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Trip Report - Indian Arm Mystery Wreck
2010-03-14

On March 13/14 eight members of The DIR Project got together in North Vancouver to explore and document the remains of a ship that was believed to be the Famous (previously Amur). This weekend was the culmination of six months of learning, planning and practicing by all involved. We're happy to report that the joint UASBC/SREU project was a success. Before we get to the details of the projects execution, and what was discovered, let's take a quick step back. The Famous, which was launched in 1890, was scuttled in Bedwell Bay, Indian Arm, In September 1932. We can only imagine that those involved in her sinking never suspected that anyone would lay eyes on her again. Seventy-five years later, in 2007, the Canadian Hydrographic Service provided the Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia with a sonar image of a wreck site, that the UASBC believed to be the Famous. On September 22, 2007 the UASBC sent down a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), contributed and run by member Mike Clement. Visibility was only a few meters, but steel frames and other vertical structures were evident. The hull plating seemed largely gone, but there was more wood than expected. It was impossible to distinguish the bow from stern from the ROV footage, as the ship was well covered in Plumose Anemones. The wreck lies on a flat silt bottom not far from shore in 230', on a bearing of 034/214. In October of 2009, the UASBC board confirmed support for a joint project with The DIR Project's SREU that would have technical divers visit the wreck of the Famous.

Day 1

When the team met at the docks in Deep Cove, we were informed by Captain Shay that he had gone out the previous weekend and hooked something in 230' of water that he believed was the Famous. The down line was in place. We made a quick pass by the buoy and confirmed the location against the GPS coordinates provided by the UASBC.

Team A, comprised of Mark Gottfried and Guy Shockey, suited up and splashed in. The team utilized 15/55 back gas, three deco gases (35/25, 50% and 100%) and a scooter each. The team descended, and the Surface Manager Jeremy Hoey began the clock. At the appropriate time Jeremy deployed Richard Parker and Dave Healy, the two Support Divers. The support divers waited for the Gas Divers at 70' which was to be the depth for the team's second gas switch. Here empty bottles and unneeded equipment was removed. In addition to this the Support Divers carried an extra bottle of deco gas for the rare event that it was needed. The Support Divers then surfaced leaving Mark and Guy to finish their deco.

On the surface the rest of us were pacing the deck impatiently relying on the movement of Team A's bubbles to speculate on their success, or failure, in locating the Famous. When the Support Divers surfaced they quickly informed us that they had received double handed OK signs from Team A, surely a good sign. Finally, Team A surface. We saw an arm go up and a big smile. We had the wreck. The plan for Team A was to locate the wreck, and time permitting, lay the baseline which was to be used for all future measurements. Even given the less than ideal conditions, approximately 10' of visibility, Team A reported that the baseline was in place - a very successful first dive.

Team B, comprised of Alan Johnson, Kim Anderson and Chris Fenton, soon descended. The plan for Team B was to complete a number of measurements offset from the baseline. Unfortunately when the team arrived at the first offset point Chris realized that he had lost the tape measure on the descent. Making the most of the situation the team travelled out along the baseline, exploring both ends of the wreck as well as one side. From this dive a picture of the wreck began to emerge from the dark and murky water. It was believed that the down line was hooked very close to the bow and the baseline ran almost perfectly bow to stern. The ship was laying upright with the starboard side beginning to collapse. The baseline was in 220' of water while the flat muddy bottom was at 230'. After meeting the well received Support Divers at 70', Team B eventually returned to the surface where the day was declared a success. Everyone began to pack up and met back at International Diving Center where Alan took on the job of filling all the tanks, a job that took him until 9:30pm.

Day 2

After the success of the first day the team had high hopes. Unfortunately Guy had developed a head cold overnight and was forced to sit out for the day. The teams were rearranged as Alan joined Mark on Team A, and Kim and Chris remained on Team B. Jeremy checked Team A into the water and they began their descent. Of course the plan had been modified overnight to take into account the fact that we were behind schedule. Team A completed the measurements of the length, and the width of the ship, as well as taking the necessary time to leave a note on the wreck for future divers... When they returned to the surface the smiles weren't quite as big as the day before. Visibility had been reduced to about half that of the previous day.

The deteriorated visibility was a problem for Team B who had the task of documenting the wreck with video. The two shot some video of what was believed to be the bow before taking off on the scooters to shoot the stern. Part way there they noticed a large round pipe and stopped to shoot video along its length. It was this piece that helped to clarify the puzzle. Using the historic photo the team determined that this was the ships stack and almost certainly confirmed the previous days suspicion in regards the direction of bow and stern. Team B deployed their scooters and began to move towards the stern to finish filming. It was then that one of the hazards of wreck diving presented itself; Chris was stopped dead in his tracks. A line from the wreck had wrapped around the valve of the oxygen bottle which was behind him on his leash. It took only a couple of minutes to rectify the problem and the team returned to the up-line.

The Wreck

The wreck lays on a muddy bottom in 230' of water. The visibility in the area is notoriously bad and probably averages <10'. There is very little water movement in the area and so the wreck can easily be dived at any point of a tidal exchange. The wreck lays upright, on a 034/214 bearing, with the starboard side collapsing. She is approximately 77 m (252 feet) long by 13.4 m (44 feet) wide. The entire wreck is absolutely covered in silt. What isn't brown with silt is covered in plumose anemones. There is no standing supper structure, but there is a lot of debris lying around covered in silt. Given the visibility and size of the wreck the exploration was nowhere near complete after the projects 90min of bottom time. Many more dives will need to be conducted before the full picture emerges. Some rockfish, crab, nudibranchs and squid were spotted on the dive.

One Week Later

In the past week we have had the opportunity to sit down and bring together all of the information that we collected on the project. We have also had the opportunity to run our data by the UASBC. It has become evident, that it is highly unlikely, that this wreck is the SS Famous. Of course this is exciting news! There are very few intact wooden ships of this age in B.C. waters. Added to this there is the mystery of the ships identity, as well as to the location of the SS Famous. This discovery makes another trip to wreck site the SREU's top priority - a trip that will likely occur in May 2010.

Return to the Wreck

On May 22, 2010 the entire team returned for Day 3 of the project. We conducted two more dives with a combined bottom time of 45 minutes. We took another width measurement and shot approx. 30mins of additional video footage. Conditions were similar to the May 13/14 dives. The wrecks is a relatively intact wooden ship. It appears to have been stripped and scuttled. She is approximately 77 m (252 feet) long by 13.4 m (44 feet) wide. She sits on a 230' flat silt bottom with the top of the hull in about 220' of water. The entire wreck is covered in mounds of silt. Plumose anemones cover much of the exposed surfaces.

As of today the identity of the ship remains unknown. However, UASBC research subsequent to our March 13/14 dives has indicated that there were in fact two ships named the Amur on the B.C. coast. Therefore, it is possible that the initial research assumption that the 216' steamer Amur was renamed the Famous was false. It fallows that it is possible that the ship we have been documenting is the real Famous, which is that there never was an SS Famous. We await further research efforts. We have no further plans to revisit the wreck at this time.

SET Thanks

The Indian Arm Mystery Wreck Project team would like to thank: Cheers Diving and Eco Tours for an excellent job as charter boat for the project; International Diving Center for helping with the filling and repair logistics; and the UASBC for the opportunity as well as the financial support.

Trip Report by, Chris Fenton