The significance of a bell

A hard-diving group of wreck aficionados here in Seattle dove probably our premier wreck this last weekend, the SS Governor. Now, nothing about the Governor's history, or her fate, is unknown, and the wreck has been dived for years, although it is a very big dive and anyone doing it has accomplished something to be proud of.

But this weekend, a team found her bell, and they are massively excited about that. It was not removed, as removal of artifacts requires a specific permit, but they identified it, cleaned it off, and I believe moved it to where it was more visible (it was found partially buried in silt).

What I'm wondering is why this is so exciting? I am seriously not a wreck person . . . but I understand the excitement of diving new wrecks, or doing projects where there are questions to be answered (like the Britannic). But if the wreck is well known and not uncommonly dived, what is the significance of finding the bell?

(BTW, I am not being sarcastic or trolling, I really want to know)

I would suspect that it is because bells are unique, one to a vessel and may be marked to ID the ship. That makes it a prize that many can't pass up. Though certainly a bell from a common well known vessel is not as desirable as one say from the Titanic. I suspect that bell of the SS Governor will disappear someday. My roommate has told me he knows the diver that has a bell from some famous wreck on the East Coast. He has to hide it or be arrested, so would it not have been better to leave it and see it where it belongs? I wasn't listening too hard when he told be this "story", so don't ask which wreck.

As explorers still explore and as the ocean will always hold a fascination
diving, for divers is to possibly find a piece of rusting junk because they
found it, not deep nor shallow, that once had purpose, may be hold fast
the anchor, a deadeye, from a sail, the grail, of a porthole that someone
once peered through before horrendous tragedy struck almost at the end
of a strenuously long journey when being close became not close enough

A lifetimes love of the ocean, and diving, despite it's unpredictable wrath





Unlike starting late being only of one mind and professing a life of drills

I'm not a wreck enthusiast either, but I'll take a stab at the question. In general, the bell might constitute conclusive evidence of the wreck's identity. Even though that doesn't seem to be relevant in this case, where the wreck's identity is not in question, perhaps the tradition of more exploratory wreck dives--or the folklore of treasure hunts--holds sway. Or perhaps it is just the most picturesque artifact and the most likely to survive a century of submersion, especially in the case of older (wooden) wrecks.

First of all the ship hada uniue bell and everything that happened on watch happened with that bell.

I'm a serious wreckie, and have to agree that calling finding the bell of an identified wreck significant is pushing it a bit. It IS a very cool find, however, and proves that keeping your eyes open even on a well-dived site can be rewarding! If left in place it will likely be a must-see spot on the wreck dive - way too many wrecks are just featureless, empty rusting shells because of stupid souvenir-hunting. I guess the find is also exciting because brass has a nasty habit of disappearing from publicly known wrecks. It shouldn't be that way, but we can't do much as long as the general public thinks divers dive to wrecks to find treasure and some divers view brass as some kind of trophies.

The significance of a bell on an unknown wreck is a completely different animal, but even then I'd be really careful about touching and moving stuff - you can often find out the identity of a wreck without disturbing it. Take a look at this video:
Mystery ship on Vimeo

Unfortunately, now that the position of the wreck is public, the bell has fallen off (hopefully in an uninformed attempt to clean it, not lift it), stuff has disappeared from the deck and the condition of the wreck has deteoriated rapidly - a proof that even depth can't protect cool finds when fast-track tech training and rebreathers allow even the most inept muppets to play tech-divers... Sorry to sound bitter here, but this is a real problem and what has happened on that particular wreck simply makes me furious - the wreck has stayed pristine for hundreds of years, a skilled amateur team has managed to completely survey and document it during 8 years without damaging it, and this is what happens in a few months when the find is published.

Anyway; the wreck is still unknown, but why rush to destroy it until all other avenues of investigation are exhausted? It's not going anywhere.

//LN

About half way down the first section give some info on the ships bell.

1.The Birth of the Ship

Each ship had a bell, it's own unique sound ... for me it's like the voice and soul of the ship

Also not much of a wreck enthusiast, but I can easily conceive of how excited these divers are and why. In addition to the general significance of a ship's unique bell, there's the thrill of seeing something "new" at a dive site you know like your own backyard. I imagine that it's akin to unexpectedly finding a ribbon eel or a harlequin shrimp or a fire clam or any of the other weird and wonderful marine life I find exciting on a reef I know well. Going on a dive to a wreck that was entirely familiar to the divers and then having the wreck reveal to them a gem like the bell must surely be a thrill.

There is always another side of the story,
all parts put in water will rust, corode, and vanish slowly, but it sure will..
so some divers pick up artifacts to preserve them from futher melting away to nothing.
I have seen sad pictures from bells and such compleetly coroded away only a thinn ring left or a quarter of a side left
to show it was once a nice bell,
if only someone took it the first place and put it in a/his museum, it will still be a bell,
and could still tell a story and amaze people/his friends with its glory.