Exploration

Shipwrecks and Planes in Lake Washington

Ben Griner — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:57:43 +0000

This image shows the wrecks we have marked in Lake Washington to date. The targets listed on this map are those of interest greater than 10' in length. Many more smaller targets exist and may represent partially burried items of interest.

Most of these targets are unexplored.

YMS Minesweeper Deck Plans

Ben Griner — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:23:46 +0000

Located in Lake Washington are three YMS minesweepers. Two of these vessels are very much intact. Our team has been using the below deck plans to explore these three vessels over the last several years. These deck plans are for YMS series 135-409.

Please note that these plans should be used only for general reference. The vessels in Lake Washington have been modified following their military use and do not fully match the structural diagrams. Additionally, the two groups conducting penetration dives on the newest minesweeper both experienced partial structural collapse. The latest collapse was quite serious and could easily have been life threatening. Both dives required a zero visibility exit from the vessel.

Penetration dives on the Lake Washington Minesweepers should not be undertaken.

The below files are high resolution PDF files:

Outboard Profile

Inboard Profile & Deck Plans

Main Deck, Forecastle, Chart House & Pilot House

Diving the Cars on Lake Crescent

Greg Wilson — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:18:28 +0000

Dive on The Warren and Steele Car from Greg Wilson on Vimeo.

8 of us met at Lake Crescent to dive the Warren Car. 3 of us with scooters continued on to the Steel car. Depth of the Warren Car 165', depth of the Steele Car 195'. Bottom time was 25 minutes, time to reach the surface another 55 minutes.

Shallow Barge located south of the 520 bridge

Ben Griner — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:27:27 +0000

This image is of a very shallow barge located in Lake Washington. This small barge is located on the West shoreline south of the 520 bridge and is listed on the NOAA AWOIS database. This wreck is one of more that 50 that Scott Boyd of Emerald Sea Photography has imaged and confirmed the location of in just the last month.

Location and Imagery of Two New Wrecks in Lake Washington

Ben Griner — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:11:43 +0000

The Houghton Bay area of Lake Washington is a literal junk yard from the old Lake Washington Ship Yards. This area is the site of several burned wrecks and scuttled vessels. It was originally thought that is area was reasonably well described but recent forays into the area have consistently turned up more wrecks.

Our team has scanned the entire area and has identified more than 30 wrecks for eventual exploration. This last week Scott Boyd of Emerald Sea Photography worked in the area and obtained images of two wrecks tucked into some of the natural geography that were previously unidentified. This solid work by Scott demonstrates the exceptional capabilities of his sidescan unit for shallow area survey.

Side Scan Image taken by Scott Boyd

Imagery of sites listed as planes on charts - Site Scorpion and another barge.

Ben Griner — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:23:17 +0000

Our team was recently conducting a series of dives on the PB4Y and PV2 Harpoon and during surface intervals imaged two low priority targets described as planes on NOAA Charts. The Northern most target was originally thought to be a small barge on long range side scan imagery and this assessment was confirmed by Scott Boyd, co-author of Northwest Wreck Dives.

Initial imagery attempts of the Southern most wreck site showed returns that were difficult to interpret from long range and transom mount sidescan. This weekend Puget Sound Divers imaged this site using a high resolution towfish from Scott Christopher's boat. Two two seperate areas of interest were evaluated. The first was the Scorption site and a target just 130' North. The Northern target orginally gave an interesting return (see below) but more detailed imagery shows what appears to be a tight configuration of clay an rocks (also below).

North site - Inverse Grayscale with increased sensitivity Same target from different angle shows rocks and clay.

PV2 Harpoon - Lake Washington

Ben Griner — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:34:21 +0000

PV2 Harpoon in Lake Washington - Another visit from Ben Griner on Vimeo.

We dive regularly on the planes in Lake Washington and this dive we ran more video to document the planes condition and any changes we see from year to year. This plane nosed directly into the mud and is stuck there vertically. The tail section is lying next to it in the muck with the bottom at approximately 145' fresh water.

Wreck of the PB4Y Privateer resting in Lake Washington

Ben Griner — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:31:20 +0000

PB4Y Privateer resting in Lake Washington from Ben Griner on Vimeo.

Today was yet another great dive on this amazing wreck. Our goal today was to document the cockpit glass and two side turrets for comparison to previous video. This plane rests in 154' freshwater just off sandpoint.

For full HD click the video title and watch this video on vimeo.

Sidescan Imagery of Scorpion Site

Ben Griner — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:53:15 +0000

The below images are of the site currently referred to as Scorpion due to is uncanny resemblance to a Scorpion. This site is listed by NOAA as a plane but appears to be natural formation. Two historically significant planes are within one mile of this site. Images were taken with equipment from Scott Christopher and Sound Aquatics. Resolution is limited with web publication. Actual location was identified by Scott Boyd of Emerald Sea Photography.

Enhanced Side Scan Image from 150' Side Scan image from 75'

Exploration of Target #185 (Large Barge)

Ben Griner — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:54:43 +0000

Target #185 Lake Washington BargeTarget #185 is located North of the the Seattle NOAA offices in 154' of fresh water and is in the same area in which the PV2 Harpoon is located. The exploration of this site has been a joint effort between Puget Sound Divers and Scott Boyd of Emerald Sea Photography and a co-author of Northwest Wreck Dives. The image on the right is a sidescan image taken by Scott Boyd.

This is one of several barges in the area and while it is the second largest it may be the most intact. Addtionally, since this wreck is listed in AWOIS it is possible that this site is one that is well described by another exploration team. In the next few weeks we will reach out to that team to see if this indeed the site that they have already well described.