Having fun using side scan sonar. On January 25, 2019
I’ll introduce myself in case we’ve never met. My name is Warren Parsons and I do many of the maps Bruce sells on his website, Doctor Sonar. When I look to create a new map I usually research the area of interest. A few years back, as I say “hiding out on the Texas Gulf coast for the winter” I found some interesting things in Matagorda bay around Indianola, TX.
One day I had stopped at the Calhoun County Museum in Port Lavaca, Tx when I saw this drawing. I put a red circle around what caught my eye.
I had been curious about something I’d see from the beach during low tide.
But this wasn’t in the right place so I checked my NOAA chart and found this where I put a red circle around.
All the NOAA chart offered me was that it called the spot an obstruction but it did link up nicely with the Indianola, Tx image . I was a little nervous as I heard that the local oyster boat had impailed itself on the smoke stake once. So I waited for a low tide during high weather pressure, lowest water level, to see if it showed anything and not seeing anything the next high tide low pressure, highest water level, I ran out with my small mapping boat to this area, the small brown patch.
Turns out to have been the boiler from the steamship that caught fire and sank in 1856.
If you'd like to read more, go here: The Perserverance
