Shipwrecks And Scuba

Sawmill Creek Resort & Lodge, 400 Sawmill Creek Drive West, Huron, OH 44839

November 19, 2011
Shipwrecks & Scuba
Featuring Black Beard the Pirate's Flagship, Queen Ann's Revenge

The Pirate and the Wheelsman
Sea stories, shipwrecks, and more!

Evening Banquet Program: 6:30pm - 9:30pm: $35.00

Ric Mixter: The Wheelsman -- Experience four shipwrecks through the eyes of the men who were at the helm. Len Gabrysiak wheeled the Cedarville when it was cut down in a thick fog in the Mackinac Straits in 1965. Lloyd Belcher was one of the 17 men rescued from the Novadoc, lost in Lake Michigan’s Armistice Day storm of 1940. Helmsman Ray O’Malley was only at the wheel for a few second when a mysterious explosion sank the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Escanaba with 100 of its crew. Revisit the loss of these vessels, and take a harrowing ride through the Great Storm of 1913 as Ed Kanaby reflects on the tempest that he and his ship survived only because he beached his ship in lower Lake Huron. In keeping with he award winning nature of his impressive body of work, Ric brings these tragedies to life first-hand and from a point of view not usually recorded.

Chris Southerly: Blackbeard's Flag Ship: The Queen Anne's Revenge -- In November 1717, English pirates captured the French slave-ship La Concorde near the island of Martinique. Led by the notorious Blackbeard, the pirates converted La Concorde into their flagship and renamed the vessel Queen Anne's Revenge. After spending the winter searching for prizes in the Caribbean the pirate fleet consisting of Queen Anne's Revenge and three smaller sloops, blockaded the port of Charleston in May 1718. Continuing up the coast, Blackbeard lost his flagship while attempting to enter Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina and five months later he was killed in a bloody battle at Ocracoke. The wreck was discovered in 1996 and Archeological field work began on this historic site in 1997. Chris Southerly began work on the Queen Ann's Revenge in 2000 and has been the lead Project Archaeologist/Divemaster since 2002.

Morning Workshop: 9:30am - 11:30am $25.00

Afternoon Programs: 1:00pm - 4:00pm $15.00

Deep Six,               details
Ric Mixter
This high flying, wreck diving adventurer has thrilled television viewers around the world. Now he takes us on a fascinating journey through the six largest wrecks in the Great Lakes. Never a dull moment as Ric mixes in survivors’ eye witness accounts of the sinking. Ric's Website

The Old Davidson Shipyard & the Ghost of the Point Aux Barques Lighthouse
Wes Oleszewski
Shipbuilding, shipwrecks, light houses and ghost stories. What more could one Great Lakes author possibly pack into an afternoon program!

Great Lakes Shipwrecks through the lens
Jack Papes
Join one of the best underwater photographers on the Great Lakes as he takes us on a fabulous tour of Lake Michigan’s Western shore: Milwaukee to Sturgeon Bay.   Through the magic of Jack's photos, you'll think you are actually diving the wrecks. Jack's Website

The Magic of the Red Sea     details
Roger Roth
We all know Roger through his award winning, phenomenal underwater videography and his world renowned photo/video contest. Now, we get to dive beautiful pacific ocean shipwrecks through the lens of his video camera. Come see salt water wrecks as only Roger can show us. Roger's website and Videos.

Tilller Steered Virgin Shipwreck,
Georgann & Mike Wachter
Lake Erie's best known Shipwreck hunters invite you to come and explore their latest discovery. We'll dive the wreck and look for clues to its identity. We'll also delve into the history of the "most likely candidate" and the evolution of tiller steered schooners. Wachter's website

Ten things every diver ought to know (but probably doesn’t). What if you're on the dive vacation of your dreams, and you have an equipment malfunction!Are your dive plans toast? You’ve found the dive equipment deal of the century on the internet. Should you by it? Q&A our industry professional forum.

REGISTRATION