Wrecks on the Goodwin Sands

I've mentioned before about the wrecks on the Goodwins but I was then referring to the wrecks of all sorts of ships.  Relatively recently they found the wreck of a Dornier 17 bomber which came down during the Battle of Britain in 1940, and for the last month or so divers have been attempting to salvage it.

The idea was to surround the plane with a cradle to raise it gently from the sands on which it was resting but the project has been plagued with difficulties.  The currents on the Goodwins are strong so the divers can work only at full tide or low tide when the currents are at their least.  They estimated four week's work but didn't reckon on bad weather interrupting play.  The sea crane seen above keeps disappearing for a day or two at a time when the weather is just too bad.

Added to that, they have found that the plane isn't resting entirely in sand but at least some of it is resting on the chalk bedrock.  That has meant that the cradle can't easily be inserted under the wreck because they are having to drill through the rock.

So, they are very behind schedule and are abandoning the idea of a cradle to lift what's left of the plane.  They are now going to attach cables directly to the plane.  They were working most of today but this afternoon I noticed the crane has disappeared yet again.  It's very windy here.

Read all about it.

I'm going to disappear myself for a few weeks while I visit family in Canada.  If I discover how to upload photos directly from a phone, I will do that, but if not there will be a three week silence.  Not that that's anything especially unusual.