Live Dive 2005 Home

Partners from the National Undersea Research Center for the North Atlantic and Great Lakes (NURC-NA&GL) and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) successfully conducted two live video broadcasts from the Research Vessel Connecticut back to shore to the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum. The broadcast featured live footage from NURC's remotely operated vehicle diving on the wreck of the steamship Portland accompanied by a detailed description of the condition and features of the wreck conducted by marine archaeologists from SBNMS. In addition, the broadcasts were streamed live on the Web.

Over 140 people watched the two broadcasts in DVD quality video projected at the Pilgrim Monument.on July 10th, with an additional 700 viewers tuning into the webcast featured on NURC's webpage. This ship to shore broadcast is the latest step in an ongoing effort by NURC-NA&GL to bring the underwater world to classrooms and living rooms everywhere using lower cost wireless network technologies. Follow the links to the left for a detailed background on the wreck of the Portland and the technologies that made this broadcast a reality. The webcasts were recorded by our partner, VBrick Systems of Connecticut and are viewable at the www.explorethesea.com web site.

The expedition to the Portland was part of NURC-NA&GL's Aquanaut Program, which this year provided opportunities for University of Connecticut Maritime Studies Major students to be immersed in the research and exploration of the Maritime Heritage Resources of SBNMS. In addition to monitoring the condition of the Portland, the mission revisited the wrecks of the twin schooners, the Frank A. Palmer and the Louise B. Crary, and several unidentified wreck sites.

Last Updated: April 28, 2006