Douglas Blake Gossage

EDUCATION

Underwater Careers International, Diving Educator, Hollywood, FL- 1982 Undergraduate School, Business Major, Northern Illinois University, IL

EXPERIENCE SYNOPSIS

Mr. Gossage’s career is characterized by over 28 years of professional involvement in the underwater industries and environment. His career includes over 15 years of marine search and survey operations. He is an experienced Dive Instructor, underwater still photographer and videographer as well as an expert in sonar and magnetometer search techniques. While his experience begins in the mid 1970s, he became a professional diving educator in 1982. As an entrepreneur, he immediately became involved in the business of diving by developing his own diving training center located near the waters of the Great Lakes, in the United States. It is here that Doug certified over 1,000 individuals, in his name alone, in various levels of diving education. Doug currently continues to teach diving, including courses in underwater archaeology. In the course of leading diving expeditions across the globe and being a shipwreck diving instructor and enthusiast, Doug is an accomplished underwater still photographer as well as videographer. In this role, he has on occasion been contracted by the U.S. National television networks, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), as well as numerous cable television networks. In the more recent decade, Doug’s career has included finding numerous shipwrecks, aircraft and other high value targets with all types of sonars. In addition to sonar systems, Doug is also an experienced magnetometer operator, having operated most all types of magnetometers. As a survey technician, he has conducted thousands of miles of surveys under all types of environmental and seabed characteristics and conditions.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1984 – 1996: While simultaneously running his diving business and drawing upon his business skills, Doug began applying his business and finance skills to accumulate a personal portfolio of income properties. Being a hands on personality, Doug participated directly by completing most of the physical work in property preparation and property management himself. As part of his entrepreneurial spirit, he expanded his diving and submerged cultural resource interests in 1996 by founding and directing a survey company named BBD-Tech. BBD-Tech owned and operated survey vessels with side scan sonar systems and specialized in seabed search surveys for lost aircraft, shipwrecks, and other cultural heritage sites using various sonar, navigation systems, and magnetometers —mainly for his own company in the Great Lakes— but has also been contracted to travel abroad in order to complete side scan sonar and marine magnetometer surveys to locations such as the Bahamas, Mexico, Panama, and the Florida Keys for others. One project to note, that is not under non-disclosure limitations, is that of submerged worksite remains from the late 1800s construction of water pumping cribs in Lake Michigan, in which Doug openly shared his discoveries with the Underwater Archaeology Society of Chicago which later reported to the public on the history of the site. 1996 – 2001: Doug partnered with Crossed Anchors Salvage, a licensed and permitted sub-contractor with Mel Fisher, Inc. of Florida. Being State recognized and registered contractors with the State of Florida, he learned and practiced State recognized archaeological techniques. He worked underwater following several different shipwreck debris trails using propeller deflectors and water dredges locating and recovering scattered shipwreck debris and artifacts. These sites were less intact cultural heritage sites, as they were broken and scattered commercial cargo sites. Crossed Anchors Salvage was owned by renowned shipwreck researchers, authors, and commercial cargo rescuers Bob and Margaret Weller. Doug lectures on survey principles and techniques for now widowed, Margaret Weller, at seminars she sponsors in her popular “Follow Your Dream” series. 1999 – 2000: Doug was contracted by MCBA and Crossed Anchors Salvage to design and outfit a survey vessel with Side Scan Sonar and Magnetometer remote sensing equipment. Resultantly, he stayed on as the survey planner and lead operating technician of marine survey equipment for various projects in the Florida Keys and South America. These projects were for undiscovered shipwreck sites and debris trails associated with the shipwrecks. 2000 – Present: While Mr. Gossage self-funded most of his ongoing, real-life, practical education in marine technologies —he simultaneously grew his income property portfolio to include commercial land development and commercial property management that continues to date. This company operates under the name of Sovereign Development, LLC. 2001 – 2007: Researched and collaborated with well known and respected archival researchers, Jack Haskins and Bob Weller, to outline survey parameters to locate the last undiscovered wreck site related to the fleet loss of 1733 in the Florida Keys. Continues to lead BBD-Tech surveys. 2008: acquired a search permit, issued under the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), Florida Department of State, Florida Division of Historical Resources, and National Ocean Service. Permit is to conduct survey activities in a fifteen square mile area in the Florida Keys to search for the likely, scattered, remains of 1733 shipwreck. Personally oversaw company upgrade of Proton Magnetometer to Cesium Magnetometer which added to the inventory of instruments already owned by BBD-Tech. These activities are currently ongoing. Over the past 2-1/2 years, Doug has expanded his already extensive field experience in relation to properly capturing, processing and recognizing the different magnetic signatures given by both scattered cultural heritage debris and modern marine debris with the Cesium Magnetometer. Expanded knowledge base of magnetometer signature identification of scattered and cleaned shipwreck sites by completing field surveys at the sites of several 19th and early 20th Century shipwrecks both intact and not in Great Lakes and several 18th and 19th Century degraded shipwrecks in the Florida Keys. 2009: Funded and assisted in the field training of operators of BBD-Tech owned survey equipment assets in collaboration with associate Vince Capone, principal of Black Laser Training, an extensive military sonar and magnetometer consultant. Doug collaborated, and applied his magnetometer principles to survey software maker Chesapeake Technology Incorporated (CTI) and worked with CTI to improve their software for their magnetometer module of their SonarWizMap product. CTI is one of the leading marine survey software providers to the worldwide market. 2010 – Present: Spearheaded the development of a new company called Marine Environmental & Research Services, Inc., a non- profit Florida Corporation (MERS). Current status is as member of the Board and the President of this Corporation. MERS was formed to study the effects of iron debris on, in and around sea-grass colonies and quantify the amount of marine debris in certain areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in need of removal. Being responsible for securing operating funds, Doug co-authored with Dr. William Phoel, President and Director of Marine Science, an undersea research foundation, a NOAA grant application currently awaiting news on funding. Through MERS, Doug formed alliances and guided discussions that led to a partnership with a leading marine survey equipment manufacturer —Teledyne Marine— which together will help meet the performance requirements of the NOAA grant. Doug attended the Weller seminars and, along with another “graduate”, is currently surveying an ancient shipwreck in Malta.

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS

Professional Association of Diving Instructors, member 1982 – present Marine Archaeological and Historical Society 2010 - present