Gunilda

[Deep Thought]

Great pics Zach, nice clean shot of the running lights and life boat logo...it is a hard wreck to get clean shots with all the silt.

The position of the bell is exactly as it was when I started diving the wreck over 10 years ago.  On return trips, dive buddy boB and I could track damage done to the wreck including attempts by divers trying to remove the bell.  On one return trip we were very disappointed, yet relieved, to see the bell laying on the deck below its mount.

On a return trip we planned a re-installation dive, as we were afraid that a loose bell would probably be stolen and the bell really did make an impressive statement for the Gunilda.  The installation was a bigger job than we judged; even with rebreathers working with a very very heavy bell in the dark at 240' is strenuous.  The job was made much easier when John Scoles volunteered (means he missed several nice dives) to video (provide valuable lighting).  The bell showed evidence of stress cracks on the "Gooseneck" arm from repeated attempts of divers to pull and torque the bell off the deck.  The original bronze/brass carriage bolts were still in the base of the bell, and the remaining portion of the bolt was stuck in the 3" plus deck which required a spud bar / sledge hammer to drive it out.  Once the old bits were removed, we replaced the bell in the exact location, using the base and original holes to replace new carriage bolts.  Unfortunately we did not have bronze and had to rely on a local hardware store for plated steel bolts.  While we were very concerned with the maintaining the authentic value of the ships original construction materials, it simply wasn't practical especially with our concern over possible theft of the bell.

At the time we replaced the bell, dive pressure was increasing on the Gunilda, and the politics of diving the site were starting to diminish.  By politics I mean the artificial regulations and application process that was considered "required" was being challenged by Canadian citizens.  Our early dives on the site were always shadowed by a variety of government officials who would stop us at launches and search our boat, etc...
Just recently the Ontario province has enacted some "real" regulations regarding culturally significant wreck site (Hamilton / Fitz) but did not list Gunilda, giving us further belief that the entire application process was B.S. 

The original application process and concept was sincere; divers were not allowed to touch the wreck, including disturbing the silt layer that protected the fragile paint and woodwork.  Obviously divers were touching the wreck as was apparent with broken handrails, doors, chairs moved, and of course the bell laying on the deck...

Our intentions of replacing the bell were also sincere but not approved by any government or official representing interest in the shipwreck.  We were definitely violating the original rules, and tampering with what I would consider a significant cultural resource. 

It bothers me more to think about a museum curator who cleverly tricks a group of family members into removing the bell from the Fitz, so it can be displayed at his museum than to think about replacing an artifact that is most certainly going to end up in somebody’s den.  Being a hypocrite is a lot easier than one may think.

Seriously though, I do not advocate tampering with shipwrecks, and certainly object to divers removing artifact as it is simply a selfish me first attitude.