Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Meeting Minutes
27 August 2008

General

•  Approximately 30 members met at 6:30 at the 8th floor of the Helix Building, 310 S. Racine at Jackson, including two new visitors and several members whom we have not seen lately.
• Tonight's meeting was run by Joan Forsberg, with food provided by John & Kat Bell

Board and Committee Reports

• Secretary - John Bell read the minutes from the last meeting, which were approved.
• Treasury –  Bob Gadbois reported on the state of UASC finances. Contact Bob for further information.
  • Honorarium received from Chicago Maritime Festival.
  • Some recent bills have been paid.
  • Two new memberships.
• ICSSD – Claire Gadbois reported on the Illinois Council of Skin and Scuba Divers:
  • Applications for Diver of the Year, Club of the Year, and Humanitarian of the Year are due by September 18th.
  • 20 Sept - International Beach Clean Up at Haigh Quarry. Zebra Mussel collection, raffles, food, T-shirts.
  • 5 October - Underwater Pumpkin Carving Dive at Haigh Quarry, sponsored by CASA.
  • 11 October - Presidents' Night Banquet and Raffle at Charlie's Charhouse, 1180 W. Devon, Elk Grove Village. Cocktails at 6:00, Dinner at 7:00. Tickets are $42, for sale in July. Please bring Toys For Tots, unwrapped, non-violent, with batteries.
  • 11 November - ICSSD Budget Meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Mr. Beef and Pizza.
• Membership – Roger Brown and Scott Reimer provided updated membership lists.
• Newsletter – Cris Kohl - The July/August newsletter has been mailed and is available at this month's meeting. Material for future newsletters is appreciated.
• Website – Brian Hopkins and John Bell will be working on updating the web site. Any feedback will be welcome.
• Other:

Old Business

•   No old business this month.

New Business

• The Buccaneer Project - Short video presentation tongiht by Kathy Braun, and Cris Kohl. .
  • Lots of work already done, but LOTS OF HELP STILL NEEDED!
  • 285 man-hours put in so far from 17 UASC members and 5 non-members.
  • Most of the boat is no longer filthy and disgusting, just in need of scraping, etc.
  • Bow and stern will need to be re-decked.
  • Contact John Bell if you would like to be added to the Buccaneer project mailing list.
  • Thanks to all who have helped with the cleanup so far.
  • Tons of garbage have been removed.
  • Help needed this Saturday and most Saturdays for the next month, generally 9:00 to 3:00 - Contact Bob if you can help.
  • The Tim Early Foundation has agreed to match donations up to $1000 - Forms available tonight or from Joan.
  • Claire Yashar will be surveying the ship - Contact Claire if you want to help.
• UASC shirts - In progress. Jim Jarecki is working on it.
• Chicago “Maritime Trail” - Can we make signs similar to those on the Wisconsin Maritime Trails for the Chicago area? Contact Joan if you are interested in helping with this, or if you have any good ideas to offer.
• Chicago Shipwrecks DVD -
  • Ruth Loftus is now in charge.
  • Popular dive sites will be covered with pictures, history, etc.
  • E.g. Tacoma, Material Service, Louisville.
  • ~ 1 hour - Five wrecks at 10 minutes each, or 10 wrecks at 5 minutes each.
  • Bob Gadbois, Jim Jarecki, Don Doherty, and others have already agreed to help.
  • Contact Ruth if you have materials to contribute.
  • Materials need to be delivered to Bob Gadbois by November 1st to have the finished product ready in time for Our World Underwater and the Chicago Maritime Festival.
• The Association for Great Lakes Maritime Historyy, AGLMH, is having an annual conference will be giving an award for historical preservation to Joyce Hayward - Contact Joan for full details.
• Great L:akes Boating Magazine has asked Don Doherty for an article on UASC. Joan & Cris wrote the article for the Nov/Dec issue.
• Michael Angelo - The National Speleological Society Cave Diving Section is having a workshop Sept 19-20.
• NEXT UASC MEETING: 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday September 24th. Speaker: Captain Dale Bennett, Refreshments Cris Kohl.
• Suggestions are always welcome for future guest speakers.  
• Shipwreck Survey Projects - See Below

Shipwreck Survey Projects

• Buccaneer - To be scuttled in 2008 in ??’ - Project Leader: Bob Rushman.
• Material Service - Sank on July 29, 1936 in 38’ - Project Leader: Jim J./John L./Tony K.
  • Photographers recently dove on the Material Service and collected info to complete the project.
• Barge No. 2 - Sank on Sept. 29, 1906 in 40’ - Project Leader: John Loftus
  • Project may be nearing completion.
• The Straits of Mackinac - Scuttled on April 10, 2003 in 78’ - Project Leader:Needed

Guest Speaker

• Doug Gossage has been an explorer of Great Lakes shipwrecks since 1976, beginning at age 12. In 1982, he opened Goose’s Scuba Shack, currently one of Chicagoland’s longest operating dive centers. Doug is the independent owner and operator of Marine Survey equipment since 1998. He is the owner and Principal Surveyor under a Remote Sensing Survey Lease with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the State of Florida in search of the last un-found 1733 Spanish Fleet wreck in the Florida Keys.

Other Business

•  The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00, after which a number of members retired to Ricobene's for further discussions and socializing.