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ABOARD THE JEAN CHARCOT – We departed St. John’s Harbor, Newfoundland, at 9:17 p.m. last night. A full moon bathed the calm waters of the cove as a pilot guided our 243-foot research vessel into open waters of the North Atlantic.
I’ve joined a team of underwater archeologists, maritime engineers, technicians and explorers as they try to do what’s never been done before: document every inch of the debris field where the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. Premier Exhibitions, which has Titanic artifacts on display in Las Vegas, Indianapolis, and Columbus, Ohio, is funding the multi-million dollar expedition.
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The primary challenge as we begin the voyage is not one of technology, but the one sailors face all the time: the weather. As of now, Hurricane Danielle is projected to follow many possible paths, but one of them could involve a direct route to the where we are headed.
For those of you who want to track our movements, we are currently at 45 degrees, 47.6 minutes North; 051 degrees 45.3 minutes West.
Among the teams working together onboard are experts from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Phoenix International, the Waitt Institute and NOAA.
Our NBC Team includes cameraman Dwaine Scott, video editor Vince Genova and engineer Bruno Trepanier. Together, we will provide live reports and pictures from the ship in the middle of the North Atlantic, as well as from the wreckage site, which is two-plus miles under the water’s surface.
It’s estimated 40 percent of the wreck has never been mapped or studied.
I’ll update our movements here online as well as live on MSNBC, NBC’s Today Show and Nightly News, The Weather Channel and on your local NBC station. You can also follow the developments on Facebook by checking out RMS Titanic.
Come along on an adventure.
Related link: Titanic expedition will create 3-D map of wreck
See more on msnbc.com's: Technolog
Leave a Comment:
Now this is cool! I Can dig this story!
Can you dig this...?"33 human beings trapped underground"...I am appalled that there is not one story in reference to these people...Shame on MSNBC...
Technology has come a long way...to imagine that this shipped sank some 98 years ago and that today we can go 2 miles plus deep to the wreckage in the North Atlantic none the less...and provide live reports and pictures from the wreckage is amazing...and they say there may be alien life out there smarter than humans...i for one am doubtfull...
What a wonderful way to preserve the wreck site. Each year more of it decays. In time, the hull will begin to collapse. And to be able to see it all in 3D, better than even those that have dived to the site. I would pay good money to sit in a theater for a couple of hours and watch it.
can hardly wait to see the pic's!
While I agree that it is a marvel of modern technology to be able to do the 3-d thing, couldn't something better be done with that kind of money?
like What?
Oh, I don't know: feed the hungry, educate the uneducated, fight child prostitution, there must be something worth while to do with millions of wasted dollars.
Oh the bleeding heart progressives.........always crying about wasting money. They fail to see that everyone of their attempts to help poor people only result in their enslavement to the government check. I would love to see one of you actually do something to help poor people......encourage them to get a job.
How about digging a damn hole a half mile down and free 33 trapped miners...That would be a good way to spend the money...But I guess those miners aren't even news worthy any more...I do not see one reference to that story any where...Shame on you MSNBC...More time has been spent on the "cat lady" in the UK...Somebody help me out with this...PLEASE...!!!
If I may paraphrase a bit of Scripture, "The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have the Titanic."
can hardly wait to see the pic's! i really enjoy anything thats got to do with the TITANIC!
At what point does curiositybecome something else? Finding the site, filming it to see how the ship sank and how it looks is something I understood. And enjoyed seeing what was brought back visually.
Now, this picking at it again and again and dropping yet another "memorial" sign (strikes me more like "I was here" graffiti).
I may be in the minority on this but it is coming more difficult to understand what purpose another explorationserves. It isn't morally wrong, but it seems to me almost like going into tombs to take pictures to sell of Famous people's bodies.
I am with you my friend...How about taking some photos of 33 trapped miners a half mile down ...
im a history nerd i cant wait 2 see the pics and watch the 3-D video. cool stuff!!!!!!
I have family that died on the boat. I think the more that can be learned from this the better. We shouldn't forget about it. The tech will be perfected and then used in new ways down the road. I look forward to seeing the new stuff one day.
PRXI is posting loads of Titanic pictures and videos from the dive, underwater photos of the Ship, and exclusive content on the Titanic Promenade Community. It's a pretty amazing site for Titanic fans, and it's interactive.
http://promenade.expeditiontitanic.com/