Searching for the wreck of HMS Ark Royal

Mike Rossiter's account of the October 2002 search begins with a hazardous transfer from a small tender to Rig Supporter in rough seas. The survey team was reluctant to enter harbour because time and fuel costs were tight, leaving the passengers to climb a rope ladder between moving vessels. Rig Supporter carried an autonomous underwater vehicle, extensive computing equipment, and the staff needed for surveying far from port. Ark Royal's blueprints and photographs provided dimensions and recognizable features against which the team could test the sonar target. The original search area came from the board-of-inquiry records, but the promising object lay outside it. Historical reconstruction and modern surveying had to work together before the object could be identified.