Petrel - Research Vessel that finds USS Indianapolis
Yesterday, we were sitting on the foredeck of Simplicity enjoying a perfect sunny Florida afternoon when a blue, dual engine Zodiac entered the main channel of our marina. Since we are “bunkered” down here in Port Canaveral, we ask them where they were coming from.
As we chatted with the two gentlemen onboard we asked them to pull up to our slip. After a few minutes they told us that they were the captain and first mate on the research vessel Petrel that has been on the docked on the Port Canaveral terminal area for the past two weeks. They told us about how they travel all over the world on their research vessel Petrel looking for sunken World War II shipwrecks. According to the captain they had just completed a two week quarantine for the Coronavirus. The captain said that he would normally have invited us onboard for a tour but due to the Coronavirus that this was not allowed. The captain clearly wanted to show off their vessel and was very apologetic that we could not go aboard.
The Captain of the Petrel relayed to us that they were responsible for finding the World War II battleship USS Indianapolis back in 2017. The story of the sinking of this famous ship is told in “5-star” book available on Amazon: The Story of the USS Indianapolis. Later in the conversation the Captain of the Petrel also informed us that their adventures were funded by Paul Allen’s foundation. Their vessel has a website that can be found here: Petrel website which is full of information on the many discoveries this ship has made over the past few years.
We then asked, “where are you head off to next?”. The captain said that they are supposed to head over to Tampa for a haul-out and have some work on their vessel. The captain expressed his concern about not wanting to go to a boat yard full of people who could potentially infect his crew with Coronavirus!
Meeting and chatting with the skipper and first mate from the Petrel was a pleasant surprise on a Sunny quiet Sunday afternoon here in Port Canaveral. Hopefully next time we meet up with Petrel we can do the “Grand Tour”.