The Bluebird Project

polo wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 1:09 pm Bored out of my brains with nothing to do due to Covid I decided to watch National Geographic 'Drain the Ocean' s2 ep 11 'The secrets of Loch Ness' near the end of the programme there was a section on John Cobb and Crusader showing footage of the crash from the front which I have never seen before. It also shows the ROV footage of the boat and the sonar results showing Crusader although broken up is in the main intact. Worth a watch!

Interesting episode..... Particularly the generalisation over the "wake" theory in relation to Cobbs crash.

I was more interested in how the hull currently sits on the bed of the Loch, whilst at the same time raising a few interesting questions.

I was more interested in how the hull currently sits on the bed of the Loch, whilst at the same time raising a few interesting questions.

The Hull is upside down in 660ft of water having fallen down a cliff and knocked off one of its sponsons on the way. The sponson is close by. The hull is intact from frame 12 to the transom with the engine still inside.

Thanks for noting which way up it is sitting, not having a decent television ATM, I could not quite ascertain if it was upright or not.

660ft is a fair way down (1/8th mile?), but is it beyond recovery at that depth? I guess time will tell.

Interesting episode..... Particularly the generalisation over the "wake" theory in relation to Cobbs crash.

Hi Thunderer, do you mean the programmes 'wake theory' or the general theory of the cause of the crash.

Peter Du Cane, a named person [sorry, I have just sold all my books so I can't directly name] who gave a written statement and nearly all the newspapers of the day [I have copies I was given ! that's before someone chimes in about my age] all state the accident was due to Crusader hitting the wash from the support boat Maureen.

The front planing shoe collapsed and the water ingress shot Cobb out of the boat and the film shows him being thrown down the lake before the safety boat gets to him. Reports of the day says he died of shock on the way to hospital, but thanks to Colin Cobb [no relation] a member of the SRC we now know Cobbs neck was broken and he was killed instantly.

If you watch the programme again, when you see the front view of the crash, you actually see the water come out of the cockpit first before it goes over the bow of the boat.

Polo

thunderer wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:11 pm
660ft is a fair way down (1/8th mile?), but is it beyond recovery at that depth? I guess time will tell.

As the Mercury capsule “Liberty Bell 7” was successfully raised from nigh on 16000 feet, I wouldn’t have thought raising Crusader to be beyond the wit of man....

polo wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 8:56 pm [snip]

Hi Thunderer, do you mean the programmes 'wake theory' or the general theory of the cause of the crash.

[/snip]

I was referring to the programmes "wake theory".

Sorry, I don't get on here much these days as I am in the final process of getting my Crusader book ready for publication on March 28th 2021. Possibly with a book launch, Covid allowing in April.

You can discard the waves as a cause. You can discard the forward shoe collapsing as a cause. Both had an influence, but it was more deep seated than that.

I have have been trying to keep all my information quiet. otherwise, what's the point, so I shall have words with Mr Cobb (the Irish one, not the fur dealer) for letting out the information on John Cobb's death that I got from the official autopsy, at some cost, The second time people have promised to keep information to themselves and felt that they could.

The wreck is indeed lying upside down, facing the way it was traveling, but would appear to have tumbled down the side of the Loch, where it probably lost the sponson, the damage to both it and the support arms being insufficient to indicate it was broken off in he crash, plus it is just too close to the wreck.

The wreck is in Scottish waters and is protected, it will stay where it is.

Some really clear sonar shots on the old Interweb. You can see where the hull has failed and the one still attached sponson. Other shots from the same survey show the other sponson lying a short distance away. It's the same sonar we used to use to find bodies though running a much lower frequency in this case to cover more ground. How I'd love to put a hi-res scanning head down beside the wreck to get at the detail.