The public is invited to the Middlesex County Public Library’s (MCPL) Deltaville branch on Thursday, July 17, at 5 p.m. for a program, “Shipwreck Hunting,” pre-sented by Charles Perkinson. Perkinson will share his experiences during a history-making search for a long-lost Spanish armada wreck off the coast of Ireland, while also navigating the start of the Troubles. Items from some of his dives will be on display. Refreshments and a Q&A session will follow the main talk.
A Deltaville resident, Perkinson is a lifelong diver, having explored shipwrecks, caves, and open water dives around the world. In 1968, his work for Dupont Industries took him to the city of Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland, where he spent his free time with a local diving club exploring the seafloor. One of their projects was to find the ship “La Trinidad Valencera,” wrecked off the coast of neighboring County Donegal.
The Spanish armada has gone down in maritime lore as one of history’s great maritime disasters. In 1588, 150-odd ships set sail from Spain, but only a handful returned, the rest being lost in battle or driven ashore in storms. Many of these — like “La Trinidad” — ran aground on the rocky coast and lay undiscovered. For months, the diving club spent their weekends camped out on a remote bay, making excursions underwater in search of clues. With his experience and talent for “seeing” wrecks, which are often invisible to the untrained eye, Charles quickly became their chief diving officer.
Perkinson will explain how they searched for and eventually discovered “La Trinidad,” as well as the recovery process, and the wreck’s significance in telling the Armada’s story. The findings on the Trinidad wreck made historians reconsider a number of assumptions about Spain’s intentions with the armada — including the presence of siege cannons which indicated Spain anticipated an invasion with land battles rather than simply a confrontation with England at sea. Throughout the program he will also be showing photos from the search and recovery, and have a selection of artifacts on display.
Perkinson’s stay coincided with the start of unrest between Nationalist and Unionist communities that would develop into a three decades long conflict known as “The Troubles” — many of whose key events happened in the city. Nights were marked by “at least three bombs a night,” he recalls, and the sound of gun battles. The diving club’s members were drawn from both sides, including nationalists and unionists, a British soldier, and a priest, who put aside their political differences in pursuit of their shared hobby. And although many were drawn from impoverished backgrounds, their explorations were entirely self-funded. Their discoveries drew national attention, with the club being featured in two BBC documentaries and a number of books. Although he left the city a few years later, Perkinson retained his passion for diving and went on to a number of other significant discoveries.
“Shipwreck Hunting” hap-pens at the Deltaville library on Thursday, July 17, at 5 p.m.
For information on this and other library events, check the library’s website, www.yourmiddlesexlibrary.org.
or email yourmiddlesexlibrary@gmail.com.
