Sterling Marlin Media Opportunity
MEDIA ALERT Sterling Marlin, driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge and Civil War buff, will visit the Hunley conservation lab in Charleston, SC on Friday, January 17. We would like to invite all media to attend. Please contact Nealie Hamilton, Chip Ganassi Racing media relations, if you are interested in touring the lab with Sterling (email: nhamilton@ganassi.com or phone: (704) 662-9642). The Hunley conservation lab is located at: Warren Lasch Conservation Center 1250 Supply Street, Bldg. 255 Former Charleston Naval Base North Charleston, SC 20405 Background information on the Hunley: On February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley became the first successful combat submarine in world history when eight men, led by Lt. George Dixon, entered an experimental vessel with a mission to sink an enemy ship, the USS Housatonic. The Hunley successfully rammed her spar torpedo into the hull of the Housatonic, causing the warship to sink within minutes. The submarine then surfaced long enough for her crew to signal their comrades on the shore of Sullivan's Island with a blue light, indicating a successful mission. But shortly after her historic achievement, the Hunley and all hands onboard vanished into the sea without a trace. That night history was made. At the same moment, a mystery was born. The Hunley became the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship. But why had she suddenly disappeared? What caused her to sink? And would she ever be found? After being lost at sea for over 130 years, the Hunley was located in 1995 by author and adventurer Clive Cussler. The Hunley again made history on August 8, 2000, by becoming the largest artifact to be recovered from the ocean floor. Once the submarine was recovered, it was brought to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Hunley - raised completely intact - is in essence a time capsule, holding the remains of the eight crewmen and a wide arrange of artifacts from the nineteenth century. One of the most fascinating was a gold coin bent from the impact of a bullet that had saved the life of the Hunley's captain, Lt. George Dixon, at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. The coin had the following inscription: Shiloh April 6, 1862 My life Preserver G. E. D. [Dixon's initials] Friends of the Hunley, a non-profit organization, is managing and raising funds to complete the excavation and conservation of the H. L. Hunley submarine. The Hunley project has received international attention and has been the subject of documentaries that aired on The History Channel and National Geographic Explorer. For more information about the Hunley, visit www.hunley.org <http://www.hunley.org> or contact Raegan Quinn at 803.799.8638. XXX Nealie Hamilton Media Relations Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates office: (704) 662-9642 x1130 cell: (704) 500-6068 nhamilton@ganassi.com