Griffon?

[Vtach]

I'm sure that this story is not particularly new and has the typical media sensationalized information but there are a few things about this that I find really interesting and have questions about that were not answered.

1.  Why do they think this is the Griffon?  I'm sure there are previous claims to locating the Griffon so what characteristics have they found that convince them of it's identity.

2.  The consulted "expert" from the Field Museum does not claim any marine archaeology credentials and really says nothing other than "he cannot rule out that this is not the Griffon".  Why not consult with an experienced marine archaeologist?

3.  If not for monetary gain, why would someone want salvage rights to this wreck?  I can understand why someone would not release numbers to the public, but to piss about "ownership"?  Maybe I'm missing something but it sure seems suspicious.

If this really is the Griffon, given its historical significance, I would think that there would be enough support from the State or Fed that this would be something worth a full archaelogical survey, along with recovery and preservation.  It sounds like the "finder" is not interested in that.  That is truly disappointing and disservice to the public.

So hey, lets go dive and scrub the history....I mean, zebra mussels off this 329 year old shipwreck.....

[smoothfin]

Just going by Cris Kohl's book "Shipwrecks At Death's Door", he mentions there've been at least 16 past claims, and all kinds of speculation about what actually happened to the ship (whether it really went down in the storm, and so on).  It'll be real interesting to see if any sort of real evidence comes to light.  I wonder even if the cannons would be conclusive if all that they go on is a French inscription, in the sense that can they really be sure that no other ships were carrying those sort of cannon?
The ABC commentators were fun to watch.  I don't think either one of them had a clue as to what they were discussing.
Kohl also mentions that in 2001 a wreck found off of  Poverty Island caught the attention of the state of Michigan and also the French government, so this latest discoverer may really have his work cut out for him in the courts.

[captkathy]

Hey Todd,
Thanks for posting the link.  I'd heard about the segment but didn't get to see it until now.

About every 5 years Libert's name comes up in connection w/ finding the Griffon.  What's different to me this time, is that he's bringing forth more evidence.  The last I'd heard about him finding it was in a Sun Sentinel article almost 4 years ago.  In the article, they mention having hired an expert to do age dating, but his name nor his findings were mentioned.  This time we actually hear from his expert (in whatever capacity his specialty is), and we see just a little bit of footage.

He's also giving us some clues to the location.  I'm pretty sure that Pat Ringett lives in Fairport.  So if he's their land based lookout, it must be in view from there.  (Though I'm not sure what they can do if they do see someone searching the area, though.)  The scenery they show is Poverty Island, the Gull Islands, and I believe Summer Island also.  So we have at least a generalized location.  In the article from 4 years ago, you could've come up w/ three different possible locations, from Poverty Island to Washington Island to Pilot Island.

So all in all, I think he's giving more info to substantiate his claim than he has previously.

I don't understand his motivation to secure salvaging rights, either.  Especially since he claims to not care about monetary gain.  I hope he doesn't win.  In my opinion, no individual person, no matter how much time and money they've spent to find it, should ever "own" a piece of history as large as this.

Well, if this really is "it", we'll be hearing more.

Thanks for the link and interesting topic, Todd.

Kathy