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Hey, nice treasure:
The wreckage of the Aimable, a supply ship in the trio sailed by French explorer LaSalle that ran aground in 1685, was found early this month near Cavallo Pass off Matagorda Island in the Gulf. LaSalle was trying to set up a colony on the Mississippi River, but he and his 300 shipmates overshot their destination and ended up in Matagorda Bay. The Aimable, which was discovered by pinpointing sites on the ocean floor with a high concentration of iron, is six times larger than the Belle, the king ship in LaSalle’s fleet that was excavated just over a year ago. Archeologists speculate that the Aimable carried colonists and the supplies needed to start a settlement; the vessel also had two blacksmith shops on board. Still, despite knowledge that the ship is much larger than the Belle (from which more than a million artifacts were recovered), it is uncertain what exactly will be found on the ship. After complaints from officials in the Matagorda Bay region that they were kept out of the decision-making process concerning the preservation and display of the Belle’s booty, state officials agreed to cooperate with plans to exhibit the artifacts near where they were found. Until the legislature meets next year, archeologists are hoping to get private funds to help raise the Aimable, a predicted cost of over $11 million.
 Catch of the Day: A shrimper in the town of Freeport was ticketed in February for bringing ashore a bomb he caught in his nets. Fisherman Mario Koole thought he was doing the right thing -- he was afraid that dropping the rusty explosive back in the water might cause it to detonate, especially if it hit the side of his boat. But the Coast Guard would have liked to have dealt with the problem in a more remote location. As such, an Army bomb squad had to be summoned, 50 residents were evacuated, and a portion of downtown Freeport was shut down. The bomb was a WWII-era explosive discarded years ago; it was apparently floating in an area of the Gulf of Mexico -- charted for disposal on navigational maps -- that is riddled with jettisoned bombs. Admittedly, Koole was fishing in an area known to contain bombs, but also known to be unfished, and with a heavy shrimp population. This was the fifth bomb Koole had caught in a two-week period. City swimmer: Okay, so there’s lots of seaworthy news or newsworthy seas this time, but how can I pass up a dolphin swimming into downtown Houston? On Monday, March 9, this flipper took a 25-mile detour and was spotted for several hours swimming in the Buffalo Bayou under the Main Street bridge, far far away from his presumed home in Galveston Bay. According to the Houston Chronicle, the dolphin was first noticed around 7 a.m. and, after gathering quite a crowd, was cheered on to a successful seaward getaway around lunchtime. The director of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, who was on hand along with other volunteers to monitor the dolphin’s health, told the paper that the city swimmer might have been pursuing food, or may have just wandered up the bayou on accident. Early risers: Back on land here in Austin, I’ve already begun spying patches of bluebonnets coming up along the sides of the highways. And thanks to the warm days and prevalent rains brought about by El Niño, the wildflowers are apparently making preview appearances all across the state. Lovely to look at, true, but their three-week-early arrival has thrown some for a loop. In Ennis, the local festival honoring the flower is set for the weekend after Easter, and organizers are scurrying to reschedule tours; and it’s about a week too soon for Chappell Hill’s annual Bluebonnet Festival scheduled in early April. Luckily, bluebonnets stick around for about two months before going to seed. The Texas Department of Transportation’s bluebonnet hotline opens March 15, (call: 1-800-452-9292, option 2). You can also go to the National Wildflower Research Center's website, or the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. (3/18/98) |
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