A brief history into the background of the building of HMS Colossus and its campaigns with its commanders; such as Captain George Murray. The fateful journey of the ship in 1798 from the Bay of Naples; to moor up in St Mary’s Roads where she awaited for a storm to abate. The book then follows the running aground of the Colossus off Samson Island within the archipeligo of Scilly. The resue of the crew by local Scillonians is covered followed by an extremely interesting salvage history from wrecking to present day.

The author then briefly recounts his early life and how his love of the sea and facination for shipwrecks came about. Next follows his introductions into the diving world and what was termed in the sport at the time as "the Porthole Brigade"

Then comes Todd’s first encounters with Scilly, while salvaging the wreck of the container ship CITA which went aground off St Mary’s in 1997. He then chronicles the decision to live on Scilly; recalls his first meetings with the locals before setting out to dive alone in the waters by his new home.

The next section recounts the circumstances that lead the author to drift dive in the area where he discovers an unrecorded hisatorically important shipwreck and the joy of diving it completely alone; and how he then comes to identify the wreck site as a major part of HMS Colossus.

Then comes the, at times harrowing, tale of how others became aware of the find, just as a totally unique discovery was made on the wreck site by the author's wife. The book then recounts the many twists and turns over who would claim the right to dive the wreck and recover this artistic treasure.

Next is the dramatic recovery of the unique find from under deep sand, amidst a tide of media interest. Finally comes the events surrounding how the huge artefact was raised to the surface by salvage men and the circumstances surrounding legal claims to the wreck.

Last Updated: 17-Jan-2009

hWRECK OF COLOSSUS

CONTENTS
This is no dull historical or archaeological tome it is a window into the life of a ship and a personal view through the eyes and experiences of an ordinary diver.

The foreword is written by Ed Cumming, Project Leader of the 25 year Earl of Abergavenny shipwreck excavation in Weymouth Bay.

The next section recounts the circumstances that lead the author to drift dive in the area where he discovers an unrecorded hisatorically important shipwreck and the joy of diving it completely alone; and how he then comes to identify the wreck site as a major part of HMS Colossus.

Then comes the, at times harrowing, tale of how others became aware of the find, just as a totally unique discovery was made on the wreck site by the author's wife. The book then recounts the many twists and turns over who would claim the right to dive the wreck and recover this artistic treasure.

Next is the dramatic recovery of the unique find from under deep sand, amidst a tide of media interest. Finally comes the events surrounding how the huge artefact was raised to the surface by salvage men and the circumstances surrounding legal claims to the wreck.

hWRECK OF COLOSSUS

CONTENTS This is no dull historical or archaeological tome it is a window into the life of a ship and a personal view through the eyes and experiences of an ordinary diver.

The foreword is written by Ed Cumming, Project Leader of the 25 year Earl of Abergavenny shipwreck excavation in Weymouth Bay.

The next section recounts the circumstances that lead the author to drift dive in the area where he discovers an unrecorded hisatorically important shipwreck and the joy of diving it completely alone; and how he then comes to identify the wreck site as a major part of HMS Colossus.

Then comes the, at times harrowing, tale of how others became aware of the find, just as a totally unique discovery was made on the wreck site by the author's wife. The book then recounts the many twists and turns over who would claim the right to dive the wreck and recover this artistic treasure.

Next is the dramatic recovery of the unique find from under deep sand, amidst a tide of media interest. Finally comes the events surrounding how the huge artefact was raised to the surface by salvage men and the circumstances surrounding legal claims to the wreck.

CONTENTS
This is no dull historical or archaeological tome it is a window into the life of a ship and a personal view through the eyes and experiences of an ordinary diver.