Committee meeting in Galveston, December 28, 2018. Clockwise from left: Admirals Jeff Corbin, Butch Spafford, Andy Hall, Bill Turner, Dave Haglund, Tom Oertling, and Paula Morris. Participating by phone, Admirals Chester Barnes, Dick Hatch, and Jerry Patterson. Between attending in person or by conference call, all present and accounted for!
Happy Holidays from the Texas Navy Association’s Search for the Invincible Committee.
On Friday, December 28, the committee met in Galveston to review the preliminary findings from the November magnetometer survey of the current project site. The project archaeologist, Bob Gearhart, identified two clusters of magnetic anomalies that, in his experience, warrant further investigation.
The magnetometer survey done last month is the first in a series of incremental, deliberate steps needed to study this location, that was first pinpointed by archival chartwork done by Tom Oertling. Gearhart’s data shows that there are some strong indications of iron-based materials in a relatively tight grouping, that might come from a wrecking incident. By tying together the magnetometer readings with precise GPS data, we can develop a research plan going forward for this site. What that plan would be was the primary focus of Friday’s meeting in Galveston.
There’s a lot we don’t know about this data; the magnetometer doesn’t give us a clear indication of the depth of this material, or its precise configuration. We can’t say at this point that it’s a vessel at all. But it IS worth following up on.
It was a productive meeting. The last three months have been very active for the Search for the Invincible Project, and we hope to have more news for y’all soon on the next part of the project.
Charles E. Hawkins Squadron 