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Phil, When I
stated a string, I was simplifying your description of a ribbon of Benthos
glass spheres filled with No. 50 flash bulbs. And as you stated, by flashing
one in the bunch, all the other nearby flash bulbs would fire also. Used
this idea to light a large cave years later (was hard finding the flash bulbs by
that time J). Emory was the one who taught
me how to process Kodak E-6 slide film with salt water when offshore and potable
water was at a premium. The video clips and still images of the HMS Brendalbane
wreck were outstanding due to the clarity of the water. Were there any
later return expeditions? The wreck’s fine preservation in the
chilled Arctic waters made it a great time capsule. If I remember
correctly, some of the first tin canned preserves were aboard and supposedly in
remarkable condition. Will have to look and see if National Geo has any
DVDs covering the expeditions to the Brendalbane. R/Jay Respectfully, Jay K. Jeffries Andros Is., Bahamas As scarce as the truth is, the supply has always been in excess of
the demand. -Josh Billings -----Original Message----- Hi, Jay: Yeah, the 'giant flash' was one of Em Kristof's
deals. (He was in charge of photography, I was in charge of underwater operations
and Dr. Joe MacInnis was the expedition head) -It wasn't a string,
but a giant net bundle of 50's 'Press Camera' -style tungsten bulbs
(each about the physical size or slightly bigger than today's 100 watt
bulb) Only a couple of the bulbs were wired - the rest would
fire sympathetically as long as they were touching each other. It didn't get
the results intended and Joe MacInnis and I didn't let Emory forget
it! Too bad, would have been a great shot. Later, we had a sort of a
'candelabra' of 1000 watt quartz lights suspended through the ice hole and
positioned about 75 feet above the 'Breadfalbane' and the water was so
clear that I could see a huge portion of the wreck as I approached it in the
'Wasp' - pretty exciting, since I was the first person to see her in 130
years! There's been a number of bookwritten about this particular
expedition - probably "The Breadalbane Adventure" and "The
land that devours ships" are the best. It was a long
expedition and a lot of work - but also a lot of fun! I brought a top crew of ADS guys from Can-Dive and the
'Wasp' dives went off without a hitch. Phil |