Margaret L. Brandeis

[Magoopeter]

I was given research from a guy who’s dad travelled the world salvaging and looking for shipwrecks, unfortunately he passed away recently, he was one of the first wreck hunters, most of it was East coast of Africa, far East and Azores, but I found a lot from lady, is she still alive?

 

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[Mackaydon]

The publisher of Margaret's book, 'Women Can Find Shipwrecks Too', was Le Gresse Stevens Publishing,3333 Midway Dr., Dept 102, San Diego, California 92110. At one time, Margaret and Bob Marx knew each other. By contacting her publisher, they may be able to answer your question.
Don....

 

[Salvor6]

I have that book. I tried to get in touch with her publisher a few years ago. No luck.

 

[enrada]

You might try

Margaret Louise Brandeis(not Brandels)
Box 446
Sagle ID. 83860

Ph. 510-537-9432 or. 541-226-7006

 

[Magoopeter]

You might try

Margaret Louise Brandeis(not Brandels)
Box 446
Sagle ID. 83860

Ph. 510-537-9432 or. 541-226-7006

Thanks

 

[Alexandre]

I pretty much doubt anyone has done any salvage in the Azores, except for the Wignall-Grattan expedition of 1972.

 

[Magoopeter]

I pretty much doubt anyone has done any salvage in the Azores, except for the Wignall-Grattan expedition of 1972.

Wagnall was there first in 1972 looking for The HMS Revenge. My information was from a member of John Grattan’s team, British Underwater Archaeological Syndicate, looking for the 1591 fleet, they found three wreck sites, bronze, Iron guns, gold chain and silver coin. They got Kicked out of the Azores. They also went to New Zealand to look for the General grant.

 

[Alexandre]

"In 1971, at a seminal British symposium on marine archaeology held at Bristol, three major Tudor stories were revealed - King Henry VIII’s "Mary Rose" (1545) had just been discovered, as had the wreck of the Spanish Armada’s "La Trinidad Valencera". Also, Sydney Wignall announced his intention to search for Queen Elizabeth’s Ship "Revenge".


At this time underwater archaeology was an activity mostly undertaken by enthusiastic amateur divers, men and women with a passionate interest in underwater archaeology. World-wide, very few were actually employed in this field.


One of these passionate amateurs was Sydney Wignall. He had a deep interest in Tudor history, especially in the historical guns and gunnery so important in to the political life of the 16th century. He had already instigated, organised and led successful expeditions to find and survey Spanish Armada ships in Ireland and Scotland. Now his aim was to find Revenge, one of the greatest ships in English history. This ship, fast, highly manoeuvrable and superbly armed, had been Sir Francis Drake’s during the ill-fated 1588 Spanish Armada.

In 1591, commanded by the legendary Richard Grenville, the "Revenge" was in Azorean waters as part of an English fleet, there to capture Spanish treasure.

The "Revenge" found herself alone and surrounded by the Spanish fleet. Following an epic, 12-hour battle and the death of Grenville and two-thirds of his crew, the captured "Revenge" was lost two weeks later, off the Island of Terceira, in a great storm.


The accounts of the epic final battle of Revenge and her Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Grenville, by Dutch diarist Van Linschoten plus various English versions, was well known.

Wignall’s researches failed to uncover contemporary Portuguese accounts – these were commonly believed to have been destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and great fire of Lisbon. In Angra however was a bronze cannon, heavily eroded by long-time immersion in the sea, but decorated by the English Royalty’s Tudor Rose motif .


For Wignall, the discovery of any surviving remains of this ship and her armament could add immeasurably to our knowledge of the Tudor period of history, giving insights into the lives of the English and Spanish protagonists.

After several visits to Lisbon and Terceira for archival research and to gain permission and co-operation of the Ministry of Marine, the Angra Regional Museum and the Centro Portuguese de Actividades Subaquàticas he arrived in Terceira in early May 1972, this time with the equipment for a five month-long expedition and a small advanced team.


His expedition personnel were mostly volunteers – all of them competent divers; a number of university graduates, plus skilled practitioners in fields such as photography, material conservation, navigation and mapping, skills that would serve the maritime archaeology aims of the expedition. Most made the journey to Terceira at their own expense with the expedition providing all living and operation costs.


Before Wignall’s expedition was fully operational a second diving group arrived at Terceira. Led by two previous associates of Wignall, one of the John Grattan, that group intended to search for shipwrecks holding Spanish treasure. This was a completely unexpected and unwelcome complication to the Search for Revenge with a clear distinction of interests between the aims of the treasure hunting group and Wignall’s search for maritime history and archaeology.

To limit any chance of conflict between the two groups the marine authorities on Terceira gave the treasure hunters permission to search the island’s southern waters and for the archaeologists to search the northern waters, the area that Wignall thought most likely anyway to be the last resting place of the Revenge.


Unfortunately, three months of methodical and extensive searching by Wignall’s team failed to discover the Revenge, or any other new wreck sites, off the north coast. Then, both groups got into a squabble and firearms were shot.


After the treasure hunters had departed, Wignall’s team was able to carry out more extensive searching in the waters off Angra. In addition, non-disturbance search and survey of known local wrecks was undertaken. In August the Expedition’s activities were filmed by a British ATV film crew but, with finances depleted, Wignall had to announce the end of the 1972 search.


Then, at 30 meters depth during the final dive of the expedition on the near-vertical rocky cliffs of Monte Brasil, in sight of Angra de Heroisimo, was discovered a huge bronze Portuguese cannon. This magnificent gun, dated 1545, was raised with the help of the island-based American military and presented to the Angra Museum; a fitting end to Sydney Wignall’s Azores Expedition, and a upbeat end to the film, The Search for Revenge, which was shown on British national television the following February.


For some of Syd’s expeditioners the experience of Wignall’s “grand adventure” was a brief but emotionally satisfying experience. For others, that “grand adventure” began their lifelong profession in Maritime Archaeology.


Now, forty-seven years later, much more is known about the historic shipwrecks of the Azores. Archival research has revealed that the Revenge was actually wrecked at the western end of Terceira, near to Serreta. At the time of her capture some of her guns had been off-loaded. Between 1592 and 1623 the rest of her armament was salvaged from the wreck site, with the possible exception of one gun. Could this final gun be the water-worn Tudor gun that still can be seen in the Angra Museum?


Dr Colin Martin, perhaps Britain’s most highly respected Nautical Archaeologist, began his long career on Syd Wignall’s Santa Maria de la Rosa Expedition in 1968. After Syd’s death in 2012 (aged 89) Colin Martin wrote of him;


"We need our pioneers, those with obsessions in their hearts and a gleam in their eyes, to go where none has gone before. Syd was a member of the select band of often unsung frontier-scouts who first glimpsed the promise...of nautical archaeology...Without the pioneers our discipline would not have evolved as it has, and would be much the poorer for it."




https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9227056/Sydney-Wignall.html

Wagnall was there first in 1972 looking for The HMS Revenge. My information was from a member of John Grattan’s team, British Underwater Archaeological Syndicate, looking for the 1591 fleet, they found three wreck sites, bronze, Iron guns, gold chain and silver coin. They got Kicked out of the Azores. They also went to New Zealand to look for the General grant.

 

[Magoopeter]

Thanks great artical!