California Wreck Divers, Inc.
Presents Its 49th Annual Banquet featuring:

     Rich Abele

Join us in welcoming global adventurer, Rich Abele, as he presents the search and discovery of the submarine USS Grunion (SS-216), lost in the early days of World War II. Under the command of Rich Abele’s cousin, LCDR Mannert L. Abele, the sub was on its first wartime patrol off Kiska in the Aleutian Islands when it encountered a Japanese cargo ship. During the ensuring torpedo attack and surface engagement, the sub went down, never to surface again. Commander Abele had three sons who spent decades searching for information about this encounter and the whereabouts of their dad’s submarine. In 2006, an initial search by side-scan sonar revealed a possible image of the sub and in 2007 a more thorough search was undertaken using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). Rich was on this expedition and will tell us about the Grunion’s discovery and explore the possible reasons for its loss. This is a presentation that you will not want to miss.

Rich Abele is a is a retired US Navy captain and served two tours of duty in Vietnam and later commanded a minehunter. As a world traveler, he has visited all seven continents at least five times including over 200 countries and remote destinations. Currently he is a tour guide aboard the museum battleship USS Iowa. Note that this will be a special meeting on board the S.S. Lane Victory in San Pedro and includes admission to the museum ship from 9 AM to 4 PM.   Mark your calendars and don’t miss this exciting presentation!