Bob Chaulk, a Halifax diving veteran, contacted Saltwater Sean and asked if he could do some underwater photograph work for his upcoming book. For his latest book, Bob has been meticulously documenting two anchors in about six feet of water that he believes are from the S.S. Curaca.
Bob and Sean traveled from Halifax to Tufts Cove via the Narrows. The visibility was excellent for filming. Sean was enthralled by the Halifax Explosion story, and now he’s helping Bob solve a mystery. “As a kid, his mind would have been blown that he would be helping document a part of the Halifax Explosion,” Sean explained. Sean was enthralled by the Halifax Explosion story, and now he’s helping Bob solve a mystery.
Read The Scuba News Canada’s article: Atlantic’s Last Stop Courage, Folly, and Lies in the White Star Line’s Worst Disaster Before Titanic
On December 6, 1917, Halifax Harbour was clogged with wartime shipping. Vessels were loading cargo, waiting for convoys, or undergoing maintenance. The French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of December 6, 1917. The Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, destroying Halifax’s Richmond district. The blast, debris, fires, and collapsed buildings killed at least 1,782 people, mostly in Halifax and Dartmouth, and injured an estimated 9,000 more. At the time, it was the largest man-made explosion.
The British SS Curaco was loading horses at Pier 8 when the explosion occurred, and it was blown across the harbour and sank at Tufts Cove. She was refloated in 1918. 45 crew members were killed.
Bob Chaulk’s book, Atlantic’s Last Stop can be purchased here.
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