Interludes Hotel Scarborough

John Paul Jones - Founder of the U.S. Navy . . .

The Ocean Technology Foundation and the U.S. Naval Historical Center, have co-operated in a project to search for the remains of John Paul Jones’ warship "Bonhomme Richard" in the North Sea near Scarborough this summer.

Historical Background

On 23rd September 1779 Jones fought British frigate "Serapis" in the North Sea. By sailing in close and lashing his vessel to the British ship he fought at point-blank range. During the fight two of his cannon burst, and the British captain asked Jones if he was ready to surrender. Jones' much quoted reply was "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight." The American crew finally boarded and captured the "Serapis" and from its deck they watched the "Bonhomme Richard" sink into the North Sea.

Update

On 17th August 2006 the Scarborough Evening News reported that OTF had chartered a larger survey vessel as time & money for the project were running out because the project had been delayed by strong winds.

In the Summer of 2007 OFT made more progress toward the goal of locating the remains of the Bonhomme Richard. In spite of some adverse weather conditions and the relatively short three days at sea, the cruise was very productive in that two of our five previously identified targets as being the Bonhomme Richard were discounted.

Other groups are searching for the wreck. These are Filey Underwater Research Unit and the American writer Clive Cussler who has made several visits to the Coast.

OTF is currently looking for sponsors for a new project in 2008.

Links

• The Ocean Technology Foundation
• Filey Underwater Research Unit
• Clive Cussler