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WEBVTT THEY ARE DIVERS AND THEY'REEXPLORERS, SEARCHING THE VASTOCEAN FOR OUR HISTORY.OVER THE SUMMER, THEY MADE THEFIND OF THEIR CAREERS.>> TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.THIS ONE IS THE BIG ONE. MIKE C: IN 2014, GRANITE STATERSJEFF GOODREAU AND RYAN KING,PLUS 5 OTHERS, BEGAN LOOKING FORTHE S.S. WILLIAM H. MACHEN, ASTEAMSHIP WHICH CARRIED COALFROM VIRGINIA TO MAINE.IT SANK IN 1942, ABOUT 15 MILESOFF THE COAST OF PORTSMOUTH,AFTER COLLIDING WITH ANOTHERSHIP.ALL 34 CREW MEMBERS WERERESCUED, BUT THE MACHEN SUNK 300FEET BELOW THE SURFACE.>> I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF COOLSTUFF THAT'S OUT THERE UNDER THEWATER IN NEW ENGLAND, AND PEOPLEDON'T REALIZE THAT. MIKE C: THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR,AND A LOT OF PATIENCE ANDRESEARCH, THIS SUMMER, THEYFINALLY FOUND IT.>> I COULD SEE A LITTLE ROPEBELOW ME AS I'M SINKING, ANDTHAT ROPE GOT BIGGER, TURNEDINTO A PIPE, AND THEN THAT PIPETURNED INTO A BILGE GILL, ANDTHAT WAS WHEN I KNEW WE HAD ASHIPWRECK. MIKE C: ON JULY 7, THE 75THANNIVERSARY OF THE SINKING, THEWHOLE CREW EXPLORED THE MACHEN.IN ALL, THEY DID 30 DIVES, ANDSTILL ONLY EXPLORED PART OF THE360-FOOT SHIP.>> WE ACTUALLY HAVEN'T MADE ITALL THE WAY OUT FORWARD YET,BECAUSE THE WRECK IS JUST THATLARGE. MIKE C: ULTIMATELY, WHATIDENTIFIED THE SHIP WAS THESECHINA DISHES ONBOARD, BECAUSE OFTHE POCAHONTAS STEAMSHIP COMPANYLOGO.NOW, THESE DIVERS HOPE TO LEARNEVEN MORE ABOUT THE CREW.>> WE KNOW OUR STORY WITH THEWRECK, BUT WE'D REALLY LIKE TOHEAR THEIR STORY.WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE OUT THERETHAT DAY? MIKE C: IN ADDITION TO SHARINGTHE PICTURES AND ARTIFACTS, THEDIVERS HAVE ALREADY STARTED NEWJOURNEYS, LOOKING FOR OTHERSHIPWRECKS OFF THE COASTS OFMASSACHUSETTS AND MAINE.LIVE IN THE STUDIO, MIKE CRONIN,

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A piece of history has been recovered off the coast of Portsmouth, 75 years after it sank.The divers who found the wreck over the summer said they work closely as a team, sharing in their passion for diving and unlocking the traces of the past that have been mostly forgotten.>> Download the FREE WMUR appIn 2014, Jeff Goodreau of Rindge and Ryan King of Brentwood began a project with five others to search for the S.S. William H. Machen, a steamship which carried coal from Virginia to Maine.“Top of the mountain. This one is the big one,” said Goodreau said.All 34 crew members were rescued when the Machen collided with another ship about 15 miles off the coast of Portsmouth in 1942, but the ship sank 300 feet below the surface.“I mean there's a lot of cool stuff that's out there under the water in New England, and people don't realize that,” King said.Through trial and error, along with a lot of patience and research, the team finally found the shipwreck over the summer.“I could see a little rope below me as I'm sinking, and that rope got bigger, turned into a pipe and then that pipe turned into a bilge gill and that was when I knew we had a shipwreck,” Goodreau said.The whole crew explored the Machen on July 7, the 75th anniversary of the sinking.They performed a total of 30 dives and still only explored part of the 360-foot ship. “We actually haven't made it all the way out forward yet because the wreck is just that large,” King said.Ultimately, they identified the ship by china dishes with the Pocahontas Steamship Company logo found onboard The team said they hope to learn even more about the crew.“We know our story with the wreck, but we'd really like to hear their story. What was it like to be out there that day?” King said.The divers have shared pictures and artifacts from their discovery, and they've already started new journeys looking for other shipwrecks off the coasts of Massachusetts and Maine.