ALL SCI-FI

Morbius · Astral Engineer Joined: 25 Oct 2014 Posts: 207

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_From Ironclad to Artifact: The Journey of the CSS Georgia

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Diving on the CSS Georgia, Savannah's Ironclad. Sunk on purpose in the Savannah River

I dove on that as one of the early dives on the wreck (circa early 80s).

So nice to actually SEE what I was crawling on. We used rope "pull signals" for communication. One year there was a piece of the "casemate" (an armored enclosure for guns on a warship) still connected to the hull and the top, only about 10 ft from the surface.

I dove to where it connected to the hull.

One year, the sediment in the hull was gone and you could actually go down into the hull! I went from side to side. I came across three large beams coming together, each about a foot or more square. I could feel the hewn marks where the beams were made to fit.

There was no doubt this ship was ready for war.

No visibility down there; all diving was done by Braille and fierce currents. You had to remember your entire journey by feel so you could find your way back. It gave me a better appreciation of how a blind person has to deal with life.

I was the Dive officer and Senior diver. They used interlocking rail iron on top of thick layers of Oak. Casemate was at least as thick as arms length.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:02 pm Post subject:

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Morbius, I've wanted to do skin diving all my life, because it would exactly like FLYING . . . except that you have to move slowly, and you have fish all around you, and you might get bitten by a shark. Shocked

Other than that, it would be the closest I could get to being a bird or Peter Pan or Superman on a date with Margot Kidder! Very Happy

Thanks for sharing you aquatic story!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

scotpens · Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:49 pm Post subject:

That Confederate ironclad made me think of the Sea Shadow, the experimental stealth ship built in the 1980s by Lockheed for the U.S. Navy.

Of course, the Sea Shadow was designed that way to reflect radar away from its source, not to deflect cannonballs!

Morbius · Astral Engineer Joined: 25 Oct 2014 Posts: 207

It just needs some sally ports and cannon.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2022 9:17 am Post subject:

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Gosh, I dated a girl named Sally Ports in high school. She was quite a seaworthy little gal, as I recall . . . Wink

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Gord Green · Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2022 10:51 pm Post subject:

BUD WROTE: