Month: April 2016

May 21, 2016 dinner talk was on recovery of Civil War submarine

May 21, 2016 dinner talk was on recovery of Civil War submarine

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Robert Neyland,  an underwater archaeologist, spoke on the archaeology of the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley at the ECWG’s May 21 dinner at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C.

In August 2000, archeologists raised the H.L. Hunley from the Atlantic Ocean off Charleston, S.C.

Neyland, who has a doctorate in anthropology from Texas A&M University, was Project Director for the raising and conservation of the Hunley. He is the Head of the Underwater Archaeology Branch for the Navy’s History and Heritage Command.

He discussed the archaeology of Hunley from its discovery through recovery, excavation, and identification and reburial of the 8 crew members,   concluding with the current theories of why it was lost and the status of the ongoing conservation and analysis.

The ship had been named for her inventor, Horace Lawson Henley.

During his career Neyland has worked on a variety of shipwreck sites including:

  • a Bronze Age shipwreck in the Mediterranean
  • post-medieval wrecks in the Netherlands
  • shipwrecks in the Caribbean and North America.

As Underwater Archaeologist with the U.S. Navy he and his team also surveyed the USS Housatonic (the sloop sunk by Hunley), the Civil War shipwrecks USS Cumberland, CSS Florida, and Revolutionary War shipwrecks lost in Penobscot River, Maine.

He also studied World War 2  wrecks lost off Normandy, France, searched for Capt John Paul Jones’, Bonhomme Richard, and surveyed the lost War of 1812 fleet of Commodore Joshua Barney, which was scuttled in the Patuxent River, Maryland just days before the British burned Washington D.C.

During his career he has worked on a variety of shipwreck sites: a Bronze Age shipwreck in the Mediterranean, post-medieval wrecks in the Netherlands, and shipwrecks in the Caribbean and North America.

As an underwater archaeologist with the US Navy he and his team surveyed USS Housatonic (the sloop sunk by Hunley), Civil War shipwrecks USS Cumberland, CSS Florida, Revolutionary War shipwrecks lost in Penobscot River, Maine, WWII wrecks lost off Normandy, France, searched for Capt John Paul Jones’ Bonhomme Richard, and surveyed the lost War of 1812 fleet of Commodore Joshua Barney scuttled in the Patuxent River, Maryland just days before Washington DC was burned by the British.

The Hanley is now at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, S.C. More information about the Hanley and visiting the Center is available on the Friends of the Huntley Web site.

 

Journalist-adventurer spoke at April 16, 2016 dinner

Journalist-adventurer spoke at April 16, 2016 dinner

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Boyd Matson, a long-time National Geographic, journalist and adventurer, has been bitten, scratched, or pooped on, and occasionally kissed by most of the creatures found at your local zoo.

He talked about some of his adventures and misadventures at the Explorers Club Washington  Group dinner at the Cosmos Club Saturday evening, April 16, 2016.

What could go wrong? When setting up for an expedition we all make plans but then once we set our first foot outside the door, unexpected, unplanned things may start to happen. Boyd will recount details of things that have gone wrong while on the road.

What he refers to as his job, others might describe as a career spent attending summer camp for adults.

During his twenty-one years at Nat Geo he was the host for a variety of programs on both television and radio. As the host of the weekly radio show, “National Geographic Weekend,” he conducted interviews from the studio and the field, connecting with some of the greatest explorers and adventurers on the planet to transport listeners to the far corners of the world and to the hidden corners of their own backyards.

Some of these were:

  • Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak three times.
  • Gone scuba diving in both Antarctic and Arctic waters.
  • Competed in the Marathon Des Sables” a 7-day 150-mile foot race in the Sahara.
  • Participated in New Zealand’s “Southern Traverse” endurance race.
  • Recorded rare adolescent elephant behavior in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
  • Climbed through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall.
  • Conducted the last interview with Babu Shiri Sherpa, the record- breaking mountaineer, just hours before his death on Mount Everest.

Matson’s interviews were often based on his own first hand experience traveling to some of the most exotic and isolated places on the planet as a on assignment for National Geographic. On his travels to all seven continents he has participated in high-adrenaline adventures, witnessed amazing natural history, been present for exciting discoveries in archeology and paleontology, and documented disappearing cultural traditions.

Matson also wrote about his experiences in his monthly column, “Boyd Matson Unbound” for National Geographic Traveler magazine, produced videos for National Geographic.com, and served as a spokesperson for the National Geographic Society.

Prior to hosting “National Geographic Weekend,” Matson, hosted the National Geographic Television-produced public T.V. series, “Wild
Chronicles.” He was also the longtime host of the award-winning series, “National Geographic EXPLORER.”

Before coming to National Geographic, Matson spent many years in network television news: co-anchor “World News Now” (ABC); host of “The Real Story” (CNBC); correspondent for “Real Life With Jane Pauley” (NBC); co-anchor and correspondent for “USA Today On TV”; co-anchor “Sunday Today” (NBC); and senior correspondent “Today” (NBC).