Latest Search Reports

David Mearns - Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

We have now been at sea for 8 days and are still being plagued by technical problems and unseasonably rough weather.  A search line we started early this morning had to be aborted because I didn't feel we were getting good coverage of the seafloor.  It is most important that whichever areas we search have been covered completely and that no gaps exist.  Like a decorator painting a ceiling we call these gaps "holidays" and they are to be avoided at all costs.

Apparently we owe the high wind and rough sea conditions we are experiencing to the West Australian Summertime Heat Trough, which has been sitting over the coast of WA for days.  Because this low pressure trough is stationary it has been preventing more favourable high pressure systems from moving in over our location.

Counting Tropical Cylcone Ophelia, this is the second weather disturbance common to WA that we have experienced in our 8 days.  We still have sufficient time to achieve our objectives and find HMAS Sydney but I think the weather (and technical) gods owe us a break.

Glenys McDonald - Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation (Observer)

Everyone on board the Geosounder is to working together, and supporting each other to get things happening. This is my first sea voyage, so everything is a new experience.  My day begins with a nice hot, one armed shower, as I hang on to ride the moderate swells we are continuing to get.  Then it is doing the shuffle to the dining room, where I am pleased to see it is not only me that stands with feet wide apart, with one hand on the cupboard as we serve ourselves from the incredible and delicious menu choice. Peter the day cook and Jo the night cook are rated tops, and personally I have never been so spoiled in my life.

My day is filled with discussing research issues with David and John, learning as much as possible about the technology we are using, relaxing with a good book and having many chats with the crew. There is a great laundry on board and even a gym, but so far I have only done a bit of weights.  I continue to write up my daily diary for the Finding Sydney Foundation and usually hit the sack about 10pm.  I am sharing a cabin with Kelly from the Williamson & Associates team and she is on the night shift.  I sleep like a baby in my darkened bunk being rocked by the waves.

Above Photograph - Peter the Geosounder cook in his galley

John Perryman - Senior Navy Historian (Observer)

It was with high hopes that our SM30 was redeployed late last night as we commenced our next south-north run through the search box. Unfortunately the gremlins of the previous few days continued to affect the sonar equipment which again had to be retrieved during the forenoon so that fault finding could take place.

As an observer on this expedition I can sense the frustration of all concerned as they work long hours in difficult conditions to try and solve these vexing technical problems. When we sailed from Geraldton, most of us were strangers. Indeed many of the Geosounder’s small crew had never served with one another before and were just as unfamiliar with aspects of the ship as we were. Such is the way of the off-shore industry. What I have observed throughout the trials and tribulations of the last week, however, is the welding of our small band of men and women into a functional ship’s company who remain committed to pressing on with the task in hand in spite of these unbelievable set-backs.

As work continues on the SM30, and with the SM60 still available as a backup, I remain confident in the team’s ability to get back into the water soon and continue the search.

Historical Anecdote: There have been four ships named HMAS Sydney which have served in the Royal Australian Navy. All four of these vessels served with distinction and the Battle Honours collectively won by them are displayed on an ornately carved wooden shield known as a Battle Honour board. This board is normally displayed in the vicinity of a ship’s gangway when in harbour as a public reminder of the deeds of all ships which have borne her name.

Above Photograph - The Battle Honour board on HMAS Sydney IV.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

David Mearns - Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

Shipwreck search projects generally fall into a rythym of running the side-scan sonar down a trackline followed by a turn to the next search trackline, repeated many times over.  So a good rythym would be line, turn, line, turn, line, turn, etc.  Unfortunately, our rythym has been line, recover for repairs, partial line, recover for bad weather, wait on weather, line, recover for repairs.

Whilst it is frustrating to have had such an unlucky start to the search for HMAS Sydney, I also know that we are due better weather than we have had and that the problems with the SM30 sonar towfish are slowly but surely being sorted out.  The Williamson & Associates technicians are fully committed and working very hard to deliver the best quality sonar imagery.

Our project schedule does include a contingency for time lost due to such problems although I would have rather not used up this contingency so early in the project.  It reminds me that we had a similar situation during the Hood & Bismark project in 2001 when we lost the first three days to a Force 10 storm in the Bay of Biscay.  Knowing how that project ultimately turned out (we found and filmed both wrecks well within our alloted schedule) gives me confidence we could repeat that performance here off the WA coast.

The following sequence of photos shows the recovery of the SM30 towfish.

Above Photograph - Hauling the SM30 sonar towfish back towards the vessel.

Above Photograph - Using a boat hook to grab a tag-line to steady the SM30 sonar towfish.

Above Photograph - SM30 sonar towfish breaks the water.

Above Photograph - Craning the SM30 sonar towfish inboard.

John Perryman - Senior Navy Historian

Today’s dawn brought with it the end of our north-south run during which we had seen a slight deterioration in our SM30 sonar signal. After some discussion it was determined to recover the tow-fish and replace the connection on the umbilical cord through which data is transferred back to the survey room. With blue skies above us and in reasonable seas, the fish was successfully recovered during the forenoon and throughout the afternoon the Williamson technicians set about rectifying the faults.

The sonar was not the only ‘fish’ recovered. During the last few days of rough weather several flying fish had inadvertently made unscheduled landings on the Geosounder’s quarter-deck during their brief ascent from the sea. Needless to say, they were returned to whence they came. 

The intention is now to redeploy the SM30 tow-fish later this evening with a view to commencing our next search run as soon as possible. Although this is another break in our schedule, it has provided a good opportunity to review our research work and conclusions as well as those of other independent researchers who, although not directly involved in this project, have done much to keep the interest in the story of Sydney alive.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

David Mearns - Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

With Ophelia out of the way we were able to resume the search today and start to make a dent in the search box.  However you compare it, our search box is extremely large.  In marine terms it measures roughly 1,800 square nautical miles (a nautical mile is 15% longer than a statute mile), or about 2.5 times larger than the ACT.  It is by far the largest area I have ever set out to cover in a shipwreck search project.

Another way to think about this search is to place yourself in a location on land, and imagine a box that extends 39 kilometres in every direction (i.e. to the north, south, east and west).  The land will have areas that are flat and sandy, but also areas that are rocky and hilly.  Within that enormous area the lost object to be found can be the size of HMAS Sydney (171.4 metres long and 17.3 metres wide), but in the case of Kormoran it is probably broken into a number of smaller pieces scattered about.  Finally, imagine the land you are searching is flooded with several thousands of metres of water and this will give you an idea of the challenge we face.

It was very good to be back on the hunt.  John Perryman and I have set up our workspace in a room immediately adjacent to the survey lab.  Here we can monitor the incoming SM30 sonar imagery on our own computer and be in direct contact with the Williamson & Associates sonar operators and the ship's bridge by telephone.  Our space also doubles as a library for research documents and includes a chart table for navigational plotting.

Above Photograph - Workspace for the Finding Sydney Foundation and RAN Historian John Perryman

Above Photograph - David Mearns working on a Mercatorial Plotting Sheet

Above Photograph - A shelf containing the 1998 Parliamentary Enquiry Volumes on the sinking of HMAS Sydney.

John Perryman - Senior Navy Historian (Observer)

With the weather having improved considerably throughout the day we are now back in our search box, with our sonar deployed and our spirits rising following the challenges of the last few days.

News of the discovery of another World War II shipwreck by the Norwegian mine-hunter HNOMS Tyr, was also seen as a very good omen. Tyr was taking part in a multi-national training exercise when she discovered the wreck of the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hunter in 1000 feet of water. Hunter was sunk by German naval forces during the Narvik campaign of 1940. Of her crew of 145, 110 lost their lives.

As if to reinforce the purpose of our own search, one of Hunter’s survivors, Fred Ward, spoke of his great sense of relief at knowing the final resting place of so many of his comrades. With this in mind the search team continues to monitor the numerous displays and monitors in the survey room for the first indications of a debris field that will lead us to Kormoran and Sydney.

For additional information concerning the discovery of HMS Hunter go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7283100.stm

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

David Mearns - Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

There is only one photo to go with our blogs today because there is only one subject that has dominated our day.  The weather.

Despite the fact that she was downgraded early in the day, Ophelia has continued to shadow the Geosounder and prevent us from recommencing the search.  After Geosounder's third successive course change to avoid the dangerous southern quadrants of the storm, whereupon Ophelia also changed course to cover our tracks, I joked with the Master, Blair Cliffe, that Ophelia well and truly had his number.

It appeared that Blair had finally out foxed Ophelia in his last turn to the West back towards the search box because the wind suddenly dropped from 28 knots to about 10 knots and the sea began to lie down.  Unfortunately Ophelia had one last sting in her tail because two hours later we were being buffeted by 38 knot winds with gusts to 45 knots.

At times it felt like we were playing one big game of chess with Ophelia.  On our side we had a lot of help from the Bureau of Meteorology (Bruce Buckley and Brad Centos) and the RAN Duty Forecaster who supplied up to date forecast information throughout the day.  The sea is still too rough to allow a safe launch of the SM30 sonar but everyone is standing by and anxious to get it back in the water as soon as Ophelia lets us.

Above Photograph - Cyclone Ophelia

John Perryman - Senior Navy Historian (Observer)

Some years ago I wrote an article for the Sea Power Centre – Australia newsletter concerning naval ingenuity. It began:

Throughout history, seafarers have had to consistently use their ingenuity to improvise, adapt and overcome in the face of adversity. The very nature of ships is such that when they sail and the 'umbilical cord' connecting them to shore infrastructure is cut, they become dependant upon their own provisions and resources. Notwithstanding the technological advantages enjoyed today by mariners the world over, this truism remains.

Today I was reminded of this opening paragraph as I observed the Williamson technicians working tirelessly to restore their SM30 towed array to full operational condition. In a vessel being continually tossed around by a heavy swell, and without the luxury of stable and fully equipped shore based workshops, they were certainly up against it. Remarkably the faults were traced one by one and rectified and I was pleased to see that the old adage – improvise, adapt and overcome still rings true.

To quote the famous author Nicholas Monsarrat, the ‘cruel sea’ now remains our only real obstacle before we can continue our search for Sydney and Kormoran.

For those interested in reading the original article concerning Naval Ingenuity please visit the following web link:

http://www.navy.gov.au/spc/semaphore/issue18_2005.html

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

David Mearns - Seach Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

When I said yesterday that more twists and turns were to come I wasn't expecting them to come so fast.  The first twist was a particularly cruel one.  Towards the end of our first sonar trackline it was clear that the SM30 towfish was having some problems that affected the quality of the sonar imagery being produced and had to be recovered for repairs.  One immediate problem was solved straight away when an electrical cable was found to be nicked allowing seawater to penetrate the cable and cause short circuiting.  The offending cable was easily replaced.

The remaining problems were far trickier to troubleshoot as they involved the delicate electronics of the SM30 towfish that are the domain of Carter Le, the electronics engineer who is a key member of the Williamson & Associates sonar team.  Carter worked many hours throughout the day finding and fixing two faults after which the only thing left to do was deploy the towfish again to see if the imagery was good enough to resume searching.  Several hours later and with 6,000 metres of towcable deployed the turn we dreaded had just taken place.

Tropical Cyclone Ophelia, a category 1 storm packing gale force winds decided to change course and turn directly for our location.  Whilst it is hard to find a silver lining as a cylcone bears down on you I am grateful that Ophelia is nothing like as severe as the Western Atlantic Hurricanes I am used to.  Still we are facing certain weather downtime, which although expected and budgeted for, is hurtful to our progress at this early stage in the search.  There is an old saying that the sea doesn't give up her secrets easily and it appears that Ophelia has dropped in to remind us of that.

Above Photograph - Carter Le, Williamson & Associates Electronic Engineer making repairs to a printed circuit board

Above Photograph - the two electronics racks of the SM30 sonar towfish

Above Photograph - the 9pm track of Tropical Cyclone Ophelia relative to our current position

Above Photograph - two polystyrene cups, before and after being squeezed by several thousand metres of water pressure.

Above Photograph - seas following passing of Cyclone Ophelia

John Perryman - Senior Navy Historian (Observer) 

Today I witnessed first hand just how much pressure is exerted on the side-scan sonar equipment when it is operating in very deep water.

Prior to its launch before the first run, the Williamson crew placed a number of polystyrene cups, which they had written their names on, in a small bag attached to the sonar. When it was recovered, the cups were retrieved but had been compressed in size to about one third of their original size. Apparently this is due to the air being squeezed out of them by the intense water pressure. Many of the cups had been adorned with artwork and logos and they will no doubt become memorable souvenirs of this expedition.

With some minor repairs required on the sonar, today was fairly quiet, however it is expected that it will soon be re-deployed as we commence another run through the search box.

For more information concerning HMAS Sydney (II) visit: www.navy.gov.au/spc and visit the ship history pages.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

David Mearns - Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

The most anxious time for any search is the first sonar trackline through the search area.  This is when you learn whether the area you are searching consists of either rough geological terrain or a flat smooth seabed.  You also learn for the first time whether the weather and sea conditions will allow you to tow the sonar in the direction and speed your desire without difficulty.  Complications due to rough geology and/or uncooperative weather and sea conditions can make all the difference to whether a search ends successfully, or in failure.

As our sonar was tracking through the initial section of our first trackline (actually Line # 07 as per our line-naming convention) I started to get very concerned that luck wasn't going to be on our side.  The seabed geology wasn't that awful, but it certainly wasn't going to be easy to detect a shipwreck amongst all the geological formations that cluttered our screens.  The Geosounder's watch officers were also finding it difficult maintaining the perfectly straight trackline we require at the slow speeds of 2.5 knots.  The combination of the two difficulties, amongst a number of other technical issues, made the first few hours searching very uneasy.

As the sea is ever changing, however, so was our fortunes and a couple of hours later the seabed started to get very flat and featureless (ideal terrain for shipwreck hunting) and the Geosounder began crabbing down the line at an angle that maintained good steerage as well as speed.  It always takes some time to iron out the kinks and for a search to take on a pattern and rythm of efficiency and this is what first tracklines are for.  We can only hope that our good fortune continues although experience tells me that there are many twists and turns to come.

The following series of pictures show the main survey room on the Geosounder where the Williamson & Associates search team and DOF Subsea navigators work.

The above photograph shows the central control room where all the search sonar, survey and positioning equipment is operated from and data is logged.  It comprises three main work stations which are shown in following photographs.

Above photograph shows the navigator's station for operation of the Differential Global Positioning System and Mult-Beam Echo Sounder Systems.

Above photograph shows the sonar operator's station where he "flies" the towfish altering its height above the seabed.

Above photograph shows the off-line station for post-processing of the side-scan sonar data.

John Perryman - Senior Historian, Royal Australian Navy (Observer)

Today’s dawn followed a successful night of trials on the Williamson sonar equipment which had been successfully deployed during the previous night and recovered in the early hours of the morning.

A visit to the bridge and a quick study of the chart revealed that we were now steering north-west towards our search box at around about 8 knots. We expect to arrive in the area where the epic battle between Sydney and Kormoran is believed to have taken place at around about midnight.

As we enter these waters, one can’t help but try and imagine what it must have been like for the crews of both vessels on that fateful day in November 1941. I suspect that others on board have had similar thoughts as we get down to the business end of the search which will commence as soon as we reach our midnight position.

Throughout the mobilization and during the voyage there have been many discussions amongst the team concerning the Sydney and Kormoran as our international friends have come to learn more about this tragic episode of Australia’s Naval history.

For more information concerning HMAS Sydney (II) visit: www.navy.gov.au/spc and visit the ship history pages.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

David Mearns -  Search Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation

Other than getting out of port safely the simple objective for today was to conduct a sea-trials of the two Williamson & Associates side-scan sonar systems before we got too far away from Geraldton and departed for the search area.  Although the sonars were sea-trialled in Seattle just a couple of months ago we wanted to make sure they made the long sea-transit in perfect working condition and the only way to know this was to trial them again.

The weather (Force 5) could have been better but Williamson's crew, led by Jeff Koch running the back deck, are a well coordinated unit and working together with Geosounder's crew, the two separate launch and recoveries went quite smoothly for the first time off an unfamiliar vessel.  The following pictures show the full launch sequence.

Above: steadying the sonar towfish to be lifted off the deck

Above: maneuvering the towfish over the vessel's starboard quarter

Above: lowering the towfish into the water,

Above: streaming the towfish behind the ship, and finally

Above: launching the depressor weight. 

The sonar towfish is the unit that collects the imagery of the seabed and shipwrecks, while the depressor is simply a heavy weight that acts as a mechanical termination for the double-armoured steel towcable and reduces undesirable heave motions.

During the sea trials the sonars detected a very interesting target, which we used as the basis for the remaining trials.  In addition to making sure that all equipment was in good working order this trial period was also used to fine-tune the sonar imagery so that it's quality is as good as possible and devoid of any extraneous sources of acoustic and electrical noise.  With all equipment safely on deck by early morning we began our long transit to the search area and the start of the hunt for HMAS Sydney.

Glenys McDonald - Director, The Finding Sydney Foundation (Observer)

Our last night in Geraldton was none too restful, with the harbour surge moving the ship constantly against the wharf.  We were happy to see the pilot and the wharfies unhook the mooring ropes and half an hour later we were out in the open sea with a swell running.  Most people bunkered down, actually it was quite pleasant lying in my bunk with my eyes closed, but a very big swell by all accounts.  I was grateful I had taken my sea sickness pills.

Late afternoon we slowed to about 4-5 knots to do a test run of the side scan sonar equipment.   The Williamson crew launch the SM60 fish and it was awe inspiring, as they handled such heavy equipment on a sliding and wallowing back deck.  The fish was deployed and run out 300 metres behind the ship.  We were testing the equipment over a suspected anomaly, and once safely deployed, we all went back to the survey room to read the monitors.  After tea, it was time to bring the SM60 back on board which was safely accomplished.

By early evening the Williamson crew were changing over the umbilical from the SM60 to the SM30 side scan sonar and latter that night she was safely deployed.  It was getting dark on the back deck and I decided to call it a night, and came back to my cabin to write this first daily blog at sea.  Some bright spark has written on the whiteboard outside the kitchen: “next stop Sydney”, I hope they are right.

John Perryman - Senior Historian, Royal Australian Navy (Observer)

The Australian built Bathurst class corvettes of World War II fame were renowned for being ‘maids of all work’ and for ‘rolling on wet grass’. Today as we sailed in the MV Geosounder from Geraldton on our search for the wreck of HMAS Sydney (II), I was reminded of these two quips which have been muttered by countless ‘corvette’ men in oceans the world over.

Geosounder was built in 1972, and like the corvettes of old she has been employed in both hemispheres carrying out all manner of off-shore and survey work. As we cleared Geraldton and shaped a course for our destination we were given a taste of what it may have been like to serve in the Bathurst class corvettes as our vessel of only 59.5 metres pitched, rolled and cork-screwed her way into a three metre swell. For some, who had not yet gained their sea-legs, this was a testing time as we set off on the first leg of our voyage of discovery.

Notwithstanding the buffeting of the swell, a successful launch and test trial of the Williamson side-scan sonar proceeded safely in the afternoon and evening with satisfying results. With the gear proven and the Western Australian coast line well behind us, there is now a real sense among the crew that we are finally on our way.

For more information about the Bathurst class corvettes and HMAS Sydney (II) visit: www.navy.gov.au/spc and visit the ship history

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.

On the 29th February 2008 the vessel "SV Geosounder" set sail from Geraldton, Western Australia to find the resting place of the World War II cruiser HMAS Sydney II, tragically lost in November 1941 in the Indian Ocean with its entire crew of 645.

The Geosounder has been chartered by the Foundation from DOF Subsea Aust Pty Ltd and is fitted with a survey positioning system and a deep tow side scan sonar system, which the Foundation has contracted from Williamson and Associates Inc of Seattle USA.

Geosounder also carries a 3000 metre rated Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) which could be mobilised to inspect wreakage in water depths up to 3000 metres.

Above: The vessel "Geosounder" chartered by the Finding Sydney Foundation
Source: Geraldton Guardian

The search wll be conducted over an area of approximately 1800 square nautical miles, in water depths ranging from 2000 metres to 4000 metres and approximately 130 nautical miles offshore Western Australia.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Material (including photographs) available in the "Press Room" section of this Website may be used/reproduced unaltered by your organisation (unless stated otherwise within the content description) subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Legal Section AND any Material (including photographs) which you use/reproduce must credit the source as "The Finding Sydney Foundation" and, as an option, you may also link the source statement with the website address http://www.findingsydney.com/.