| Subject: |
|
Richie Kohler & John Chatterton // Underwater Summit & New German U-Boat Movie. |
| Name: |
|
Dr. Laurie Borguss |
| Date Posted: |
|
Sep 9, 06 - 9:13 AM |
| Email: |
|
laurie_borguss@yahoo.com |
| Website: |
|
http://,1 |
| Message: |
|
Kohler and co-host John Chatterton are best known for their discovery of a German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey (the subject of an upcoming movie) and innovative new theories about the sinking of the Titanic. But they're equally passionate about recreational diving and preserving the thousands of historical, archeologically significant shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands.
Because they're preserved in fresh water, the Great Lakes wrecks are some of the world's best, he said.
And perhaps ironically, sinking ships intentionally or "reefing," helps preserve true historic wrecks.
The new wrecks give divers a place to explore and touch without risk to an archeological treasure, he said. Swimming the corridors of a sunken ship also is great fun, no matter what your experience level.
The co-hosts of History Channel's "Deep Sea Detectives" were in West Grand Traverse Bay on Friday, swimming around an old fishing boat that sits about 20 feet down. But their goal wasn't to showcase a ship-related mystery; instead, they came to point out some undiscovered potential at the state's first annual Underwater Tourism Summit.
Some 18-20 shipwrecks have been discovered in Grand Traverse Bay, but organizers of a proposed new Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve believe there are hundreds more wrecks beneath the bay and millions of dollars in tourism money in their potential exploration.
State Sen. Michelle McManus and an aide to Carl Levin were two of the divers who swam with the TV celebs, who later were to regale a $75-a-plate dinner crowd with shipwreck exploration tales as a way to help raise money the preserve.
"We want to form the 12th underwater preserve in the state of Michigan with the ultimate goal of sinking a ship on purpose," said Richie Kohler, host of the popular History Channel dive show.
Acquiring a ship and readying it for sinking could cost up to $100,000.
Tickets for the dinner and dive should raise about $10,000 toward the proposed preserve, said Greg MacMaster, the president and executive director. That's a fraction of what it will take to acquire, clean up and sink two ships, he said.
The first ship would be part of a pilot project and include sensors to monitor the impact on marine life and water quality; the second would be a larger dive attraction like a car ferry.
But the weekend event also is designed to help generate excitement about dive tourism and gather officials from around the region to discuss the potential and hurdles of such a venture. Sinking a ship off the coast of San Diego brought 10,000 divers and $5 million in tourism revenue to that city annually, MacMaster said. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
Forum