Wednesday, October 18, 2000

WILMINGTON, NC -- Exploration and recovery efforts of the USS Monitor's four-bladed propeller and other artifacts are subjects of the NOVA season premiere Lincoln's Secret Weapon airing at 9 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 24, on PBS. UNC Wilmington's National Undersea Research Center (NURC) and its Research Vessel Cape Fear assisted with these efforts.

NOVA followed the work of the 1998 expedition to the sunken Civil War ironclad. The expedition was conducted by the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, NURC/UNCW, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Diving Program, the Cambrian Foundation and The Mariner's Museum. UNCW's R/V Cape Fear served as the primary support vessel for the Phase II of the expedition.

"The most exciting aspect of this project is being able to visually share this recovery effort with the public through this NOVA production," said Doug Kesling, the NURC/UNCW mission coordinator for the expedition. He also served as an assistant underwater videographer and bottom diver for the NOAA self-contained, underwater diving team. "This ship is decaying rapidly, so this expedition was an attempt to recover significant artifacts from the wreck and share them with the public."

The USS Monitor fought a battle with the Confederate ironclad Virginia, formerly the USS Merrimac, in March 1862. The Monitor sank during a storm off Cape Hatteras in December 1862. The wreck rests 230 feet under water, which required special diving techniques and equipment during the recovery efforts.

In addition to Kesling, other NURC/UNCW members of the team included Capt. Dan Aspenleiter, Glenn Taylor, Ken Johns, Tim Gallagher, Chris Cote and Jay Styron.

The Mariner's Museum, in collaboration with NOAA, is seeking to develop a USS Monitor Center which would be the definitive repository for materials, research and history of the vessel. According to John Broadwater, manager of NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, "The USS Monitor Center will provide visitors with a unique and fascinating view of the Monitor from construction to sinking to recovery."

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To contact Doug Kesling, call 910/962-2445.