The Raising of the Victoria

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 36, 11 August 1893, Page 3

The Raising of the Victoria

Can the Victoria be lifted ? She lies at a depth of 80 fathoms or 480 ft. The pressure of this depth of water is between fourteen and fifteen atmospheres, or more than any diver could bear. When therefore, (says a contemporary) we hear of an Italian inventor offering lo undertake the task, it is clear that before he is allowe.l to commence operations the feasibility of his plan should bo rigorously investigated. No donbt there is a possibility of success if (he means employed be adequate for the purpose, and if those be fully explained it will be easy to arrive at a correct estimate of the chances of the work being accom plishe-J. It may be that the requisite connection bewteen the wreck and tboie employed on the work of «alvnge may be nccompHnhed by sweeping the bottom with chain*, or by a sort of dredging operation. The Royal George went down m quite shallow water, and very strenuous efforts Were made to float her, but they all prored unsmiling. And yet «he was only a wooden rcanel of comparative moderate displacement She was the first wreck upon which modern direr* were employed, and jrf (her could nc» complied nothing beyond sending up the gun* one at a lime. The raictng of the Victoria will be the biggest job of the kind ever taken in hand, and there will bo niach curiosity as to the mere commencement of operations. Inrcntors will attempt anytlnng set before thorn, but they sometimes overlook preliminary detail*, concerning which practical men will insist upon hcicg satisfied — Exchange.