Devon diver discovers silver ducatoons in 1727 The way we were
IN 1715 a respectable wool merchant from Newton Abbot in Devonshire named John Lethbridge, 39, fell upon hard times. Trade was slack and he had a wife and many children to support. In an attempt to mend his fortunes, he invented “a machine to recover wrecks lost in the sea”.
After practical experiments in his garden pond, he designed a barrel-shaped “diving engine” and commissioned a 1.8m wooden prototype.
The barrel, reinforced with iron hoops, contained a small glass porthole at eyelevel and two holes with leather sleeves for his arms. Oiled leather cuffs above his elbows provided a supposedly water-tight seal, and the device was safe to a depth of 18m.
Once Lethbridge was inside, the contraption was sealed and two small air holes were closed with stoppers. He lay on his stomach while the barrel was lowered from a small ship by means of a crane. He could use his arms to send rope signals to trusted companions who were also responsible for overseeing the raising of the salvage.
Lethbridge breathed the air in the barrel until it became stale (about 30 minutes) and would then be hauled to the surface for a quick refill. The two stoppers were removed and fresh air was pumped in by means of bellows. He would then descend for another session and could prolong his dive for up to six hours.
He was exposed to claustrophobia, turbulence, cramped conditions, water pressure on his forearms and low temperatures on a regular basis, not to mention danger from underwater obstacles and continual water seepage.
However, he was calm and composed by nature and soon became adept at using his cumbersome equipment.
His range of movement was limited, but he was extremely successful and continued to dive on coastal wrecks until past the age of 70, despite surviving five near-drowning experiences.
This was the man, probably with a marked Devon accent, who worked for the English and Dutch East India companies in different parts of the world.
He and his team arrived in Table Bay in 1727 to examine the wrecks of the Rotterdam and the Zoetigheid, lost in 1722.
The whole population – officials, merchants, soldiers, burghers, workers and slaves – would have taken a keen interest in the proceedings, for their livelihoods all depended in some way upon the sea.
The divers were treated with deference and lodged in the castle with the unpopular governor, Pieter Gijsbert Noodt, who died unexpectedly in 1729.
During the next few months the Englishmen brought up 200 silver bars and seven cannon from the Rotterdam and 2 000 silver ducatoons from the Zoetigheid.
Early the following year, they dived on the wreck of the Meresteijn, lost off Jutten Island in Saldanha Bay in 1702, but were foiled by dangerous sea conditions.