Sarba has produced a limited-edition print of this spectacular painting, the sales of which will benefit the efforts to preserve the Hunley . Those on deck keep watch for a newfangled contraption that could travel underwater. The night is clear and moonlit, the seas calm. But it is not a porpoise, it is the H. L. Hunley . Minutes later, an explosion rocks the Housatonic , and she begins to sink fast.
Men clamber over the side, into the water and into launches that have been cleared from the ship.
One is sent to the nearby Canandaigua to summon assistance. This was the pre-arranged signal the submarine's crewmen were to give to let those on shore know she was safe. But the Hunley never made it back to port. 6 August 2000, Conservation Laboratory, Charleston, South Carolina Underwater explorer and best-selling author Clive Cussler and his companions stand in front of what looks like just another nondescript warehouse at the old Charleston Naval Shipyard. They are met outside by Paul Mardikian, Senior Conservator, and Dr. Robert Neyland, Project Manager.