Markus Casey

We learned yesterday of the death of Markus Casey in an air crash near Knock, Co. Mayo.

Markus was very well known in archaeological and aviation circles and was a former secretary of the Galway Flying Club. He ran a light aircraft maintenance company in Knock and was a consultant archaeologist, carrying out aerial archaeology surveys as well as terrestrial work. Well known and popular throughout the country, he will be sadly missed.

Liam Stenson (commenting on a piece in todays Irish Independent) puts it best -

A lovely, lovely man with a wicked but gentle sense of humour that often came in under the recipient’s radar, a wonderful pilot, great conversationalist and a true gentleman.
Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.

Boatwash Review

Posted by Eoghan, Moore Marine

In 2006, in conjunction with University College Cork Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre and Aquatic Services Unit, Orla Power for Moore Marine worked on the cultural heritage impacts as part of the ‘Literature review on the impacts of boat wash on the heritage of Ireland’s inland waterways’, commissioned by the Heritage Council. We’ve an excerpt below followed by a link to the full publication at the bottom.

While boat wash has been identified as a contributing factor in the destabilization of cultural resources in freshwater zones, little research has been conducted in this area. In fact, data relating to the impact of general waves on the shorelines of freshwater environments is also virtually non-existent (Allan and Kirk, 2000). As a result, the majority of sources accessed for this report depend primarily on observational data relating to the erosion effects of boat wash. Despite the absence of quantitative data, many insist that any competent observer could identify the association between boat wash and erosion problems. (Gill and Blake, 32: 2002)

O’Halloran (2000) discusses the impact of recreational boating on aboriginal cultural sites in Lake Hume, New South Wales. Heightened levels of erosion and greater artefact dispersal can be attributed to the direct impact of wave action, subsequent inundation and exposure. The detrimental effects of boat wakes, have also been noted at the site of the USS Utah in Pearl Harbour (NPS, 2001 ) and on the Panama Canal at the Pedro Miguel Saddle Dam (c.1900) (Bragar, 2001). From an Irish perspective, the impact of boat wash on submerged cultural heritage at Rindoon Harbour, Co. Roscommon has been noted with concern (Breen, 1998)……. Full publication here.

Assemblage

The second ‘On the Line’ or as we’ll call it until someone suggests better - Assemblage (it’s got archaeological meaning but no environmental meaning - so it’s not right yet - please help) is below. We’d also like to draw people’s attention to a request from a reader with regards to the Irish Civil War which we received over the weekend.

Thomas Monaghan’s father was in the free state army. Thomas has a photograph of him in uniform and when he went to reframe it he found a note on the back saying: “Michael Monahan Born in Cappataggle on the 23 may 1903, joined the Pat (?) army Sept. 1922, discharged from same March 1924. Photo taken in Clarmorris nov 1923″. Thomas understands that he joined up in Dublin, was sent to Fenit, Co Kerry and then marched all the way to Castle McGarrett, Co.Mayo where he was Quastermaster. Tom would welcome any information by email to monahansr@comcast.net

So to the ‘assemblage’…. First off, an assemblage is an archaeological term meaning a group of different artefacts found in association with one another, that is, in the same context (Wiki). The context here is our surfing and all things archaeological, environmental and ancient beer (or drugs) related.

This time round our attention was drawn to Network Nature which has the 103^rd edition of the Tangled Bank Blog Carnival -

As Cath Ennis describes the Tangled Bank (and blog carnivals in general) - It’s ‘One of the broadest blog carnivals around, it is named after Charles Darwin’s famous metaphor and features articles from across the fields of science and medicine. Reading a carnival gives you access to posts you might never stumble across by yourself; contributing to a carnival brings your work to a whole new audience.’

As our regular readers will know, one of our principle research interests is the archaeology of intoxicants - mostly ancient ale/beer. Intoxicants have been part of society from earliest times. So, our interest is not entirely confined to alcohol. It’s with that in mind that we note in Wired the death of Albert Hoffman, the inventor of LSD. Hoffman originally began studying the use of several plants and fungi for use in the pharmaceutical industry and synthesised LSD in 1938. Hoffman first synthesized LSD-25 in 1938 but it was later, in 1943, while re-synthesizing it, he accidentally absorbed a small quantity through his fingertips and serendipitously discovered its powerful effects before his bicycle ride home……

Via Mulley we came across John Smyth’s blog. Smyth is a Galway based photographer and posts some great shots on his blog.

Here’s an interesting post about mapping and biblical archaeology from Tyndaletech via ancientworldbloggers.

From infoactivism on animal agriculture/factory farming and on a related note a film screened recently on More Four.

Given our economic woes here’s how to build your own low impact eco-home…

And, finally for now, Jazz biscuit on binge drinking and alcohol in Ireland - which we’ll post more on shortly - and more on the same subject from Turbulence ahead.

Eyre Square Excavations Part I

Moore Group was engaged by Galway City Council as the consulting archaeologists for the Eyre Square Re-enhancement Project and from the outset in February 2004 carried out archaeological testing and monitoring of groundworks. A number of excavations were carried out during the scheme. Some post-excavation is ongoing and a final report will be prepared soon. Over the coming months we’ll post some snippets from the excavations here. We’ll start at the top (north end) of the Square and the discovery of an 18^th century building.

18^th Century building (market house) at north end of Eyre Square

An excavation, directed by Billy Quinn, was carried out to the north of Eyre Square in an area previously utilised as a taxi rank and carriageway (for those of you familiar with the city - that’s in front of the Bank of Ireland). Previous archaeological testing within this area had exposed structural remains indicating the presence of an 18^th Century building. Although it was feasible to preserve the building in situ, with the agreement of the DEHLG and the support of Galway City Council, a small part of the area was excavated -the excavation incorporated areas both inside and outside the wall footings to provide meaningful data. Despite the fact that the building could have been left untouched, the City Council agreed that this was a great opportunity to investigate a previously unknown feature prior to sealing it up in perpetuity.

Logan’s map reproduced above depicts the square as a park area indicated both as the ‘Fair Green’ and ‘Mayrick’s Square’. To the north east of the square is an open space known as the potato and corn market. West of this is a square development block with approximately six structures enclosing a yard that corresponds with the square block on the Erasmus Smith 1785 map. This block is located in the area of the present day taxi rank and bus terminal and is most likely related to the wall foundations exposed during the excavation. On the later 1839, 1^st Edition OS sheet this block does not appear, presumably having been demolished to enlarge the market space. We’ve reproduced below an extract from Logans map overlaid with the present day site plan showing the structural foundations exposed during excavation in relation to the block described above. The foundations we excavated generally correspond to this long since demolished building.

Prior to the manual excavation a large area to the north of the present day bus rank was machine excavated to an average depth of 0.4m, removing the tarmac, hardcore and underlying mixed gravel layers. This bulk reduction work was essentially carried out to determine the extent of the structural remains previously recorded in the testing phase and to define the limit of excavation. On completion of the stripping operation the exposed open area was roughly ‘L’ shaped in plan with the longer axis orientated NE/SW measuring 21m by 6m and the shorter axis orientated NNW/SSE measuring 10m in width by 10.5m in length. This area was enlarged at a later date to the south, west and northwest. The southern extension was opened to re-expose the south wall; the west and north west extension’s were designed to investigate a possible return on the west wall and to examine a stone lined pit that later transpired to be a latrine with associated drain.

The plate reproduced below, taken from the roof of the nearby Bank of Ireland (who kindly allowed us access), is an aerial view looking south to the site. The plate shows very generally the main archaeological features comprising the foundations of a rectangular building, a circular ash Pit and the stone lined latrine. The slot trench located in order to investigate the stratigraphy inside and outside the wall is evident on either side of the ranging rod.

The earliest deposit exposed during the course of the excavation was the first of three metalled surfaces found within one of several investigative slot trenches. This was a roughly laid metalled surface of sub-rounded, poorly sorted, cobble sized, limestone within a silty peat matrix and measured approximately 0.75m N/S by 1m E/W. Sealing this surface was a softly compact, mid brown, sandy silt, organic layer with inclusions of burnt and un-burnt animal bone, oyster, periwinkle and mussel shell, brushwood and a single gold plated copper pin. Overlying that was a midden-like deposit, varying in thickness from 4cm to 11cm. The only significant find recovered from this layer was a gold plated round headed pin similar to the example found in the deeper layer described above.

Above all that there was another rough cobble layer. From the cartographic record there is evidence for a roadway in the vicinity of the site from the mid 17^th Century. This cobbled surface probably represents the final phase of roadway activity prior to the site being re-used, initially as an open market, evidenced by the accumulation of organic refuse (described below), and later for the site of the Market house.

A composite layer consisting of moderately compact, brown clay with frequent inclusions of stone, animal bone and oyster shell was above the 17^th century roadway. This layer measured on average 0.2m in depth and contained an assortment of post-medieval finds including pottery, glass, clay pipe, tile sherds, worked shoe leather and two gold plated pins.

The structural remains exposed during the testing phase and the initial mechanical excavation work uncovered a roughly rectangular structure measuring approximately 12m E/W by 6.35m N/S. This rectangular block was open ended to the east with no evidence for a return and was later truncated by a modern service trench orientated NNE/SSW. It was apparent that the building was constructed in two phases, built, partially demolished leaving the southern and western walls intact and rebuilt and enlarged at a later stage. The masonry was bonded with a mid to dark brown coarse sand lime mortar.

Among the other features exposed during the course of the excavation in Areas B and C to the north of the rectangular structure were a circular ash pit, a latrine, and associated drain.

The Latrine

The Latrine, found to the north of the north east corner of the rectangular structure in Area D was initially exposed as a ‘U’ shaped arrangement of stone with an associated drain in the form of a linear stone alignment. Subsequent excavation of the feature revealed a stone lined, rectangular pit with a backfilled drain running to the north. The internal pit dimensions measured 1.03m N/S by 0.5m E/W and had a maximum depth of 0.51m. The stone revetment was constructed of randomly coursed, roughly hewn limestone with smaller spall stones. There was no evidence of any bonding agent. The pit, as is obvious from the photograph, is open to the east - whether this was deliberate or the result of later demolition is unclear. An investigation around the feature to determine the original cut-line exposed a sub-circular fill extending to the west beyond the limits of the extant revetment; this would seem to indicate that the pit was originally enclosed. The fill within the pit was a friable, dark brown silty sand with frequent inclusions of pottery, bone, wood and stones. A worked piece of timber retrieved from the pit had a deliberate hole cut in its mid section and probably functioned as the toilet seat. The entire timber was retrieved and has been conserved.

To the NE of the latrine and running N to the edge of excavation was a drain feature that measured 0.95m in length by 0.5m in width.

We concluded that the remains of the eighteenth century rectangular building were possibly related to the block of buildings marked on Logan’s 1818 map to the east of the old Corn and Potato market. The building probably functioned as the original market house which was subsequently moved to the present day site of the Bank of Ireland. Two distinct building phases were evident suggesting that the original building was partially demolished and enlarged - possibly in the early nineteenth century. By the time of the 1st Edition OS map in 1839 this building had been totally demolished allowing for an extension of the open-air market to the east.

Contemporaneous with this general phase was a latrine and ash pit. Neither of these features appeared to have associated enclosing elements. However it is very unlikely that they were exposed to the elements and were probably sheltered by a timber structure.

Underlying the market house were a series of archaeologically significant organic deposits containing a wide variety of finds including medieval to post medieval pottery and tile, worked leather shoes and offcuts, three gold plated pins, fragments of early clay pipes, an amber bead and a pre-historic flint. Three successive metalled surfaces were also exposed consisting of compacted cobbled sized sub angular stone. These surfaces mark the original roadway as featured on Bellin’s 1786 map leading eastward from the walled town towards Prospect Hill.

Unfortunately due to time constraints brought about by adverse weather the site was not bottomed out to natural levels, however excavation did expose extant archaeological levels at a depth of 1.7m below the existing road level. The preservation in situ of these deposits was made possible by the cooperation of the landscape architects and contractors in raising their finished structural levels to avoid any direct impacts. On the completion of the excavation the entire site was covered with geo-fabric and backfilled with gravel.

Harris online

Edward Harris’ Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy is available for download online here. The Harris Matrix is now widely used worldwide. The book was first published in 1979 and is the seminal work on stratigraphical theory.

Great Beer Experiment video

Regular readers will have noticed that we’ve posted the video of last years Great Beer Experiment using VodPod on the right…

Produced by BigYes, it documents the process and the events last August - please bear in mind when viewing that we had consumed quite a bit of our beer by the end of the day!

{addendum} …..and Moore Marine’s underwater footage of a Stingray which Eoghan filmed while diving on the Great Barrier Reef near Townsville in Queensland, Australia last year.

Four Stone Hearth #39

Hominin Dental Anthropology is the host of the most recent Four Stone Hearth (39) Blog Carnival. Great blog (seriously, I love that there’s a well-written blog which specializes in ancient teeth)- go visit.

I want to tear down the walls, that hold me inside

U2, The Clarence Hotel, and Protected Structures

I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

Now, this is not a political blog, and we don’t like to embroil ourselves in planning debates either (we like to remain impartial), but our interest was piqued in the proposed U2 led development of the Clarence Hotel by a debate on RTE’s Questions and Answers last night, and the clear and willful ignorance of our politicians on the issue of historic building conservation. In this case two politicians (and we feel fully justified in our criticism as they are from opposite sides of the political fence and yet demonstrate equally ill-informed opinions), Martin Cullen (FF) and Joan Bruton (Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) argued that the proposed façade retention/demolition of protected structures to facilitate the construction of a Norman Foster designed structure to increase the amount of rooms in Bono, the Edge and others’ small hotel in Dublin from 49 to 141-bedrooms (creating a five-star hotel and spa) was an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and justified the removal of the existing buildings. Cullen said he wanted to be consistent in regards to our heritage, whatever that means….. (then again, see this…. and this and this )

The reason for the brief debate on Q & A: the development is currently the subject of an oral hearing with an Bord Pleanala (ABP). On foot of the original planning application the council’s own conservation architect, Clare Hogan, had advised a refusal in her report - stating that the planned development did not meet legal requirements. She expressed concern that the band [and their business partners] was unable to provide “exceptional circumstances” to demolish four neighbouring listed buildings — as required under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (exceptional circumstances required, that is, not demolition).

As of today, the oral hearing into the proposal is ongoing. The DEHLG have also objected… Their objection, which also criticizes Dublin City Council for its interpretation of heritage preservation guidance, was lodged last Friday and follows a request from ABP for its views.

According to the Irish Times on Thursday last this also follows criticism of the hotel plan from Fáilte Ireland which last month told the planning appeals board that it was important the city’s “historic fabric be protected” and that the development “may set an unwelcome precedent for development in the Georgian heart of the city”.

The department’s submission expresses criticism of the council’s senior planner whom it said reported in January that architectural heritage protection guidelines are “negative about, but open to, façade retention”. The department concluded that the “exceptional circumstances that might warrant the grant of planning permission for the substantive demolition of protected structures have not been demonstrated in this application”.

As Tim O’Brien points out in the IT it is likely, given the structures are listed and in an ACA (Architectural Conservation Area) that the Planning and Development Act 2000, which emphasises the retention of whole buildings as opposed to their façades, may, in this case, have given the DEHLG extra teeth.

(According to Chapter 2 of Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000 an architectural conservation area is ‘a place, area, group of structures or townscape, taking account of building lines and heights, that is of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest or that contributes to the appreciation of a protected structure, and whose character it is an objective of a development plan to preserve’.)

The department said it believed “negative” did not reflect the entirety of its opposition to façade retention in the light of the 1999 and 2000 Planning and Development Acts.

According to a recent Irish Independent report, the council’s conservation architect stated that the Clarence Groups inability to follow procedure meant that the decision was “reminiscent of the climate of 1960’s speculative development”. The proposal is clearly in breach of national legislation and the city council’s own development plans.

Foster & Partners has said that, in order to turn the hotel into a rival of the greatest luxury hotels in the world, the plans have to be drastic. “If we were to keep the building as it is, we would have no scope to create the grandeur and interest that would be demanded for one that aspires to be the worlds best,” the spokesman added.

The proposed development entails the addition to the existing Clarence building of a “skycatcher” atrium topped by a glazed “skyroom” bar with a 360-degree panorama of Dublin. An elliptical canopy with a reflective surface - a “white hovering halo”, as senior partner Andy Bow described it - would oversail it (Irish Independent). The adjoining four-storey buildings, which date from the later period of the Wide Streets Commissioners, would have three-storey glazed extensions added on top, set back somewhat from their façades.

Here’s more from a Frank MacDonald article in the IT last year

Kenneth Browne, who edited the extensive, illustrated supplement, A Future for Dublin, published in 1974, was particularly eloquent about the Liffey Quays. “Without question,” he wrote, “it is the quays which give topographical coherence to Dublin. They are the frontispiece to the city and the nation.

“These riverside buildings are the essential Dublin . . . grand, yet human in scale, varied yet orderly, they present a picture of a satisfactory city community; it is as though two ranks of people were lined up, mildly varying in their gifts, appearance and fortune, but happily agreed on basic values.

“Individually unremarkable as works of architecture, collectively they are superb, and form a perfect foil to the special buildings such as the Four Courts and the Custom House.

“If they are allowed to disintegrate, to be replaced by unsympathetic new buildings, the most memorable aspect of the city will be lost.”

That’s why the Dublin City Development Plan designates the quays as a conservation area and says it’s the city council’s policy to “protect and reinforce [their] important civic design character” and ensure that infill development will “complement the character of the quays in terms of context, scale and design”.

An Taisce’s one-time chairman Michael Smith, who owns a house on Ormond Quay, has condemned the proposal as “execrable” and said “first-rate historic environments” such as Wellington Quay was “not Cape Canaveral [ and] should not be subsumed into one spaceship”.

It’s somewhat surprising, with ex-Minister of the Environment Martin Cullen in particular, that two prominent politicians should heartily disregard the raft of EU and Irish legislation put in place to protect our architectural heritage. From The Athens Conference of 1931 (which established basic principles for an international code of practice for conservation), The Venice Charter, which superseded it, the 1975 Declaration of Amsterdam (The importance of integrating conservation of the architectural heritage into the urban and regional planning process is identified as one of the most important factors) and the Granada Convention which lays down European standards for the protection of the architectural heritage and sets out a range of obligations which states parties undertake, as well as our own legislation, there is a plethora of regulations which need to be accounted for in consideration of a protected structure.

The Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe states that for the purpose of precise identification of monuments, groups of structures and sites to be protected, each member state will undertake to maintain inventories of that architectural heritage. Ireland’s undertaking under Article 2 of the Granada Convention is now enshrined in the Architectural Heritage (National Inventory) and Historic Monuments (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1999. Staff in the (Martin Cullen’s earlier Dept.) DEHLG and expert consultants compile these lists.

More on the debate at

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3097941&origin=BDweekly

and at Archiseek there’s a lively thread on the issue as well as a poll

http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=6427

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Tayleur Wreck

Posted by Eoghan

Published previously on Moore Marines blog and originally published in the Bulletin of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology in 2004, we’ve posted below Eoghan’s paper by way of commemorating 154 years since the sinking of the Tayleur in January 1854.

Tayleur, a victim of technological innovation

On 21 January 1854, the British-built Iron Clipper, Tayleur was wrecked on Lambay Island, 21 km north-west of Dublin Bay. This much lauded vessel was on her maiden voyage to Melbourne, with a miscellaneous cargo and over 600 passengers and crew. The sinking of this revolutionary new ship during a time of great industrial advancement shocked many people and highlighted how a failure by contemporary mariners and designers to understand the effects of recent technology in vessel form, construction and material could be so costly.

View from Lambay of Wreck Site

Background

Tayleur was the largest of eleven iron ships built by the Bank Quay Foundry during a short-lived programme of shipbuilding lasting from 1852 to 1855 (MacGregor, 1973). Prior to the commencement of this programme the company was more noted for its proficiency in heavy castings and iron working. The ship was designed by the renowned clipper designer William Rennie of Rennie and Johnston, Liverpool, who had just begun to develop an interest in iron shipbuilding (Starkey, 1999). The ship was originally designed as a screw steamer but whilst on the blocks its form was changed to that of a clipper owing to the lack of availability of a suitable engine. One consequence of this modification of the ship form was an increase in the ship’s dimensions; they increased from 204 ft x 36 ft x 23 ft (62.22 m x 10.98 m x 7m) to 225 ft x 39.4 ft x 27.6 ft (68.62 m x 12 m x 8.4 m) (MacGregor,1973). The ship was built at breakneck speed and on 5 October 1853 it was launched, just six months after its keel was laid (Warrington Guardian, 9 October 1853). Tayleur was then towed down the Mersey River to Liverpool where it was fitted out for its journey. This was also undertaken with considerable speed and on 14 January 1854 the ship was taken to anchorage in the Mersey Channel to await passengers and crew.

Tayleur sailing

On the recommendation of Captain Townson, the Examiner of Masters and Mates for the Port of Liverpool, 29-year-old Captain James Noble was specifically chosen by the owners of Tayleur, Moore and Company for the task of commanding their new ship (Starkey, 1999). Prior to this, Noble had a distinguished career with the trade clipper Australia making a number of swift passages to Australia. However, from the outset Noble appeared to have been at odds with his new command. During the early stages of the ship’s construction he accidentally fell into the main hold and was nearly killed.

On Thursday, 18 January Tayleur was taken in tow by the steam tug Victory to be led into the Irish Sea from where they would begin their voyage. All went well during this journey except that the Liverpool Port pilot noticed one point of difference between the ship’s three compasses. It was not until the tow was cast off that the true nature of the ship became apparent. Not only were the ship’s compasses erroneous but the vessel handled very badly. Captain Noble was later to recount how it took up to one hour to change tack and the ship would loose up to five miles (8 km); normally a ship should take fifteen minutes to change tack and loose one mile (1.6 km). The reason for this is several fold and will be discussed later in this paper. As the voyage progressed the ship encountered bad weather and dense cloud cover negated the possibility of obtaining astral observations. On the morning of Sunday, 21st, land was sighted. It was attempted to wear the ship from this danger but difficulties in manoeuvrability made this impossible. The two forward anchors were dropped but they almost immediately snapped their cables and the ship slammed into the Nose of Lambay Island where it sank within twenty minutes of the impact with the loss of over 400 people.

Compass

The Board of Trade enquiry into the loss of the vessel concluded that compass error was partially to blame for the sinking. Compass deviation caused by the proximity of the compass to ferrous material was a well-known phenomenon in the 1850s. As far back as the 16th century, the effect of iron on the ship’s compass was recorded by the famous Portuguese navigator João de Castro. We also know from records that both Captain Bligh and Cook were aware of this phenomenon, so too was Matthew Flinders during his 1801-02 voyage around Australia (Williams, 1994). Even as recently as 1835, Commander E.J. Johnston conducted experiments into this phenomenon with his warped paddle steamer Garryowen (Williams, 1994; MacCarthy, 1985).

The three main compasses on board Tayleur were fitted by John Grey ‘compass maker to Her Majesty’. He fitted and compensated the ship’s three compasses two months before the sailing of the vessel, and prior to the loading of the ship’s cargo (Starkey, 1999). The Coroner’s inquest into the sinking of the ship records that whilst the ship was being steered out of the Mersey estuary into the Irish Sea, the pilot noticed a point of difference between the compasses. Later in the journey, further discursion of up to 1½ points were recorded (Melbourne Argus, 27 April 1854).

As already explained, the phenomenon of deviation was well understood by mariners and several experiments had been undertaken to investigate its cause. What was not known at the time was that regardless of how much research was conducted into this topic, it would not have been solved.

The reason being was a lack of a theory of magnetism. This theory later concluded that ships have two kinds of magnetism; induced and permanent. In iron ships, the induced magnetism is brought about naturally by the effect of the earth’s magnetic field on the soft iron of the ship. This form of magnetism is altered as the ship alters course or moves to an area of differing magnetic content. The second form, permanent magnetism, is induced by the vibration of hammering and riveting on the ship’s metal. It aligns the molecules permanently in a way that is determined by the lie of the ship during the construction (Williams, 1994). In the absence of such a theory, the problem of deviation of the ship’s compass could not be approached analytically or fully understood.

Rigging

Although the Board of Trade and Coroner’s enquiries make little mention of the rigging affecting the efficiency of the ship, there are indications as to how it affected the handling of Tayleur. Passenger testimony would appear to indicate that the contribution it played was quite significant. Robert Davison, a steerage passenger and seaman of 26 years is recorded as being surprised when he found riggers still completing their work the day before the ship was due to sail. He also noted that the natural fibre running rigging ropes had not been properly stretched.

Before natural fibre ropes are fitted as part of rigging, they first need to be stretched. In doing so the rope becomes less elastic as the strands bind together and combine to produce a rope of greater breaking strain. In addition to this, the number of frayed rope filaments, which often affect the smooth running of the rope through pulley blocks, are reduced.

By neglecting to properly stretch the newly applied running rigging ropes, the riggers severely affected the handling of the ship. Not only were the ropes difficult to handle, and snagging in the pulley blocks, but also they were quite elastic which made setting of the ship’s sails very difficult. In the Coroners’ Enquiry, Captain Noble stated that he stood for fourteen hours on the same tack despite the fact that there was a ‘heavy wind’ blowing (Melbourne Argus, 27 April 1854). The fact that the master of the ship stood on the same tack for so long coupled with passenger reports of the crew having difficulty in reefing the sails (three hours to reef a topsail) appeared to indicate that there were problems with the new running rigging and this was adversely affecting the ship handling.

Sails

Although there are no available sail plans for Tayleur, there are several detailed illustrations. One of the most prominent is The Illustrated London Times of 16 November 1853. During the Board of Trade enquiry into the sinking of the ship, Captain Noble commented that he considered the positioning of the masts as being too far aft and this contributed towards the difficulty in handling the ship. Examination of contemporary illustrations of the ship would appear to concur with this assertion. It is clear from the illustrations that both the mainmast and mizzen mast were too far aft, and the foremast was placed too far forward. As a consequence, the ship’s fulcrum, the centre of lateral resistance was moved aft to a centre of effort. The net result of this shift was increased difficulty in handling and poor response (Steel, 1978). Considering the original hull form, its innovative design and information contained in contemporary illustrations, it appears that the ship’s main hold was positioned in such a manner that it necessitated placement of the mainmast and mizzen mast further aft at the expense of the balance of the ship. One of the most obvious explanations for this was that the ship was originally designed as a steamer and later changed to a clipper. During this change the designers appeared to have retained some steamer components such as the large hold, allowing for the possible refit of the vessel with a steam engine at a later date.

Rudder

Contemporary newspaper accounts record Tayleur as having a patented ‘semi-automatic’ rudder. In the Coroner’s Enquiry into the sinking of the ship, Captain Noble is recorded as saying he believed the ship’s rudder to have been too small and as such was partly to blame for the vessel’s poor handling. Unfortunately, the terse reference in the Warrington Guardian is the only reference we have to the ship’s rudder. Investigations in the British Patents Office failed to yield any records for any such patented device in the two years before and after the Tayleur’s construction.

Considering Captain Noble’s assertion that he thought the rudder too small, and in light of the above mentioned significant changes made to the ship in the early stages of the construction, it is quite possible that this was indeed the case. As part of the change from a steamer to a clipper hull the ships dimensions were increased. It appears likely that during the course of this transition the designers and builders had sufficient belief in their new ‘semi-automatic’ rudder that it remained unadjusted. Its size was obviously too small for that of the enlarged clipper and consequently it restricted the vessel’s manoeuvrability.

Sea trials

The final and probably one of the most significant oversights of contemporary merchant mariners at the time was the absence of sea trials. Whilst sea trials or a shake down run was always completed by the navy prior to the commissioning of a ship, in the merchant navy time restraints, economics and low crew numbers did not always permit such activities (Bourke, 2003). In the case of Tayleur, the ship was readied at incredible speed (two months after its launch) then sat in the Mersey Channel for only one week awaiting the arrival of crew and passengers. Given the speed at which it was readied for sea it appears that even if sea trials were a common occurrence Captain Noble and his crew would not have had time to do so.

This was a very unfortunate case. Captain Noble had already been at odds with his new command and had he been able to sail the ship for even the shortest time he would undoubtedly have been made aware of its defective handling and possibly been able to rectify some of the more obvious flaws.

Tayleur Sinking

Conclusion

The sinking of Tayleur and the loss of over 400 lives was a very unfortunate event. To many at the time it cast a shadow of doubt over the suitability of iron as a material in the construction of ships. To others it further highlighted the need to properly assess the influence of iron on ships’ compasses. Some people accused Captain Noble of neglect whilst others blamed the foreign crew claiming they could not understand the Captain. Both were later proven to be untrue. Most significantly, it appear that the failure of all parties involved to conduct sea trials prior to the commencement of the journey was the gravest error. Had such trials been conducted they would almost immediately have become aware of the inherent flaws of the ship, its masts placed too far aft, the improper state of the running and standing rigging, the unsuitability of the rudder and the compass errors.

References

Bourke, E.J., 2003, Bound for Australia. Power Print, Dublin.

McCarthy, M. (ed.), n.d. [1988], Iron ships and steam shipwrecks. Papers from the First Australian Seminar on the Management of Iron Vessels and Steam Shipwrecks. Western Australian Museum, Perth.

MacGregor, D.R., 1973, Fast sailing ships, their design and construction 1775-1875. Nautical Publishing, Hampshire.

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Zebra Mussels & Divers

And another Moore Marine post - posted by Eoghan….

Zebra Mussels in Hand

Many divers and boat users will be aware of the arrival of Zebra Mussels into our freshwater rivers and lakes. These light and dark striped shell bivalves have gained a ferocious reputation for destroying host environments and affecting freshwater ecosystems. As divers, the transportation of Zebra Mussels is something we should be consciously aware of when transporting boats and equipment between freshwater systems.

Zebra Mussels are native to the Aral and Caspian Sea area of Eastern Europe and were first described by the Russian Zoologist Pallas in the 18th century. Since then this little thumbnail sized mussel has managed to spread to most freshwater waterways of Europe, reaching Britain in 1824 and the Great lakes of America in the later 1980’s. In this time they have wreaked havoc in the colonised waterways, blocking water abstraction pipes for both boats and treatment plants and descimating ecosystems.

In Ireland, Zebra Mussels did not seem to make an appearance until the 1990’s, when they were noted on the Lower Shannon close to Lough Derg. Whilst their exact method of introduction is unknown, it is generally believed that they were transported either in the bilge of second hand vessels brought into Ireland from Britain or Continental Europe

Since their arrival into the country they have caused extensive damage. They have led to the decline of the native mussel species as well as reduced spawning numbers of fish species. Zebra Mussels attach themselves to hard surfaces from where they filter phytoplankton. The surfaces they attach themselves to vary from rocks, to sand to timber to plastic to native mussels. When attached to native mussels they adhere to the outside of the shells, preventing them from opening and closing, thereby denying them the opportunity to feed or respire. In Ireland, Zebra Mussels have no known parasites, predators or disease and so they reproduce unaffected by outside threats. The colonisation of many areas by Zebra Mussels has led to the removal of the native mussel species in that area and their covering of large areas of riverbed, up to 700,000 in one square metre has affected the ability of salmonoid species to spawn.

A number of cases have also been recorded where zebra mussels have damaged boat engines, bocking water intake pipes, leading to engine overheating. In infected areas, it is generally accepted that zebra mussel infestation tends to affect stationary material more easily than moving machinery. Colonisation of boats tends to occur on stationary boats more easily than frequently operated vessels.

Zebra Mussels have several features which make them optimum invader exploiters. These include byssus threads which they use to attach to surfaces as well as high production levels, up to 40,000 larvae are produced by each female. The larvae are dispersed into the water column and can be transported via water currents and other sources such as boat hulls or bilge water. Zebra Mussels can survive for up to one month out of water and can survive in low saline waters. These adaptions make the zebra mussel threat and possibilities of their transportation by divers a real possibility.

To date, Zebra Mussels have colonised large areas of the Shannon-Erne waterway and a number of inland lakes but they have not been found in any of the Great Western Lakes (Corrib, Mask, Carra, Conn and Cullen) until very recently. Extensive education programmes have generally been credited with this, however the ever present threat of introduction should be brought to the attention of all aquatic users.

The versatility and adaptability of Zebra Mussels is something of which all CFT divers should be aware. This is especially relevant when boats and equipment are being used in freshwater environments such as rivers and lakes for both recreational diving and Search and Rescue operations. As previously stated Zebra Mussels can survive out of water for up to one month. Both the bivalve and its larvae can survive in BCD’s, regulators, attached to the hulls or even in the hulls of boats. The only effective method of removal of these bivalves is through thorough cleaning of all equipment used in infected waters. Immersion in salt water can also be an agent for removal but it should not be considered as a primary removal form as they can survive in low saline solutions which can be present in boat hulls. The thorough cleaning of all equipment immersed used in infected areas in waters in excess of 40°C., the flushing of engine coolant systems and the draining of the bilge all boats should be something that all clubs and users should consider as standard practice when undertaking activities in infected areas. Obviously this cleaning should be carried out away from the river/lake shore and from waterways leading to unaffected streams, rivers and lakes. In addition to this, any weeds should be removed as they may contain adult Zebra Mussels or their larvae.

In an effort to prevent the spread of Zebra Mussels into the Western Regional Lakes, a campaign called the Western Regional Zebra Mussel Control Initiative has been initiated. It aims to educate all aquatic users of the threat of the spread of these organisms and provide them with information on how to combat the threat. As part of this intiative, Dr. Aoife Thornton has been appointed as Zebra Mussel Education Officer. She is available to discuss divers questions relating to the preventative measures which can be employed to minimise the risk of further infections and can be contacted during office hours at 091-509063 or by email athornton@galwaycoco.ie

Zebra Mussels colonisation of boat ladder.