The Niagara Divers' Association Presents
SHIPWRECKS '95
The Shipwrecks/95 event was held on March 18, 1995. The event was a total sell out with many
people on the waiting list unable to attend. The speakers that presented are outlined below.
Cris Kohl
Cris, a long time resident of the central Great LakesRegion, has been a very active and avid scuba diver
since his first exposure to diving in Bermuda in 1974.
He has written several books on diving in Ontario
including "Dive Southwestern Ontario", "Shipwreck
Tales: The St. Clair River (to 1900)", "Dive Ontario'
and his most recent venture, "Dive Ontario II", which
takes a look at many new dive sites across the
province of Ontario. He has also written many
articles on maritime history and scuba diving which
have appeared in Diver Magazine, Inland Seas,
Ontario Divers Digest, Diving Times and numerous
other publications.
Cris will be presenting two topics for us at
Shipwreck/95 including "Dive Ontario" and " The
Shipwrecks of Pt. Traverse".
Mike Fletcher
Mike is a professional diver from Port Dover,
Ontario. He has done extensive research on many
shipwrecks in Lake Erie including the steamer
Atlantic.
On a dive in September 1984 Mike identified a
shipwreck on the bottom of Lake Erie that would
change his life and provide the rest of the world
with a glimpse of our history and shipping on the
Great Lakes. This new discovery was the luxurious
steamer Atlantic. At a length of 267' and a narrow
beam she was one of the fastest and sleekest ships
on the lake. The Atlantic sank as a result of a
collision in August 1852 and although several
attempts were made to salvage her into the early
1900's none were very successful. She lay
undisturbed for many years until a positive
identification was made in 1984 by Mike. In the 10 years since the rediscovery of the Atlantic,
Mike has established the Steamer Atlantic Preservation
Project and is working diligently to try to protect this
valuable resource for future generations.
Mike will give us an update on the Atlantic and show
us the work he is doing on some recent shipwreck
discoveries in Lake Erie.
Dan Lindsay
The "Empress of Ireland" was considered to be one
of the fastest and safest ships in the Canadian trade.
The 168 metre ocean liner always made an impressive
site as she steamed her way up the St. Lawrence
River. She sank in 14 minutes, on May 29, 1914, only
two years after the Titanic, with a loss of 1015
passengers and crew members. The wreck of the
Empress of Ireland sits in over 45 metres of water
near the town of Rimouski, Quebec. It is neither easy
to get to nor easy to dive but some have ventured to
the wreck.
Dan has been diving for 22 years with 6 of those
years spent in the commercial diving industry working
as Diver- EMT, with Canadian based companies in the
Beaufort Sea, Davis Strait, and the Great Lakes. Dan is
now employed as an Electronics-Electrician by trade
but his greater love is deep water wreck exploration,
videophotography, and film making. Through his
company SeaView Imaging he has created video fromthe Red Sea, The Caribbean, and most recently a
historic production on the "EMPRESS of IRELAND".
Mark Oliphant
Mark has been involved with the planning and
coordination of the dive trips to the North Channel
near Manitoulin Island to dive on a 300' steel ore
freighter called " The North Wind". Built in 1888 ,
she saw 6 years of service in the Atlantic Ocean out
of Boston. The North Wind sank after being stranded
on Robertson Rock in 1926 and lays in 80' to 110'+
of water in the North Channel, near Clapperton. It isan impressive dive and remains in excellent shape.
Mark will share some of his experiences on diving
The North Wind and show some exciting video
footage of the wreck.
Walter Lewis
Along with his interest in scuba diving Walter Lewis
also spends a great deal of his spare time studying
Great Lakes shipping. He serves on two editorial
boards and is completing his Ph.D thesis on the first
generations of iron hulled steamboats.
"The Cornwall" survived fifty years of service down
the rapids of the St. Lawrence before she ended her
career as a salvage vessel. She was one of the most
historically significant vessels on the lakes. The
presentation on the Cornwall features dozens of
historical images and underwater slides from his
forthcoming book.
Dave Gilchrist
Dave will be presenting an informative look at the
Navy Hall Archaeological Site in the lower Niagara
River at Niagara-on- the-Lake. This area of Niagara is
rich in history and Dave is an avid historian and
accomplished underwater photographer and is
keenly interested in the preservation of this unique
site.
Jim Garrington and Jim Honey
As owners of Discovery Dive Charters, Jim and Jim
will take a look at some of the shipwrecks in the
eastern end of Lake Erie. Through an audio/video
presentation we will see familiar dive sites as well
as video footage on some new shipwreck sites,
including a still unidentified schooner.
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