Who's the Real Explorer Explorer?
It figures a sub that's apparently been "discovered" after it was already "discovered" is named Explorer. A submarine with a similar design component to The Nautilus, the beloved sub featured in Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, has been found by at least a couple dudes over the past few years. A Times Online story that ran Monday speaks of one Colonel John Blashford-Snell who "discovered the half-submerged, cast-iron wreck off the coast of Panama while searching for ancient ruins."
But, in my hunt for photos of the sub, which I have yet to uncover, I came across a couple articles citing James Delgado as the discoverer of the Explorer in 2001. An AP story from October 31, 2004 says, "Delgado, a former maritime historian for the U.S. National Park Service, discovered the Explorer during a cruise to Panama in 2001. Delgado went to the Isla San Telmo after Panamanians told him about a sub that had washed ashore."
There's actually a cool first-person description by Delgado of his first contact with the sub on Shipwreck Central.
Of course, neither of these guys "discovered" the sub -- the folks who tipped off these guys did -- or was it the folks who tipped off the tippers off? Whatever....
Anyway, though I'm curious about what just might be a little shipwreck dispute, the sub itself is of great interest. Turns out it's a civil war-era ship -- yep, a contemporary of the far better-known Hunley. It's not evident in the stories I've read that the Explorer was operated in the same way as the Hunley, which was literally cranked by several hunched over submariners in the cramped vessel. The main thing that gives the Explorer special status is its lock-out system which enabled submariners to exit and enter the sub while submerged. Yep, just like the fictional Nautilus.
The German designer, Julius Kroehl, who designed the Explorer originally pitched it to The Union army, but the former explosives expert didn't have the thing built until 1864, of course, when the war was pretty much over (yes, I remember history class, sort of). He ended up selling it to a Pearl company. Pearl harvesters were able to leave the sub to collect pearls and then return to the sub. (They probably simply held their breath while in the water, like old-school pearl divers did. Check out The Pearl, a little novella by John Steinbeck, if yer interested - it's a good one.)
The Explorer had a multi-door system through which the inner-hull door could open, then shut, then another door/hatch/whatever opened to allow the submariners to exit -- thus sealing off the ship from the sea. I'm guessing it worked like that since that's how it's described in the Verne novel. Kroehl apparently got his idea for the Explorer from the Nautilus.
But, in my hunt for photos of the sub, which I have yet to uncover, I came across a couple articles citing James Delgado as the discoverer of the Explorer in 2001. An AP story from October 31, 2004 says, "Delgado, a former maritime historian for the U.S. National Park Service, discovered the Explorer during a cruise to Panama in 2001. Delgado went to the Isla San Telmo after Panamanians told him about a sub that had washed ashore."
There's actually a cool first-person description by Delgado of his first contact with the sub on Shipwreck Central.
Of course, neither of these guys "discovered" the sub -- the folks who tipped off these guys did -- or was it the folks who tipped off the tippers off? Whatever....
Anyway, though I'm curious about what just might be a little shipwreck dispute, the sub itself is of great interest. Turns out it's a civil war-era ship -- yep, a contemporary of the far better-known Hunley. It's not evident in the stories I've read that the Explorer was operated in the same way as the Hunley, which was literally cranked by several hunched over submariners in the cramped vessel. The main thing that gives the Explorer special status is its lock-out system which enabled submariners to exit and enter the sub while submerged. Yep, just like the fictional Nautilus.
The German designer, Julius Kroehl, who designed the Explorer originally pitched it to The Union army, but the former explosives expert didn't have the thing built until 1864, of course, when the war was pretty much over (yes, I remember history class, sort of). He ended up selling it to a Pearl company. Pearl harvesters were able to leave the sub to collect pearls and then return to the sub. (They probably simply held their breath while in the water, like old-school pearl divers did. Check out The Pearl, a little novella by John Steinbeck, if yer interested - it's a good one.)
The Explorer had a multi-door system through which the inner-hull door could open, then shut, then another door/hatch/whatever opened to allow the submariners to exit -- thus sealing off the ship from the sea. I'm guessing it worked like that since that's how it's described in the Verne novel. Kroehl apparently got his idea for the Explorer from the Nautilus.
posted by Connie Sewer at 6:06 AM
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