan Harris, Parks Canada Underwater Archaeology Team ![]()
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