TIGHAR

Amelia Earhart Search Forum => General discussion => Topic started by: Randy Conrad on July 06, 2012, 02:20:25 PM

Title: Rocket Lines
Post by: Randy Conrad on July 06, 2012, 02:20:25 PM
Hey Guys!!! I was just reading the eye witness account of when Norwich City went aground back then, and noticed that it must have been hell trying to get to the reef. As the one account of the individual being swept to the reef and then pulled back to the ship by the torendous waves. My thought is this is most likely what would have happened to the Electra. It would definately be pulled back into the water and sunk. Anyway, something caught my eye that lets me to believe this is what was noted in the ROV video taken a few years ago. Many of you like myself have seen the rov video which indicates rope or cable laying around. Anyway, in the 5th paragraph of the eye witness account of the Norwich City which was posted...it talks about how rocket lines were fired from the lifeboats to the reef, in order for them to get to shore! The rocket lines mentioned...are these what are on the reef's shelf as seen in the video?
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Rich Ramsey on July 06, 2012, 02:41:52 PM
Wow, that's a really good question and I don't believe it has come up yet. I don't know if anyone can answer that unless they were there. I would guess it could be, but I just don't know. I'll leave that to the experts.
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: richie conroy on July 06, 2012, 02:51:06 PM
if u read through Rov discussion it has been brought up  :)
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: richie conroy on July 06, 2012, 03:03:35 PM
i asked the question a while back in Rov thread, the best answer i could come up with is.

When the panels are shaped round the frame no matter how well shaped there is going to be pressure on rivets so to say,

so in the last 20 years the shell which has protected the cables, the rivets have give way and exposed cables that have looked new compared to wreckage which has exposed them.

This is just my opinion no one else's  :)
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Randy Conrad on July 06, 2012, 03:13:06 PM
Richie...I'm following you on the first sentence my friend...but what are you talking about the rest of the way through! Let me know!! thanks!!!
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: richie conroy on July 06, 2012, 04:08:46 PM
page 55 of Rov topic was when rocket line was mentioned

the second part is of my opinion, How the wire/rope can be apart of plane wreckage but look good as new  :)
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Tom Swearengen on July 07, 2012, 10:42:50 AM
Randy---that is an excellent post. I missed it completely--daaa---focusing on something else entirely. It does make sense for the ropes. Not for tieing off the Electra, but the rockets from the NC. Should be more of them around, I would think.
Tom
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Greg Daspit on July 07, 2012, 11:32:53 AM
I believe the rocket line was fired a mile and a half of the wreck
" they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.
Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the Trongate said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors"
The rocket line was fired pretty far south. I think it would have to go agianst normal currents to get to the north side of the wreck where the video was taken.
I believe the rocket line is usually very small and used to pull a bigger line. Maybe the line could be used to pull a heavy cable but it looks too new and in the wrong place from where it was fired.
Later expeditions tied thier boats off to the NC. Maybe the cable was for something like that, or dragging supplies across the reef.
The NC had all kinds of cables but if its a rope or cable from the era I don't see how it could look that new
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Greg Daspit on July 07, 2012, 11:51:16 AM
I always thought this picture Richie posted was interesting. It looks like fresh broken metal.
Like the rope or cable broke it recently and the embeded metal piece stayed stuck in the coral.
Maybe someone, an unknown searcher who read the Tighar Hypothesis, tired to drag the reef to find the plane and their line snagged.
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Randy Conrad on July 07, 2012, 12:21:41 PM
Thanks Tom!!! As I was reading the eyewitness account of that fateful day for the Norwich City, my thoughts were it must have been sheer hell trying to make it to the beach!!! So my theory like everyone is that the Electra would have suffered the same fate for those trying to stay on the reef with liferafts. Generally speaking, what happened to the liferafts once they got to the reef and once the remaining survivors left? Did the Tighar team find any archeological evidence of liferafts? Just curious?
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Tom Swearengen on July 07, 2012, 01:55:04 PM
Randy---I cant speak of any artifacts, like liferafts. I doubt if any exsists now, for sure. But---i thin it might be prudent to search the Northwest corner of Niku. Might be some very interesting stuff.
Tom
Title: Re: Rocket Lines
Post by: Chris Johnson on July 07, 2012, 02:27:21 PM
Randy,

just in case you've not read this Norwich City Ameliapedia (http://tighar.org/wiki/Norwich_City).

Reading Dr King et als "Shoes" recently TIGHAR searched around a feature called the cruciform and Dr King suggests that nails from a NC lifeboat may have been found.

From this I would deduce that the settlers would harvest the boats for what was usefull but thats my opinion.