Missione Velella stems from the desire of A.N.M.I. (Association of Italian Mariners), Castellabate Group, to commemorate the 51 persons who lost their lives when the vessel was sunk, by means of a video reportage and the recovery of a symbolic part of the wreck to be used for the construction of a “Monument to the Memory”.

The VELELLA’s fateful last mission started on September 7, when together with ten other boats it sailed off to form a barrier of submarines in the Lower Tyrrhenian, to oppose the imminent Allied landing at Salerno. But after its departure from Naples, nothing further was heard of it. British records consulted after the end of the war established that the VELELLA was torpedoed by the British submarine SHAKESPEARE at about 20.00 on the 7th, off Punta Licosa, south of Salerno, at latitude 40°15’N and longitude 14°30’E (N.B. GPS coordinates incorrect as revealed by the exact location detected in May 2003).
Not a single survivor.

And to think that the armistice, proclaimed the following day, had already been signed on September 3; but unbeknown to the Italian Navy!
The research we are conducting for the sponsors is necessary to support the whole project which has so far been financed just by the members of the ANMI of Castellabate who have themselves footed the bill to find the precise location of the wreck and to make the first 5 dives for “documentation” purposes, so as to find out the real possibilities of proceeding with the full project.Objective of the program
The Team, in close cooperation with the A.N.M.I. group, is working on a project, which has already reached an advanced stage of definition, subdivided into three separate phases. An initial phase, aimed at verifying in situ the instrumental situation. This phase, preparatory to the expedition properly so termed, took place in July, when a total of 5 exploratory dives were made by Rizia Ortolani, Edoardo Pasini (Technical Trainer), and Carlo Berti. These dives enabled the state of the wreck to be assessed and a few minutes of video shots to be taken. The subsequent analysis of the data collected allowed a careful evaluation to be made of the environmental conditions (visibility, currents, presence of nets, etc.) which will permit us to arrange a more precisely targeted and accurate organization for the project proper. The second phase will involve all the members of the team (which has not yet been fully defined), and it will have solely documentary purposes. Dives will be carried out only for making video shots and taking photographs. The third and final phase, which will have to be agreed with and authorized by the General Staff of the Navy, will aim at recovering a significant part of the wrecked ship. This will be the most delicate part of the mission and the one which at the moment contains most unknown factors. The particular historical and human story of the “Velella” and the deeply symbolic significance of the mission are condensed in this aspiration.

Following the various phases of the expedition, articles will be published in specialized and other journals, and conferences will be organized, open to the public, to present the video films and the photos taken, and to thank the sponsors who participate.
In this period of preparation several articles have already appeared, speaking about the Missione Velella, in various magazines and also in the newspapers all over Italy.

Who we are
Underwater divers expert in deep water operations and on wrecks form part of the team. The following are the present members of the team which will eventually comprise 8 persons
Rizia Ortolani, Recreation Instructor and technical skin-diver, world record holder for the deepest wreck dive by a woman (-145m), team leader, translator of manuals and author of a number of articles on diving for wrecks.
Luigi Casati, Speleo Trainer, expert in speleo dives and deep-water immersions, with experience of explorations in the most important European caves.
Fabio Pajoncini, Technical Workshop Trainer, expert in deep-water operations and underwater video operator.
Carlo Berti, Technical skin-diver, expert in deep-water operations, underwater video operator.
Apart from the above persons, other collaborators will take care of the on-shore photographs and filming, medical assistance, logistics and assistance at sea.

Sponsoring opportunities
Being able to undertake dives of this type means having attained a very high technical level as skin-divers; the equipment that will be necessary must all be of high quality and extremely reliable, tried and tested to reach great depths, and thus of the highest technical level. For an immersion of some 140 meters everything has to be of the best, everything must be programmed and tested, everything must work to perfection, improvization is out of the question, everything has to be defined beforehand.
Compressors, cylinders, gas, mixtures, must be prepared and checked with the utmost care, just as the regulators must be highly professional and tested for the great depths we will have to tackle, the lights, the cameras and the video equipment, all the apparatus will be top level to enable us to obtain as much material as possible to document what remains of this part of Italian history that has lain on the seabed for more than 60 years.

Missione Velella offers an excellent opportunity to sponsor an underwater and moral event of outstanding importance. The human significance of the Expedition, its ultimate object, the particular features of the wreck, the high standard of the members of the expedition and the technical importance of the immersion make this a unique event in the history of Italian skin-diving. For the first time dives will be made for the purpose of paying homage to an important part of Italian history, to the memory of 51 young men who died almost as a mockery of fate, but who live on in the remembrance of their relations who meet every year on September 7th at Castellabate for the annual commemoration. The depth at which the wreck lies, approximately 145 meters, makes it probably the deepest Italian wreck, creating also an interest for the sporting enterprise that is so far unique.

Lastly, the Team Leader is a young woman, another aspect that is absolutely unique in Italy for events of this kind. It is indeed the first time that a woman has dived down to a wreck at such great depths, remaining there for a significant time to carry out exploration, on a par with her male colleagues.

We are seeking sponsors both in the “underwater” market and in other sectors, offering each one an opportunity of exclusive sponsoring in its specific sector. Stickers, caps, T-shirts and other items of clothing will be used as a publicity support. The trademark logos will appear very visibly in the photographs and videos, and will be displayed in all the interviews, press releases, letters and articles, Internet pages and both public and private presentations and conferences, in order to guarantee the maximum spread for the names of the sponsors.
Clearly, the publicity coverage will not be limited solely to the “underwater” market, but will also be of interest to the general public.
Real-time updating of the Internet this site, which has been active since June 2003, will provide, throughout the expedition, a report on the events of this “Mission” and will enable all, skin-divers and others, to directly follow what is going on.

It has been demonstrated that an underwater expedition of high historical, human and technical level can be a great opportunity of sponsoring, with extensive coverage in the mass-media.

Contact us if you are interested!

 

Pagina Principale	La spedizione	Diario della Spedizione	Galleria delle Foto
Preparazione	Team	Sponsor	Rassegna Stampa

info@velella.it

Updated March 10, 2004

 © 2003 Rizia Ortolani/Missione Velella - Tutti i diritti riservati.
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