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John Adams

During August 1975, John, a former commercial diver and fisherman, received a call from a local skipper to free some trapped trawl gear from an obstruction on the bed of Filey Bay, little was he to know, but this call would start half a lifetime’s search and lead to an involvement with, the prestigious American Underwater Archaeologist, Donald G Shomette, National Geographic Magazine, The Submerged Cultural Resources Unit of the American National Park Service, The U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Navy and English Heritage.

On that day as he left the relatively safe world above the sea level, the light changed from light green to a darker hue until all light from the surface of the sea was unable to penetrate into the depths and he entered a world of eternal darkness. The strong light from his underwater torch lanced the stygian darkness and eventually the visibility was reduced to a few feet due to the turbidity of the water. Ever alert for the unknown hazard that could be present when diving on an unknown target, he gently felt his way down along the taught trawl warp until he reached the bottom. He swiftly located the source of the trouble and discovered that the warp was fastened, not into the rusting steel of a forgotten wreck, but the stout remains of a large timber wreck! A wooden wreck, Filey Bay, the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard? could it be?

This was the beginning of his quest for the wreck of Commodore John Paul Jones’s ship, the Bonhomme Richard  of the American Continental Navy.  The Richard  was sunk in September 1779 after a ferocious fight with the British Frigate Serapis, in which Jones captured the British ship and lost his own. This was a classic sea battle in which many British and American sailors lost their lives in horrific circumstances, gave the newly formed American State much needed prestige and allowed the much needed convoy to be saved.

John's initial discovery fuelled an intensive period of research into the loss of the Richard funded from his own resources, which was complicated by the varied and differing accounts of her loss, some of these were written many years after the loss of the vessel. Despite this, his expert knowledge of the tidal system of the area unravelled many of the clues contained in the accounts and contributed to his theory that the wreck that he has discovered is a likely candidate for the Bonhomme Richard.

In 1996 the Filey Underwater Research Unit (FURU) was formed to target resources on to the project and latterly, FURU has formed a partnership with the Filey Town’s Council under the heading of the Filey Bay Initiative (FBI) with John as the project leader.

In 1998 the BBC filmed a documentary on the project entitled Filey’s Sunken Treasure; the documentary not only focussed on the Project but projected Filey as a holiday resort to a wider audience. At this time

FURU/FBI continued to carry out independent none intrusive investigation of the wreck site whenever time and conditions allowed and this has been supplemented by larger better equipped investigations. In 2002, the Advisory Committee on Historic Wrecks placed the wreck on the Protected Wreck List to protect it against unsympathetic attention.  Divers are able to visit the site following approval of written applications to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and concurrence with the licensee, John Adams.

In 2002, an investigation funded by the National Geographic Magazine took place in Filey Bay.  The participants included a contingent of the Submerged Cultural Resources Unit of the American National Park Service, Diving Contractor Pritchard Diving Services, FURU/FBI’s nominated Archaeologist John Buglass and the Archaeological Dive Unit (ADU) of Edinburgh University.  By now, English Heritage was due to take over responsibility of underwater archaeological resources from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Filey was visited by Ian Oxley Head of Maritime Archaeology for English Heritage.  The investigation was hampered by poor underwater conditions but some headway was made.

 The 2002 investigation was not able to give conclusive identification of the wreck and on the recommendation of the Park Service, a further investigation in 2003 was funded by National Geographic Magazine.  This consisted of Pritchard Diving Services and Wessex Archaeology (who had taken over from the ADU).  Wessex Archaeology’s dive vessel developed mechanical problems so the local fishing coble Margaret (which had been restored under heritage grant aid) was pressed into service.  Poor conditions dogged the investigation and, although some headway was made regarding the investigation of the wreck’s structure, not as much progress was made as anticipated.  Wessex Archaeology did however complete some successful investigations into other aspects of Filey Bay related archaeology.

A further investigation was funded by National Geographic in 2004 and consisted of a tightly focussed team consisting of FURU/FBI, the Park Service, Pritchard Diving Services and a representative from The U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  The dive vessel was the fishing coble Margaret but despite the investigation being delayed by atrocious weather conditions, some underwater excavation was initiated which had to be abandoned.

Recent investigations have moved the project forward and in 2008, an investigation with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund grant aid was completed.

This Project is a Maritime Heritage venture, with equal importance to the United States of America and to the communities of Filey Bay. It is envisaged that if the wreck is proven to be the  Bonhomme Richard  it will serve to focus International attention on Filey and the surrounding area which will inevitably boost the tourist industry and bridge the cultures of America, Britain and France. FURU/FBI have been fortunate to benefit from the generous grant aid from the Filey Town’s Council, The Leader II initiative, National Lottery Awards for All and some private individuals who have donated funds, services, their time and support. They have also received sponsorship and support from Robin Hood Watersports of Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire and this web site is hosted by Elite Truck Bodies.

Filey Underwater Research Unit John Adams, Gary, Richard & Neil