As I wrote at The Anchors of the Loch Vennachar at http://wix.to/gzjn2HB, the SUHR conducted a major expedition by to the site of the Loch Vennachar wreck in February 1977.
Following the publication of The Anchors of the Loch Vennachar”, I learned that there were two other divers who were present on the discovery of the Loch Vennachar wreck site in 1976. They were Chris and Robby Beckwith, two Kangaroo Island residents who “were of great assistance”. The three SUHR (Society for Underwater Historical Research) divers were Doug Seton, Brian Marfleet and Terry Smith. (Unfortunately, Doug Seton passed away on 4th January 2023.)
One of the SUHR divers who went on the expedition back to the wreck site in 1977 was Mal Watson. Unfortunately, Mal died recently (2023). He was Secretary for the SUHR from 1978 to 1981, and Secretary for the SDFSA from 1987 to 1990. Scuba diving, especially wreck diving, was a big part of Mal’s life. He, his son and daughter had all been members of the Underwater Explorers Club of SA.
Our condolences go to the family and friends Doug Seton & Mal Watson.
I have many images from the 1977 expedition to the Loch Vennachar wreck site. Certainly, they tell a story about the expedition. Many of them illustrate the dangerous conditions that SUHR members were faced with, especially divers and boaters.
Some of these images are shown below to tell the story in pictures: -
This one appears to show the group preparing for the expedition: -
This next one seems to show the group onboard the ship Troubridge for the trip to (or from) Kangaroo Island: -
This one seems to show the group setting up camp on KI: -
This one seems to show the camp toilet: -
This one seems to show the camp at mealtime: -
This one seems to show the cooks in the camp kitchen: -
This one seems to show the 7pm meal menu: -
This one seems to show the track to the beach near the wreck site: -
This one seems to show the group dragging one of the dinghies down the track to the beach near the wreck site with the help of a car: -
These next few show the high cliffs at the wreck site and the entry (& exit?) attempts by divers: -
This one seems to show a diver with some of the artefacts recovered from the site: -
These next couple seem to show aerial shots of the area: -
This next one seems to show the end of the track down to the beach near the wreck site: -
These next two seem to show another hurdle for the group: -
This next one seems to show the group preparing to launch an inflatable boat from the nearby beach: -
The next few seem to show the group’s attempts to launch the inflatable dinghy from the beach and get over the large breakers: -
The next one seems to show the moment when the inflatable dinghy was possibly flipped over by the breakers: -
These next few seem to show one or two dinghies out beyond the breakers: -
There does seem to be a boat in each of the next two pictures: -
These next few pictures seem to show the wreck site and divers at work on the site: -
This next one seems to show a diver with a recovered artefact from the wreck site: -
This next one seems to show a person with another artefact recovered from the wreck site:-
This next one seems to show some night time planning by the group: -
This next one seems to show some more artefacts recovered from the wreck site: -
This next one seems to show calm conditions on the beach near to the wreck site, possibly after all the diving had finished: -
This final image shows a large group gathering on top of the rocky cliffs: -
Let us say that it was taken at the end of the expedition!
This Google map shows Vennachar Point and the beach at West Bay: -
This is Alan Hale modelling the Society's T-shirt for the expedition: -
Comments