Page 35: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2016)

Technology has changed so rapidly in the undersea world that I feel in some ways as if we have catapulted out of one century to another. Whether it’s positioning with GPS and better satellite range, or robotic technologies such as remotely oper- ated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles, we have the ability to move more quickly and ef? ciently with less expense. tug, turned World War I supply transpor- the curve of a skull protruded, fossil- bygone steamer era like R.J. Walker, the presentations worldwide. He recalls one tation and convoy escort. Delgado soon like, from the sidewall of a trench, he re- U.S. Coastal Survey sidewheel steam- of his fondest experiences was when he learned from Gollnitz how the loss of members, tantalizingly called him to his ship (NOAA’s predecessor organization) became the “talking head” and archaeol-

Jones had taken a huge emotional toll on future path. He rescued more than 100 and Titanic. ogist on the popular National Geograph- her mother. burials from destruction as well as many Delgado actually made a trip to the ic documentary TV series The Sea Hunt-

It was a special career-de? ning mo- artifacts. The skeletal remains were re- unsinkable passenger liner in 2000 in a ers, which ran from 2001-2006, with a ment for Delgado, who, very early on, buried by the Ohlone descendants. Later, Mir submersible. Then in 2010 as chief global audience of hundreds of millions.

had ambitions to become an astronaut. beginning in his junior high school years, scientist, he worked with a team of sci- Now, as he approaches the age of 60,

But that all changed when he was intro- he began working with local archaeolo- entists responsible for documenting the Delgado has been steadily handing the duced to archaeology and history at age gists, and at age 20, joined the National wreck; together they created the ? rst-ev- baton to the next generation of histori- 10. Park Service. There, he learned to scuba er 3-D map of her tangled and scattered ans, archaeologists and shipwreck ex-

Just four years later, growing up near dive while working as an historian and remains. Preserving Titanic’s legacy for plorers. The man who has spent more the Santa Teresa foothills in San Jose, archaeologist for the National Park Ser- future generations is, like all the work than 43 years immersed in the world of

California (now famed as “Silicon Val- vice in San Francisco. he’s involved in, ensuring that the stories underwater archaeology says his work ley”), the 14-year-old with a love of the Not surprisingly, his career has taken and the archaeological records live on. never gets old.

past, talked his way on to a construction him all over the globe and to several In fact, as part of his personal decree Always on the move, a late afternoon site where bulldozers were unearthing hundred fathoms under the sea. He has to share his work with others, including phone call found him in mid-transit on the burials and artifacts of the Ohlone been part of some of the world’s most scholars and the general public, Delgado land, with a few minutes to generously people who had lived in the area thou- famous shipwreck investigations, 150 has written over 100 articles as well as give his views on the ? eld he has poured sands of years ago. and counting, that range from wrecks 36 books and nearly 100 archaeological his life’s work into.

The outline of golden-stained ribs and dating from 2,700 years ago to ships of a reports, in addition to giving numerous When Delgado began diving into the www.marinelink.com 35

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