Just returned from a ten day scuba diving trip to Downeast Maine and was able to find a number of nice bottles. The weather was not always great so I did not get to dive everyday but there were some beautiful days too. Here are the three of the better bottles I found.
The first is a very heavy and thick flask with a nice aqua tint. The second is a clear case gin which is stamped E. Kliden. This is my second clear case gin. The third is black glass with a very messy pontil and a bit of a lopsided neck. Pulled a number of other bottles that I'll post later along with different views of these three.
On one of the non-dive days my daughter and I hit a nearby mudflat digging for bottles. We had heard of a number of bottles being pulled from a certain area and with nothing better to do decided to give it a go on a rainy day. We got skunked and very muddy but did find the bottom third of a Warner's, half of a Dr. True's and half of another clear case gin. The mud is more like clay than mud. It is easy to dig but the clay stay together so well that you could actually have a bottle in the middle of the shovel full and not know it. Time digging on the flats is limited to about two hours or so due to the extreme tides.
On my final dive yesterday I found a Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup but more intertesting was a rather large non-bottle item I came upon. I was in only 20 feet of water which is normally shallower than I search but i needed a new area to find treasure. I spotted a curved piece of iron in the sand and thought nothing of it at first. I putzed around a bit and found the Mrs. Winslow's then it hit me I knew what the piece of iron was. I went back to it and dug and fanned around it. The item was a very old anchor the size of a queen bed. It's one of those anchors that would have had a wooden cross piece at the top. The thing is heavy as sin. I can't think of anyway to retrieve it without a boat with a good winch. I might be able to float it with lots of lift bags but after that i would have no way of getting it in to my truck. I will likely contact the local museum to see if they are interested in it.
Headed back next week for another two weeks of diving! [
]
Alan
The first is a very heavy and thick flask with a nice aqua tint. The second is a clear case gin which is stamped E. Kliden. This is my second clear case gin. The third is black glass with a very messy pontil and a bit of a lopsided neck. Pulled a number of other bottles that I'll post later along with different views of these three.
On one of the non-dive days my daughter and I hit a nearby mudflat digging for bottles. We had heard of a number of bottles being pulled from a certain area and with nothing better to do decided to give it a go on a rainy day. We got skunked and very muddy but did find the bottom third of a Warner's, half of a Dr. True's and half of another clear case gin. The mud is more like clay than mud. It is easy to dig but the clay stay together so well that you could actually have a bottle in the middle of the shovel full and not know it. Time digging on the flats is limited to about two hours or so due to the extreme tides.
On my final dive yesterday I found a Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup but more intertesting was a rather large non-bottle item I came upon. I was in only 20 feet of water which is normally shallower than I search but i needed a new area to find treasure. I spotted a curved piece of iron in the sand and thought nothing of it at first. I putzed around a bit and found the Mrs. Winslow's then it hit me I knew what the piece of iron was. I went back to it and dug and fanned around it. The item was a very old anchor the size of a queen bed. It's one of those anchors that would have had a wooden cross piece at the top. The thing is heavy as sin. I can't think of anyway to retrieve it without a boat with a good winch. I might be able to float it with lots of lift bags but after that i would have no way of getting it in to my truck. I will likely contact the local museum to see if they are interested in it.
Headed back next week for another two weeks of diving! [
]Alan
