Winter Talk 1 – The Salvage of the Century
We had our first winter talk of 2026 on Sunday 18 January, combining a fascinating talk, good food and good company.
Mike O’Meara from the Diving Museum delivered an excellent talk focusing on the amazing story of how a team of divers retrieved hundreds of gold bars from the wreck of WW2 battleship HMS Edinburgh in the deep, icy waters of the Barents Sea off Muransk.
The museum re-opens later in 2026. You can see and feel the (lead reproduction) bullion bar as well as learn more from Mike and his team about this and other diving operations. There is also a lot of information about the HMS Edinburgh operation online ( Salvage of the Century, HMS Edinburgh and Her Cargo of Gold | Alchemist | LBMA) .
The staff at O Sole Mio looked after us well, providing excellent food and the ideal location for the talk.
January days can be quite dreary, with many boats out of the water and sailing days still some way off, so it was great to have the chance to see so many friends at the talk.