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coordinator for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary,
noted that the mid-September dives were NOAA’s first
detailed surveys of the wreck, which sits in 25 feet of water,
and lousy weather cut the dive window to only three days.
That meant Lawrence, Altmeier and the four NABS divers
—Washington, D.C.-area residents Ernie Franklin, Jay Haigler,
Kamau Sadiki and Paul Washington —were only able to cover 70
feet of the massive site. NABS divers want to return to the wreck
this year so they can create a complete site map, which would be
given to the sanctuary and made accessible to the public.
Diving with a Purpose
The four NABS divers are certified NOAA Scientific Divers.
The certification process is a rigorous one, requiring passage
of medical, academic and skills exams. The Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries has only 23 such volunteer divers
nationwide. The NABS team also received training from
the Nautical Archaeology Society on proper survey and
documentation of wreck sites. “They’ve gone the distance to
get the training to help us with this work,” Lawrence said. “It’s
expensive to put a group of people in the field. Their willingness
to donate their highly skilled time really advances our mission.”
The volunteer divers who participated in the Hannah M. Bell
project are members of NABS’ Diving with a Purpose program,
which was founded by member Ken Stewart of Nashville after
conversations with Biscayne National Park’s archaeologist
about the need for help searching for the slave ship Guerrero.
Stewart said he gave it some thought and called a few friends
and asked: “Are you tired of the same old diving? Let’s dive
with a purpose.” Since then, Diving with a Purpose (DWP) has
documented 10 shipwrecks and contributed more than 8,500
volunteer hours to maritime archaeology efforts. The program
has put 75 divers through an intensive weeklong training
program, and its membership roster includes six certified
NOAA scientific divers, six certified National Park Service
divers and two dozen Nautical Archaeology Society divers.
“A good diver is always learning, and it’s that exact same
concept — except now it becomes more focused, and one thing
feeds into another,” said Haigler, who’s a DWP lead instructor.
The NABS Foundation, the group’s newly formed 501(c)(3), will
allow it to pursue funding for future maritime history projects.
Meanwhile, Stewart said the group’s new youth version of the
DWP plans to send 19 high school and college kids to get their
fins wet in Biscayne National Park this summer.
Lawrence’s interest in the Mike’s Wreck site was piqued
in 2009, when he was diving the popular City of Washington
nearby with a group of NABS divers who were practicing their
newly acquired nautical archaeology skills. “It’s silly this is
called Mike’s Wreck, because clearly we can put a name to it,”
Lawrence thought as he scoped out the large wreck just 100
yards away from the City of Washington. Indeed, while there are
few tangible remains of many older shipwrecks in the Keys, the
Mike’s Wreck site was substantial.
While it’s been broken up over the years by storms
and salvage, Lawrence said the Hannah M. Bell is still an
impressive sight underwater, with 15-foot-tall portions of hull,
large deck beams and hull plating rising from the ocean floor.
“When I first dived on it, I was amazed,” Lawrence said.
“There’s more material on it than on the City of Washington.
It makes for a really interesting site to dive.”
Once back home, he started digging into records,
looking for ships known to have wrecked on Elbow Reef or
thereabouts. The massive steel steamship Hannah M. Bell,
which sank in 1911, wasn’t commonly listed as having run
aground on Elbow, but it seemed a likely match.
More Work to Be Done
Altmeier has worked with NABS divers on other projects,
including dives on what might be the wreck of the Guerrero,
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Courtesy Matthew Lawrence/NOAA
In the fall of 2012, staff at the Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary and volunteers from the National
Association of Black Scuba Divers confirmed that local
landmark “Mike’s Wreck” is the wreck of the Hannah M.
Bell, which sank on April 4, 1911, on Elbow Reef.
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