Historical: goodbye’s at the dock; Franklin towing out to sea;

Early on the morning of July 14th, from a little harbor in Palm Beach, just south of Cape Canaveral, the Ben Franklin is quietly towed from the dock and out to sea by the M/V Privateer. The Privateer will be the mother ship and act as Mission Control for the Franklin throughout her month-long dive, communicating with the crew, tracking the submersible’s position, running experiments, and coming to her aid in the event of any emergency.

At 10:30 PM, the crew closes the hatch, floods the ballast tanks, and begins the first descent. On the shake-down dive, the crew again overshoots the intended depth of 600 feet and the Franklin goes straight to the bottom, at 1673 feet. Several leaks appear, a handful of fuses blow, and the submersible loses communication with the Privateer at the surface, which in turn loses track of the Franklin. The internal temperature of the sub drops to 55 F. It’s a lot to absorb for both crew and vessel. They manage to secure the Franklin and begin to gather data.

PREVIOUS PAGE | Page 7 | NEXT PAGE