Nautical Archaeological Society (NAS) Shipwreck Documentation Course

Date: May 21-26

Entry By: Tane Casserley

This was part 2 of a two part Course.

May 21-26, the Maritime Heritage Program sponsored a Nautical
Archaeology Society (NAS) training course for NMSP personnel at the
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary this week. NAS is an
international maritime archaeology advocational training organization
headquartered in England and serves as the primary volunteer training
for both the National Park Service and Parks Canada. In keeping with
this international vein the two senior course instructors were Marc-
Andre Brenier from Parks Canada and Chris Underwood, NAS International
Training Officer. The course was broken into two portions, the second portion was
an NAS Introduction and Part 1 course designed to train advocational archaeologists
and volunteers the basics of ship construction, shipwreck mapping techniques, and
the theories behind maritime archaeology.

The students used these new found techniques to document an unidentified schooner
off Whitefish Point within the Thunder Bay NMS.

The NAS Intro and Part 1 course participants included Robert Steelquist (OCNMS), Robert
Schwemmer (CINMS), Brenda Altmeier (FKNMS), Mitchell Tartt (HQ), Ashley
Deming (TBNMS), Coz Cozzi (Mote Marine Lab) and Michigan State Police
Officers James Bush, Shawn Wise, and Steve Bullock.