The value of licensees To Maritime Heritage Bob Peacock Licensee

2. The value of licensees To Maritime Heritage Bob Peacock Licensee Stirling Castle, Restoration, and Northumberland

3. What Is a Licensee? • Someone who cares about Maritime Heritage. • Someone who is passionate about Maritime Heritage. • Someone who takes a responsible attitude to managing their individual sites.

4. What are the benefits of being a Licensee? • ? • Many Licensee’s are becoming disillusioned with expectations placed upon them. • Reduction of personal bank balance. • For example the personal cost to attend this meeting are listed below. • Arranging cover at work £220 • Accommodation £269 • Travelling £120 • Meals £50 • Total £659

5. The benefit to the nation • Free site monitoring • Free survey work • Free recording • Cost to nation if funded at professional rates would be £30,000-£60,000 • With 57 licensee that is a saving of 1.7 million- 3.4 million per year that licensee are contributing to marine heritage.

6. Seadive Stirling Castle Site Plan 1999 -2003 4 seasons diving - Tape measurements 530 hours - personal cost £5000 Wessex Archaeology Bow section 2 seasons using diver tracking. Checking existing data 40 hours. Government cost £65,000?

7. Problems with multiple Licences • I do not have a problem working with multiple licences. I have worked with ADU and Wessex for the last 14 years. there are only 2 wrecks with multiple licence's. • However, my opinion is: • They should only be issued to divers who have some archaeological training. • Or have some of their team who are present, to have some archaeological training. • After being a sports diver for 16 years and now with 14 years as an archaeological diver I can speak from experience

8. Problems with a multiple licence • Last season a multiple licence was issued, against my advice to a BSAC sports diving club. • I received an e-mail on a Thursday from the club, stating that they were diving Saturday. Not asking if it was ok. Just Telling me. • This was the same weekend as ADUS were conducting survey work on the site. • Problems did not come to fruition as the weather precluded any diving. • However, if the weather had been favourable! Which licensee was in the right to have access to the site?

9. Each Protected site has different merits • Some sites lend themselves to become visitor attractions. • These have easy access, clear water and a site of a non-sensitive nature. • Other sites do not lend themselves to visitor participation. • Recently the BBC Coast programme’s RIB was rescued by lifeboats from the Goodwin Sands – revealing how dangerous this area can be.

10. I have run 4 Operation Man o War’s with a maximum of 26 divers in the water at one time.

11. Running projects that trained divers can take advantage of is time consuming! • In my area, there is only a maximum of a 50 dives in one season. Therefore, this can take up a large amount of the possible diving season. • With increasing ‘Health and Safety’ demands the onus should not be on the un-paid licensee – I for one am not prepared to be responsible for other divers visiting the sites .

12. However, if the consensus is to give particular divers access to sites: with marine archaeologies being declined licences on some sites and sports dives being granted on others. • Maybe, it is time to re-think the way we protect our sites? • Although sites are protected on paper they are not protected from the elements! • Maybe, it is time to de-designate some sites?

13. Seadive After 26 years the protection of wreck act has failed in its protection of the Stirling Castle

14. Seadive • Comparison of rudder from 1999-2006

15. Seadive The wreck site has even put up its own MemorialR.I.P Rest In Pieces

16. If this happened there would be a public out cry

17. Seadive • Contact on • E-Mail Tusker2@tiscali.co.uk