Unseen by the public for 269 years, the greatest warship from the age of  sail can now be visited through the world’s first virtual wreck dive trail. HMS Victory sank during a ferocious storm on 5 October 1744. Remains washed up on the Channel Isles, leading the Admiralty and modern historians to seek this First Rate English flagship off the Casquets. This  great maritime mystery was solved when Odyssey Marine Exploration – a world leader in deep-sea archaeological research – discovered the wreck 100 kilometres west of the Channel Isles. The wreck site is owned by the Maritime Heritage Foundation following a gift from the Ministry of Defence in January 2012.

Located in the western English Channel, 80 kilometres southeast of Plymouth and outside UK territorial waters, the wreck of the Victory is almost inaccessible. Her remains lie in 75 metres – beyond safe diving depths and beneath one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Changing tides and strong currents make diving by humans dangerous. Offshore fishing boats drag heavy gear across the seabed. For safety reasons the surveys conducted since 2008 have relied on  Odyssey’s 7-ton Remotely-Operated Vehicle Zeus, the world’s most sophisticated archaeologically tooled robot.

Now everyone can share the warship’s deep-sea wonders. The Victory Virtual Dive Trail presents high-definition video coverage. Visitors can move across the wreck – using a bird’s eye vertical view made up of 4,535 digital photographs – to micro views of the wreck and, in turn, to high- definition video taken in 2008.

The video trail shows many of the Victory’s most prized features – its 100 bronze cannon collapsed onto the seabed (including Europe’s most powerful 42-pounder guns), hull remains, wood and bronze rigging, iron ballast, anchors and the ship’s rudder. Accompanying text sets the archaeological remains in a historical setting.

The site’s survival is threatened by many environmental and human issues and the Virtual Dive Trail shows snagged fishing gear, heavily scratched cannon, and guns dragged up to 230 metres away from the wreck mound. Video captures the position of a 24-pounder bronze cannon before it was looted by Dutch salvors in 2011.

The Victory Virtual Dive Trail is part of the Maritime Heritage Foundation’s commitment to making this deep-sea site accessible to everyone through scientific and educational programmes. The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage encourages non- intrusive access to shipwrecks worldwide to create public awareness, appreciation, protection and to benefit sustainable economic development. This is why a virtual dive trail has been created to bring the site to the people.

The Victory Virtual Dive Trail has been developed by the Maritime Heritage Foundation, Odyssey Marine Exploration and Wreck Watch Int. The website platform and its additional sections on the historical and archaeological background of HMS Victory can be visited at: www.victory1744.org.

About Victory (1744)

The direct predecessor to Admiral Nelson’s flagship bearing the same name, the First Rate HMS Victory commanded by Admiral Sir John Balchin was one of the most technically advanced ships in the world when she disappeared on 5 October 1744. Built with three decks and carrying up to 110 bronze cannon, she was the last British First Rate armed entirely with highly prestigious   bronze guns. The Victory is the only archaeologically investigated First Rate English warship wreck discovered worldwide. Project Designs and Management Principles have been presented to HM Government seeking agreement to conduct a joint research and rescue oriented project on the wreck site, in the first instance to record and recover artefacts at immediate risk.

About the Maritime Heritage Foundation

The Maritime Heritage Foundation is a Charitable Trust established to locate, excavate, recover, raise, restore and/or preserve shipwrecks for the benefit of the United Kingdom. It was gifted the remains of the Victory by a deed of the Ministry of Defence in January 2012. Its Chairman, Lord Lingfield, is a relative of Admiral Sir John Balchin, who was the commander of the Victory when she sank in 1744. The Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee is directed by Dr. Margaret Rule, former director of the Mary Rose excavations and recovery.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) is engaged in deep-ocean exploration using innovative methods and state-of-the-art technology for historic shipwreck projects, modern commodity shipwreck projects and mineral exploration. Odyssey offers various ways to share in the excitement of deep-ocean exploration by making shipwrecks and artefacts available to the general public, students, and specialists through its virtual museum, exhibitions, loans to established museums, books, television and educational programme located at  www.OdysseysVirtualMuseum.com. The company maintains a Facebook page at  http://www.facebook.com/OdysseyMarine and a Twitter feed @OdysseyMarine. For additional details on Odyssey Marine Exploration, please visit www.shipwreck.net.

About Wreck Watch Int.

Wreck Watch Int. is a London-based consultancy specializing in global maritime heritage. With a booming demography and coastal development, marine construction, fisheries, sport divers, shipwreck explorers, looters and the cutting of oil pipelines and cable lines are exerting ever- increasing pressures on shorelines and offshore waters. Directed by Dr. Sean Kingsley, Wreck Watch casts a spotlight on the threats to shipwrecks in deep and shallow waters and on submerged harbours. A central objective is to bridge academic research, the private sector, industry and the general public for purposes of mainstream education, understanding and entertainment and to make the underwater world a demystified, non-exclusive realm accessible to all. For additional details on Wreck Watch Int., please visit www.wreckwatch.com and blog.wreckwatch.com.