What a drag.  A big shoot we had planned today has been scrapped, and my crew and I are driving back to New York City from Providence, Rhode Island, right now.  It’s a 4 hour drive (with no traffic), which we had just made yesterday afternoon.  The drive is actually pretty nice, with lots of lofty trees that line the highway, making for a continuous streak of green to your left and to your right for the entire drive.    Our mission: was to be in place with our cameras today to watch the raising of the Juliet 484 out of the Providence harbor, as a follow up to a story we brought you last August when we came to the scene to film some of the salvage mission underway. 

Here she is, well, at least the top of her in this picture to the left.  The former Soviet cruise missile submarine K-77, turned Russian Sub Museum sank to the bottom of the silt and sand of the Providence River last April during a powerful Nor’easter which devoured the submarine.  

The Department of Defense came to the aid of museum operators to help deflect some of the costs of trying to bring her back to the surface, in exchange for the golden opportunity to train divers on a sunken submarine so close to the shore in relatively shallow waters.  A win win for everyone.  This shot here to the right shows the ship Navy and Army divers have been using for it’s platform to put divers in the water. 

This operation has been no easy task.  You know what it feels like to have your shoe stuck in the mud? Well, imagine having a 282 foot-long, 30 ton boot wedged into the gunk and try to pull it out.  That’s what the military has been dealing with for the last several months, and today was supposed to be the big day that it all the mathmatics, engineering, and sheer manpower came together.  Nyet! 

A safety briefing was called at 8:30 this morning to go over the details of what we were about to see, and much to our surprise, and disappointmnet of the folks at the Russian Sub Museum, the mission was delayed.    We were told that last minute safety checks raised significant safety concerns, and the planned lift would have to be delayed by 48-72 hours.  

Commander Dan Shultz informed us that he made the call at 2:35a.m., and wants to replace some of the equipment being used to bring up the Juliette, like the pontoons that have been laced under the submarine with “belly bands” to help lift her up out of the water.  Moments after he said that we heard a big “POOOF” come out of the water, and the divers underneath had released one of the pontoons.  I got a picture of it after it happened, but I sure wish I had a video camera rolling on that when it happened because it looked like a big fat spout shooting out of the water with the red pontoon floating up on top of it several feet in the air. 

Frank Lennon, the director for the Russian Sub Museum on hand was disappointed, but said he has waited this long… he can wait a few more days.  The big question remains- will the sub be able to return to it’s glory days as a museum that once attracted tens of thousands of tourists?  We’ll be in contact with the crew over the next few days and will let you know what happens.  Stay tuned!