The Torrent Shipwreck Project

A Private Search for the Sunken Remains of the

Government Transport Bark Torrent (1868)

Steve K. Lloyd, Principal Investigator

1360 West Northern Lights, Anchorage, Alaska 99503

Tel (907) 441-2815 or Fax (907) 345-0222

Purpose and Character of Proposed Work

This information is submitted in support of our Alaska Field Archaeology Permit Application to further the discovery and exploration of an historic Alaska shipwreck—the sailing bark Torrent—which ran aground and sank while on a mission of exploration for the United States Army, just nine months after the Alaska Purchase.

Passengers escape the sailing bark Torrent hard aground on a reef in Alaska

Project Summary

The Torrent was a three-masted wooden bark engaged in general passenger and freight service along the Pacific Northwest coast. She had two decks and—at 641 tons register—was probably about 50 meters in length. Built in Bath, Maine in 1852, the Torrent was carrying more than 150 men, women and children attached to the US Army’s Battery F, 2^nd Infantry Division, when she ran aground and sunk in Cook Inlet, Alaska on July 15, 1868.

In the summer of 2006 a group of three highly-experienced underwater explorers set out to find the sunken remains of the Torrent, initiating an ongoing investigation that will ultimately reveal a great deal about this pivotal period in the history of Alaska.

The four-member group is led by Principal Investigator Steve Lloyd, an Alaska-born explorer, maritime historian, shipwreck explorer and author. Co-investigators include educational consultant and expert diver Ken Koga-Moriuchi; noted Kachemak Bay-area historian, author and field archaeologist Janet Klein; and geological engineer and diver Nick Teasdale.

Our group will utilize sophisticated shipwreck-searching equipment and techniques, backed up by exhaustive historical research, to locate the site of the Torrent’s final resting place. Once we have located the shipwreck, we will photograph and document the extant cultural material that is visible without excavation in preparation for a full archaeological investigation.

The Torrent was lost in Lower Cook Inlet, just north of Kennedy Entrance from the Gulf of Alaska

Following the completion of our team’s 2007 field work, co-investigators Steve Lloyd and Janet Klein will collaborate on an article on the Torrent for submission to Alaska History (the journal of the Alaska Historical Society) and pursue other avenues of community outreach and education. All participants will assist in the completion of a project summary for the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) and other public and institutional stakeholders.

Introduction

The Torrent is a unique and important historical resource to Alaska. The bark was carrying Army soldiers and officers who had been sent to construct a military garrison in Upper Cook Inlet following America’s purchase of Alaska from Russia the previous October. She had aboard all the supplies, equipment, tools, provisions, and arms needed to accomplish the mission—all lost in the icy waters when the Torrent sank. The bark represents the earliest military shipwreck occurring in the territory following the 1867 Alaska Purchase, and the shipwreck site promises a wealth of historic material for study and interpretation by underwater archaeologists.

Last summer the principal investigator, Steve Lloyd, assembled a small search team and traveled to the site of the Torrent sinking. Despite strong tidal current, uncooperative weather, and unexpected equipment failures, we were successful in locating underwater wreckage consistent with the age and construction of the vanished Torrent. Our focus now becomes learning as much as possible about the ship and her mission, and planning for our second field search for the shipwreck in July 2007.

Discovery and Exploration

During Phase One of the project in July 2006, expedition divers made an astonishing discovery on the ocean floor. In an area that came to be known as “Spike City” we found dozens of copper spikes and drift pins scattered across the sand, evidence that a large piece of wreckage from the Torrent came to rest there. It is clear that our historical research paid off, and that we are searching in the right area for the main components of the shipwreck.

Copper hull spikes and drift pins from the Torrent, which was built in Maine, 1851

In Phase Two we will employ a marine magnetometer towed behind a shallow-draft and highly maneuverable inflatable boat to conduct a search among the shallow reefs that surround the shipwreck site. Utilizing GPS technology and proven shipwreck-finding techniques, we hope to locate large ferrous metal items such as the ship’s anchor and anchor chain. Principal investigator Steve Lloyd has successfully employed these techniques to locate other Alaska shipwrecks in similar conditions, and he is confident of their efficacy here.

Underwater visibility at the Torrent site is very good, and there is excellent ambient light on the bottom at the depths where artifacts were discovered in 2006. The reef upon which the Torrent grounded and sunk is part of an extensive reef structure in the area that demands careful seamanship and boat handling while conducting surface searches. There is extensive kelp growth in the surrounding area, and strong tidal currents dictate that dives must be carefully planned and executed. The eight-day period during July 2007 when dive operations are planned correspond with a cycle of relatively small tidal exchanges in Lower Cook Inlet, maximizing the time each day when divers can safely work in the water.

Once the main shipwreck site has been located, the team’s goal for this phase of the project is to document the site using video and still photography. Divers will take site measurements and compass headings, and will prepare an initial site survey that will form the basis for a more comprehensive survey. This work will allow researchers to complete a research design and begin planning a formal archaeological investigation of the Torrent’s resting place, which will occur in a subsequent field season.

An Historic Voyage

Although the Torrent was a civilian vessel, it was operating under contract to the US Army on an official government mission, an expedition commanded by US Army officers. The shipwreck probably represents the earliest loss of an American vessel in Alaska occurring after the 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia. Historically, it may be one of Alaska’s most important undiscovered shipwrecks.

The Torrent had a civilian crew and carried as passengers 125 US Army soldiers and officers

Everyone aboard the Torrent managed to abandon the wrecked ship in small boats. With the assistance of Natives from a nearby village, the sailors and soldiers camped for 18 days until they were rescued by a passing vessel.

The loss of the ship—and the supplies and provisions the Torrent carried—delayed the founding of the Army’s garrison in the region by nearly a year. If the bark had not wrecked, there is a good chance that the American fort at Cook Inlet would have been built at Port Graham, and the course of Alaskan history in the region would have been significantly altered.

The expedition to search for and find the remains of the Torrent is a tribute to the brave men—and women—of the United States Army, Second Artillery Regiment, Battery F of 1868, and to the hardships and dangers they endured while pioneering the remote and dangerous coastline of Cook Inlet, Alaska.

Expedition Funding

As outlined in the following section, the principal investigators envision separate exploration phases spaced over consecutive summer diving seasons. Phase One (Reconnaissance) was completed in July 2006 and was funded entirely by the participants.

We have applied for financial support from The National Geographic Society and The Explorers Club, although the bulk of the costs associated with the Phase Two (Discovery) expedition will be borne by the project participants themselves.

Project Phases

PHASE ONE—July 2006—Reconnaissance (completed)

Historical research

Published accounts of the sinking

Government record of the incident

Background on the vessel, owner and captain

Reconnaissance of wreck site

Reef structure & shoreline contours

Tide swings and currents

Water depths & search areas

Weather patterns affecting divers & boat

Assessment of diving challenges

Underwater visibility

Seaweed & kelp coverage

Initial search for the shipwreck

Found evidence of wreckage in location suggested by the written record

Material consistent with construction of sailing vessel of the Torrent’s vintage

PHASE TWO—July 2007—Discovery & Photographic Documentation

This is a “Look, Do Not Touch” investigation that will receive a Field Archaeology permit from the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology based on the success of the Phase One expedition in 2006 and the potential for significant discoveries during the 2007 expedition.

Additional historical research

Investigate archives of company that owned the Torrent

Search for additional press accounts of sinking

Look for government records of Torrent’s mission

Check for tide and current records of 1868

Locate Torrent wreck site

Assess environmental considerations

Utilize shipwreck location techniques

Perform preliminary site survey

Non-impacting site documentation

Capture detailed underwater video footage of site

Document site using high-resolution digital still photography

Complete a preliminary site map

Advise permitting agencies of expedition findings

Alaska Office of History and Archaeology

US Army Center for Military History

Post-expedition documentation

Complete & distribute expedition report

Prepare & submit historical journal article(s)

Communicate results of expedition to stakeholders

Summarize findings; complete and distribute field report

Public outreach & education about discovery

Communicate with popular press (as applicable)

The main Torrent search area. Aerial view from Port Graham looking NW at the reef structure.

Local Response

The Torrent shipwreck site is situated just a few miles away from two traditional Sugpiaq Native villages: Nanwalek (formerly English Bay) and Port Graham. Following the shipwreck in 1868, Natives from these two communities bartered with the Army personnel and sailors from the wrecked ship for freshly-caught salmon and other foods. Archaeological discoveries at nearby Yukon Island suggest that Army uniform insignia may have been traded to the Natives by the shipwrecked soldiers.

It is not yet known by the co-principal investigators to what extent the story of the Torrent shipwreck may have been passed through the oral tradition of the local Native people. Prior to the team’s first trip to the site in July 2006, Steve Lloyd sent letters of introduction to tribal council leaders at both nearby villages, summarizing the history of the Torrent’s original mission and explaining the nature of the work anticipated by the team.

There is no expectation that the Torrent search and subsequent discovery will be controversial or in any way offend local sensibilities. On the contrary, the proven educational and cultural outreach components of the search team’s research plan will offer local people and communities the chance to learn more about the history of the region.

Project Participants

Steve Lloyd

Steve Lloyd, the principal investigator, has personally researched, dived and located three previously undiscovered shipwrecks in Alaska waters. He has published seven journal articles about historic Alaska shipwrecks, and has delivered a conference paper and several historical society lectures on the topic of Alaska maritime history. Steve wrote a book on Alaska shipwrecks and maritime history which was published in 2000 by Washington State University Press (Farallon: Shipwreck and Survival on the Alaska Shore).

In addition to his publications in the field of maritime history, Steve has been involved with a number of documentary films and television programs related to Alaska history and survival. He served as fixer, location adviser and production assistant with a BBC crew in the summer and winter of 2001, filming an episode of the BBC/Travel Channel documentary series “Ray Mears’ Extreme Survival” which broadcast in January 2002.

In July 2006 Steve worked with another UK-based television crew filming an episode of “Man vs. Wild”, the new Discovery Channel documentary series presented by Bear Grylls which premiered in the fall of 2006. He served as location adviser for the 10-day Alaska shoot, and worked with the crew for several days filming near Valdez, Alaska.

Steve completed his own documentary project entitled “Steaming to Disaster: The Loss of the S.S. Aleutian” in 2006. This 25-minute film tells the history of the passenger liner Aleutian which sunk off Kodiak Island, Alaska in 1929 and was discovered by Steve in 2002. He wrote, filmed, directed and edited the film, which includes significant underwater footage of the wreck filmed over the course of many deep dives to the shipwreck.

Utilizing video footage shot by co-investigator Ken Koga-Moriuchi and underwater still photographs by co-investigator Nicholas Teasdale, Steve produced and edited a short documentary preview of the team’s 2006 Alaska expedition entitled “The Search for the Torrent.”

Copies of Steve’s documentary films on the Aleutian and Torrent shipwrecks are available upon request, as are copies of Steve’s book Farallon: Shipwreck and Survival on the Alaska Shore and full-text copies of his professional journal articles.

Janet Klein

Janet Klein is a renowned expert on the archaeology and culture of the Kachemak Bay region of Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. She is the author of The Archaeology of Kachemak Bay and four other books, along with dozens of scholarly articles on the archaeology of the area. Her participation in the Torrent Shipwreck Project will mark 20 consecutive field seasons of research and field work in the region.

Working primarily as a volunteer, Janet has conducted field surveys on private, state and federal lands throughout the Kachemak Bay region. In 1996 she excavated a Dena’ina Athabascan site on Yukon Island in which were found a number of pressed tin military insignia believed to have originated from the Army’s 2^nd Artillery, Battery F from the nearby Torrent shipwreck site.

Janet presently works for the Anchorage Museum of History and Art as the Special Exhibition Coordinator for a Yup’ik Eskimo science exhibition slated to open in 2008. She worked as Curator of Collections for the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alaska from 1986 to 1991, curating and maintaining documentation for the extensive natural and cultural objects at the Museum. Working seasonally, Janet created and conducted adult-education classes for Elder Hostel for ten years, conducting full-day classes on the history and culture of Kachemak Bay. In addition, she has conducted docent training and taught museum classes for several Alaska museums.

A former contributing editor for Alaska Magazine, Janet’s articles and photographs have been published in Alaska Geographic and The Alaska Journal. Her articles on the history and culture of Alaska’s aboriginal peoples have been published in the Alaska Journal of Archaeology and Arctic Anthropology. Janet has been interviewed on National Public Radio concerning her Alaska archaeological field work. Her photographs and articles have been widely published within Alaska, both in scholarly and popular magazines and journals.

Janet’s work as an exhibit designer, curator, and field archaeologist make her uniquely qualified to contextualize the story of the Torrent’s mission and shipwreck within the larger saga of the Cook Inlet region during the pivotal years following the 1867 Alaska Purchase.

Ken Koga-Moriuchi

An educational consultant and former participatory exhibit designer, Ken Koga-Moriuchi has extensive experience with public speaking, leading large group workshops, and designing interactive curriculum.  Ken has an extensive background in zoology
and education from the University of California and University of Massachusetts, and brings an educational component to the Torrent Shipwreck Project.

Ken has worked designing participatory exhibits with Exploratorium in San Francisco, with emphasis on interactive product design. Through his involvement with the project, Ken hopes to create a series of modular project- and inquiry-based curriculum that incorporates:

• Participatory exercises and activities in each lesson plan
• Embedded multimedia (video and audio clips)
• CBT (Computer Based Training)/WBT(Web Based Training)/E-learning tools (technology)
• Teacher training video(s) and documents on using expedition based science to motivate learners
• Authentic assessments which utilize alternate methods of assessing student competency of subject matter
• Fulfillment of content standards at middle and secondary school levels creating interdisciplinary links between language arts, science, social studies, math, technology and humanities

Additionally, Ken is an experienced topside and underwater videographer and editor. He has filmed, edited and produced a variety of specialized videos covering topics as diverse as international agriculture with the United States Dept. of Agriculture to “Ocean Animal Aquarium” with Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratories. Ken has been interviewed for a variety of non-profit educational videos.

Ken is a lead diver with Mad Dog Expeditions, a New York City-based company that organizes technical diving trips in remote locations around the globe. He has dived and filmed some of the great wrecks of the world, including the Andrea Doria and the German submarine U-869. Ken has participated in deepwater environmental work—the Jodrey Oil Project—assessing oil spill risk and remediation in a joint project with the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Mad Dog Expeditions and Hunt Underwater Specialties.

Nicholas Teasdale

Nicholas Teasdale was born and raised in Canada, and for nine years has lived and worked in Peru. His affinity for science—and his love of nature and the earth’s wild places—was fostered in childhood by an aunt and uncle, both archaeologists. Nick received his Masters degree in Geological Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, and embarked on a career in geology that has led him throughout Canada, the Arctic, Chile, and the high Andes of Peru. There he was part of the team that discovered the world-class Lagunas Norte gold deposit, where he serves as Chief Geologist for the multi-national Barrick Gold Corporation.

Nick is a talented land photographer. As a diver he has become an accomplished underwater photographer whose work has documented the undersea worlds of Australia, New Zealand, the Marshall Islands, the Caribbean, and the coasts of Alaska, Chile, Argentina and Peru. His experience as a technical scuba diver and underwater explorer has led Nick to advance scuba diving in Peru by facilitating training to the technical level there.

A skilled and accomplished scientist, diver, photographer and explorer, Nick is fluent in English, Spanish and French. He brings a geological and metallurgical background to the Torrent Shipwreck Project in addition to his expertise in underwater photography.

Nick Teasdale prepares for a dive at the Torrent site in July 2006 while Steve Lloyd (standing)

assists diver Ken Koga-Moriuchi with pre-dive checks of his closed circuit rebreather.

References

[Omitted from Web version for privacy reasons]

On the left is a detail from the 1868 newspaper depiction of the reef that claimed the Torrent.

On the right is a photograph taken from the Torrent Shipwreck Project research vessel in 2006.