T.R.Thompson Talk Tuesday 16th November

Meridian Divers have been asked to give a presentation on the SS.T.R.Thompson project to Sovereign Divers at the Svereign Yacht Club Eastbourne Marina on Tuesday 16th November (next week) at 7.30pm.
If you would like to come along Sovereign Divers will make you more than welcome.

Happy Christmas to All Our Readers

Happy Christmas to all MDers and to all our many readers! We received a Christmas present from Canada today, details of the that are shown on our 'sister' blog on the Wreck of the T R Thompson, click HERE to read more about that.

Best wishes to you all and good diving for 2010.

Chris

Diver Magazine ~ Meridian Divers & TWSAC

Meridian Divers & Tunbridge Wells Sub Aqua Club are mentioned extensively in an article by John LIDDIARD entilted "Newhaven New Identities" that is published in the DIVER Magazine (January 2010 edition, pages 72 to 76). The article covers several wrecks and in particular the T R Thompson , the subject of Meridian Divers NAS Wreck Project. John's article has some new pictures and extends our knowledge of the wreck , it really helps to have an expert on the team!

The article also promotes the Meridian Divers blog which is linked to our project blog. We hope that the national publicity will draw attention to the T R Thompson and that it will lead to even more people contacting us with more information . The project blog is a treasure chest of information on the wreck and we hope it will be a benfit to divers with an interest in the wreck's history.

Click HERE to view the T R THOMPSON Project Blog

John Liddiard's T R Thompson Photos

A Meridian Diver on the Wreck of the T R Thompson

Copies of John Liddiard's photos of the wreck of the T R Thompson, taken on the MD & TWBSAC dive of 26th July can now be viewed on John's website : http://www.jlunderwater.co.uk/ .

As a quick link to the T R Thompson photos click www.jlunderwater.co.uk/piclib/goto.htm?pic=09_07_26_2338 , the TRT photos are numbered from 2338 onwards. Definately worth a look as John has put captions to all his photos which really helps identify features. John has an expert knowledge when it comes to identification , in one dive he managed to locate features that have taken us considerable time to find!

John is a professional photographer & journalist , his work is subject to copyright. Meridian Divers are grateful to be given permission to reproduce his work here.

T R Thompson Wreck Tour Dive Photos

...........and there's more

Meridian dive team with John Liddiard on My Sharon

Tunbridge Wells Sub Aqua Club

(or is it traffic warden divers ?)


Men at work - do they know what they are doing ?

Tea and conversation (Chris & John)

She always has to get in on the act!

T R Thompson Dive ~ Sunday 26th July

One or two us , I think, doubted we would make this dive! Our recent track record for canned dives due to weather was troubling us all but , shortly after 1.30pm today we set off on MV My Sharon for the wreck of the T R Thompson. It was quite breezy with a lumpy sea as we made our way out of the Ouse and into the English Channel. The forecast was for the wind to drop later in the afternoon.

As it transpired we formed a small flotilla of dive boats , as My Sharon was flanked by two RIBs, one driven by Jamie S from Tunbridge Wells BSAC and the other by Richard H from Newhaven. It's always nice to have the company of other boats when diving eight miles off the coast, especially if you think it's going to be a lively one!

Aboard My Sharon was John Liddiard (of DIVER Magazine fame) along with , Tad, Sheila, Ernie, Simon, Tony, Nicky and me. John had previously tried to dive Thompson with us some years ago but that was canned due to bad weather! This time we had more luck and actually made the dive. John hopes to feature the TRT as a future 'Wreck Tour' in the magazine and we hope our project Blog will be the perfect match for the article in due course.

The Project Blog has already made an impact , with many divers reporting that they had read it and been impressed. We were also delighted to see that divers had been supplied with stickers for their log books that featured drawings of the wreck taken from the Project Blog. It's great to see how others are making use of the research to promote local diving.

By the time we reached the wreck site the wind had dropped a little and the faster RIBs had gone ahead and put a shot line down. So it was kit-up and get in on arrival. The water was pleasantly warm ... well , for the Channel, but the vis was in the order of 3 metres. Simon & I managed a max depth of 32 metres and strung out a total dive time of 40 mins (mind you we did have a leisurely stop!). It was not great for underwater photography but we had a good dive.

By the time we had surfaced the wind had dropped still further making re-entry in to the boat quite straight forward. Tea & biscuits aboard took the salt out of our mouths and the run back to Newhaven seemed faster in less swell.

TR Thompson "Wreck Tour" Dive ~ Sunday 26th July

For those booked on to the wreck tour dive on Sunday ropes off is 1.30pm at Newhaven we are on My Sharon Hard boat.

It would be good to meet earlier if poss around 11.30 to 12 to discuss a dive plan which if conditions allow enable us to plan what we need to get out of the dive re Photo sketches video and who is doing what. John Liddiard (Diver Magazine) will no doubt have his own plan but anything we can capture on the day will support his wreck tour article and also add to the TRT project.

Will text everyone Saturday evening with confirmation keep your bits crossed

Dont forget if you can make Saturday night 25th 7.30pm TWSAC are organising a get together with John and we have been invited to join them at the Captains table Newhaven with wreck films being shown. Food and drinks are available to purchase from the restuarant

T.R.Thompson Remembered

Its hard to believe that it is nearly a year since we had the wreath laying dive on the T.R.Thompson in the company of crew relatives Norman and Mary Jack, but although a year has nearly past the project has not been forgotten and Norman has been flying the T.R.Thompson flag up north at the TRT birth place Sunderland.

Norman has given talks on the ship and the project and has good connections with the Sunderland Maritime Heritage charity. With this in mind Norman and Mary have had a brass plaque made up commemorating the Thompson's crew and the charity is mounting this on a piece of oak along with a rivet and a piece of the iron ore cargo (recovered during last years wreath laying dive) this plaque will have its home in the charity's HQ in Sunderland and who will also be showing a looped film of the TRT video footage filmed last year. The project has a page on their website dedicated to the TRT , to view the page click HERE

Meridian Divers and I would like to thank Norman and Mary for their continued support of the project.

T.R.Thompson Wreck Tour Dive with John Liddiard

Arrangements are in the process of being made for a dive with John Liddiard from Diver Magazine to do a wreck tour feature for the mag on the T.R.Thompson.

The dive will happen towards the end of July either in the evening of the 23rd or on the 26th depending on Johns schedule. We have been offered the opportunity to do the dive from the Tunbridge Wells BSAC rib as John is spending some of the time diving on their current projects.

There will be spaces for 4-5 Meridian Divers on the dive but this and definite date, times and cost will be confirmed nearer the time.

Weather and conditions permitting this should be a good one and will add to the T.R.T project.

Tad

NAS Intro Course ~ Saturday 28th March

This was put on Ocean views forum by Paul Grinyer who has sorted this one out;

Following the excellent talk give by Tad on the TR Thompson I have been in touch with The NAS to get them to run a course at the club for us. Initially we're proposing to do the Intro Course on the 28th March 2009.

We need a minimum of 10 to run the course and if there are enough people interested then we can run a second course on the Sunday 29th March 2009.

Here are the general details for the course:
An introduction to foreshore and underwater archaeology . This is the entry-level course to the NAS Training Programme and is aimed at introducing nautical archaeology to divers and non-divers, and promoting their interest in the subject. It provides a broad-based view of the subject by covering a wide range of topics.

The objectives of the course are that participants should:
1. Have been introduced to the basic principles and scope of nautical archaeology.

2. Appreciate the importance of our nautical heritage and the need for the recording, protection and preservation of the underwater heritage.

3.Have been given the necessary knowledge to undertake a basic pre-disturbance site survey The emphasis during the practical sessions is on surveying and recording.

In addition, the theory component stresses the need for the conservation and preservation of the underwater cultural heritage. The format involves a one-day course, which is conducted by approved tutors and instructors. Certain parts of the course can be adapted to suit the special requirements of the individual groups taking part.

The minimum diving qualification level for those taking part in the pool exercises is CMAS 1-Star or equivalent, e.g. BSAC Ocean Diver, SAA Open Water Diver, or PADI Open Water. The 'Introductory' course is not examined and participants are provided with a certificate of attendance only.

The course cost will be £60 per person. We need to get an idea of numbers as soon as possible so if you're interested please call Graeme at the shop 01903 767224.

This really should be an excellent and interesting course, particularly to those who are interested in wreck diving and the history of our local wreck sites.

Thanks Tad from Ocean View Dive Club

First of all I'd like to say thank you to Tad on behalf of Ocean View for what was in our opinion was an excellent presentation. Tad was very knowledgeable and openly passionate about this project . The TR Thompson this has clearly grown from a project to a labour of love especially shown in depth of research and also the footage painstakingly edited and also for making the long journey from Chatham, Kent in the current conditions to be with us.

Secondly thanks to all who came it was nice to see a full room on what is a freezing cold evening -3 when I left my house at 18.45!

Judging by the comments and murmerings everyone enjoyed this evening as much as we did and I'm sure we'd all like Tad to return next year to update us on Meridian Divers progress from this year especially about the deterioration of the wreck.

Once again thanks for a great night

Matt

T R Thompson Presentation ~ Friday 9th Jan 2008

For One Night Only ...

OK, you've read the blog, seen the film and got the T Shirt - but NOW you can have the whole story presented to you by master story teller 'Tad' at Ocean View , 7.30pm , Friday 9th January 2009.

For one night only Tad is making a guest appearance at OV to share his experiences behind the lens, the tales of intrigue and daring, the highs and the lows of adopt a wreck project management. Yep, one night only - any atheists should reconsider their beliefs ! One night only? That must be some sort of Divine intervention?

Meridian Divers ~ Back on the BBC South East!

It can't be long before we have our own dressing rooms at BBC South East! Yes, Meridian Divers were back on the telly - again!

The BBC South East programme ran the story of our success in the NAS Adopt-a-Wreck Awards and used some of the 'footage' from the 'Mr Jack ' dive!

[Expired link removed as no longer current! - Blast!]

~<>~

Oh! And our award was on the BBC radio too!

NAS Honours the Meridian Divers "T R Thompson" Project

Meridian Divers, Tad, Sheila & Chris were delighted to be invited to the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) 2008 Annual Conference held on Saturday 8th November at "ACTION STATIONS" in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, itself the home of HMS Victory.

The Conference, supported by PADI, BSAC, SAA, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and others, had a packed Agenda with some of the leading UK and overseas archaeologists. With such an eminent and erudite line-up of speakers one might reasonably wonder why Meridian Divers were invited.


Well the answer is simple, the NAS wished to honour Meridian Diver's for their Adopt A Wreck Project (see linked blog , link top right of this page). On behalf of the NAS, Mr Ray Sutcliffe FSA read out a glowing citation on the work of Meridian Divers and the extent to which the project had traced living relatives of the Steamship T R Thompson, sunk in 1918. The citation included a special reference to the succesful use of the broadcast media which had promoted maritime heritage.


Tad , on behalf of Meridian Divers was called to the dias and presented with a Certificate and a engraved glass wine decanter. The Certificate , for 'Runners-Up' in the 2008 Adopt a Wreck Awards was all the more meaningful to Meridian Divers as it surpassed the Certificates of Merit awarded to several other impressive projects. After the presentation several members of the NAS came forward to add their personal endorsement of the Project. It was a very proud day in the history of Meridian Divers and provides some independent and authoritative support for our work. It was particularly pleasing to know that PADI Internal was a member of the Judging Panel for this year's award. The PADI web site has previously carried reports of the projects progress.
. The engraved decanter

. The base of the engraved decanter Meridian Divers would like to thank all those who have contributed to the T R Thompson Project.

West Sussex Archive Society Talk

Really not a lot to write about here apart from the fact that Meridian Divers were offered the opportunity to talk about Diving Sussex Shipwrecks and in particular the T.R.Thompson Project.

I offered to put together a presentation and treck down to Chichester on what was one of the best weekends of diving weather we have had for a long time to give the talk along with 3 other speakers giving presentations with a Nautical or Maritime Archaeological Theme.

The other topics included Lost ships found a talk by Ian Friel , Diving into History from our old friend and N.A.S project mentor Ian Barefoot and West Sussex Settlements Lost To The Sea, a talk by John Mills West Sussex County Archaeologist For those of you that live in West Sussex there maybe some good opportunities to find the remains of some of the villages and buildings that have disappeared into the channel in the past. Could be a possible link up here if we could come up with a project plan.

I was last up but there had been some technical difficulties earlier which meant that the previous presenter overrun which cut my slot a lot shorter. I had prepared a 41 power point presentation which included some of the video footage and photographs we have captured over the past year. I also took along a selection of diving equipment (as most of the 30 strong audience were non divers )to illustrate what sort of kit we need to work on the project underwater.

Due to having to be cut short it looks like Meridian Divers will have another invite to tell the story of the TRT project again in the near future. Other offers for the group to talk about the project have been made so watch this space. Any volunteers?

West Sussex Archive Society Talk ~ Saturday 11th October

Meridian Divers have been asked to give a talk on The T.R.Thompson project at its annual conference this Saturday.
The conference has a Maritime theme and the day will consist of talks about

Lost ships found a talk by Ian Friel, writer and naval historian, with examples of Sussex wrecks and projects , illustrated by slides.

Diving into History a talk by Ian Barefoot, he will explore the joint initiative with The ‘Heritage Lottery Fund’ and the Nautical Archaeology Society, bringing Maritime heritage to life.
1-2pm Lunch. There are plenty of places to eat near to the office, and in the town.
The afternoon session begins at 2pm with

West Sussex Settlements Lost To The Sea, a talk by John Mills, looking at settlements and ports of West Sussex that have been inundated by the sea.

Adopt a wreck project a talk by Tad Taberer who dives with a group of divers who are passionate about shipwrecks. Tad will talk about why they dive shipwrecks and their joint project with the Nautical Archaelogical Society on the wreck of the SS T.R. Thompson. Includes video clips and photos of diving on the wreck of the Thompson.

The conference will be all day and will cost you £10 and include light refreshments

If you are interested in going as it should be an interesting day let me know asap as they need to know numbers.

The venue is

3 Orchard Street
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1DD

The Westburn ~ News from Tenerife

Back in April , Tad posted a message about the look-a-like wreck of the Westburn, see:-

http://meridiandivers.blogspot.com/2008/04/trthompson-look-like.html

We have now had the pleasure of contact from Pepe Foronda who has dived the Westburn. See the original post for Pepe's comments reproduced here for convenience:-

"Great dive!! We do it normally and it´s amazing!!... moreover.. this Saturday we will go to dive this historic ship wreck. Congratulations for your blog and.. Best regards fromn Tenerife!

www.subcanaria.com

Pepe Foronda

Thanks Pepe for your kind comments and we'd love to see any pictures of the Westburn that you might have! With some good fortune we may even get to dive it with you! Pepe's own blog is :- http://divingtenerife.blogspot.com/

Chris

Nautical Archaeology Society ~ Annual Conference 2008

The NAS 2008 Annual Conference, to be held on Friday 7th & Saturday 8th November at "Action Stations" , Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth promises to be an exciting event for all those involved in the NAS Adopt-A-Wreck Project .

Meridian Divers official adoptees of the T R Thompson wreck have a particular interest in the 2008 Conference as , sadly, this is the last year of the AAW project. Meridian Divers have submitted an applicaton to the NAS for an AAW Award which will be judged by a panel including dive agencies (inc PADI) and the NAS.

We hope that you are all rooting for the Meridian Divers application, we think we have done justice to the application. Any NAS recognition would be something of a triumph for a network such as ours.

The Conference will also provide an opportunity to discuss research, review the archaeological activities of members, exchange ideas on managing our maritime heritage and catch up with friends and colleagues from both the UK and abroad.

It's high time Meridian Divers made an appearance at the Annual Conference and may be this year we will pull out all the stops to get there! Add a comment if you are interested in attending .

NAS Conference Link

T R Thompson Wreck Dive ~ 31st August

Despite dire warnings from the weather broadcasts the Gods smiled upon us today. We had some sunny spells amid what was otherwise a fairly grey day. Eight of us met up at Newhaven at 0945 for a 1030 ropes off.

There were several dive boats in the Marina both local and from further afield. You can go anywhere in the world as a SCUBA diver and almost always find there will be a friendly welcome from other divers and today that kind of dive spirit was maintained by Tunbridge Wells divers who came along side us while we were loading Sea Zones and wished us a good days diving. Though I think it was perhaps too much to expect everyone to be cheery on early start on a grey Sunday morning as there was a lack of 'Yo Ho Ho' in some quarters , probably the effects of the proverbial bottle of rum!!

The sea was also good to us with a light swell on our hour long route out to the T R Thompson. Mick (Skipper) neatly shotted the wreck amidships and Ernie & I were the first down to send up the shot on a buoy. It was pretty dark down there (our Max Depth was 30m) but there was a reasonable 2 to 3 metres of viz whic enabled us to find our way around quite well. We passed the Wreath laid on our previous TRT dive , still firmly fixed to the railings.

Our tour took us along the gunwhales to the area of the steering quadrant, we passed the spare prop blade and the deck gun before launching a DSMB and heading back to hot tea, coffee , chocolate and buttered scones , very civilised!

Moving inshore for a drift dive, the sea looked a little less inspiring (couldn't see four rungs down the dive ladder)! Nevertheless five of our eight thought they ought to give it a go , some made about ten minutes and others about thirty, all said the viz was rubbish, which has been par for the course recently . Oh well (again) better luck next time!

Meridian Divers Meeting ~ 27th August 2009

Well done to all those who attended, especially those long distance travellers amongst you! It (as ever) pays to be there if you are interested in diving 'cos it's at the meeting that we set the dates for the next plans!

Diving & Social Trips have been planned for :-
1. Europe
2. Channel Islands
3. Wales
4. Egypt (see Red Sea Liveaboard post)
5. Swanage
6. Recompression Chamber
7. Meridian Divers Christmas Dinner

Full details to be circulated by email by Hon Sec Sheila! A very productive meeting that has already given some shape to the 2009 diaries!

Also announced at the meeting was the T R Thompson Project Team's submission of an application to the Nautical Archaelogy Society's Adopt-a-Wreck Award. A multi-media project file has now been received by the NAS and our collective fingers are now crossed!

Trainee Divemaster Matt picked-up his Recreational Diving Instruction Approved Codes of Practice to fill the gaps not covered by PADI training and is already demonstrating his new knowledge! Yes Matt, you are right, surface cover does need to be competent (by training, skills & experience) and no, can't be a students dad (unless dad IS competent)!!