2023

SHIPWRECKS/2024 The Niagara Divers’ Association will present its 30th Annual Shipwrecks Symposium, “Shipwrecks/2024” on Saturday, April 13, 2024. This year we are excited to be back in person location at Centennial High School, 240 Thorold Road, Welland, Ontario. As in the past, we have plans for numerous multimedia presentations by both world renowned and local …

Master of Ceremonies With dozens of appearances in two countries and three states last year, Ric Mixter is certainly one of the busiest maritime speakers, rumored to be the most requested historian on the Great Lakes. Visiting museums, libraries, NASA and his live music concert “STORM”, thousands of audience members get a new appreciation for …

Kayla Martin represents the upcoming generation of shipwreck divers and since 2014 has shared her passion at conferences across North America. She promotes preserving historic shipwrecks and low-impact diving as the Heritage Ambassador for Save Ontario Shipwrecks and serves on the board of Ontario Marine Heritage Committee.She volunteers as a member of the Canadian Harvard …

Producer Yvonne Drebert and Director/Cinematographer Zach Melnick are the founders of Inspired Planet Productions. From their home on the beautiful Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula in Ontario, Canada, the husband-and-wife team have created more than 40 hours of nature and history documentary spanning two decades, including the 2021 Canadian Screen Award nominated series, Striking Balance. Driven by …

Cindy began diving the Great Lakes in the early 1990s and has over 1,000 logged dives and holds numerous dive certifications up through Advanced Nitrox. She is an Official Court Reporter for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and is a Registered Professional Reporter with the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), is a Certified Reporting …

Mike and Georgann Wachter are the authors of Erie Wrecks and Lights, Erie Wrecks East, and Erie Wrecks West, and have published a Lake Erie shipwreck chart with over 360 GPS shipwreck coordinates. They have been diving around the world since the mid 1970’s but particularly enjoy the pristine and perfectly preserved shipwrecks that lie …

David Trotter has been involved in Great Lakes shipwrecks………… searching, diving, exploration, and documenting new discoveries for 40+ years. The solving of “History’s Mysteries” has made significant contributions to the history of our Great Lakes and provided new exploration opportunities for sport and technical divers to enjoy. David has searched and discovered shipwrecks in all …

Cris Kohl and Joan Forsberg, well-known maritime historians, authors, and speakers, as well as underwater explorers, photographers, and videographers, are a husband-and-wife team who love to examine shipwrecks, particularly those in the Great Lakes. Starting with a double major in French and Russian for a diplomatic career, Joan switched to completing a degree in History. …

Walter Lewis took up diving in 1990 specifically to dive on the wreck of the CORNWALL. At Shipwrecks ‘95, he did a presentation on the wreck, which was subsequently the subject of The River Palace, co-authored with Rick Neilson and published by Dundurn Press in 2008. In the following year, he and Rick were awarded the S.O.S. Marine Heritage Award. In 2011 Walter was …

SHIPWRECKS/2023 The Niagara Divers’ Association will present its 29th Annual Shipwrecks Symposium, “Shipwrecks/2023” on Saturday, April 1, 2023. This year we are excited to be back in person location at Centennial High School, 240 Thorold Road, Welland, Ontario. As in the past, we have plans for numerous multimedia presentations by both world renowned and local …

Master of Ceremonies One of Tom’s favourite phrases is, “The more I learn, the more I learn how little I know,” from Socrates, which he finds translates perfectly into Great Lakes diving. “The more I dive the more I realize there’s more out there to discover than I ever imagined,” he said recently. Drawing on …

Jill Heinerth, Explorer-in-Residence, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society More people have walked on the moon than visited many of the places Jill Heinerth has explored on Earth. From the most dangerous technical dives deep inside underwater caves to searching for never-before-seen ecosystems inside giant Antarctic icebergs, Heinerth’s curiosity and passion for our watery planet is …

John Ratcliffe studied archaeology at Wilfrid Laurier University, and maritime archaeology at East Carolina University. Prior to joining the Parks Canada Underwater Archaeology Team (UAT) in 2021, he worked at Library and Archives Canada. John has been part of UAT field projects in Lake Superior, Labrador, and the Arctic. Closer to home, he has been …

Ken Merryman is past president and founding member of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society.  He is a retired computer engineer and a veteran speaker at scuba shows around the Great Lakes.  Ken has been an avid Great Lakes shipwreck hunter and diver for 50 plus years and operated a scuba diving charter service for …

The Stayers, Explorer Club Fellows and Boston Sea Rovers Associate Members, are well-known underwater filmmakers dedicated to sharing shipwrecks, animal behavior, and remote dive destinations around the world. Jim & Pat have discovered several shipwrecks, co-authored 3 books, produced hundreds of multimedia presentations, and their footage has appeared on numerous major networks worldwide.  They have …

2023 marks his 53rd year diving, with his initial training with the Aqua Knights of Hamilton, in 1970. He is a former ACUC,CMAS,DAN and PADI MSDT Instructor. He has been an active member of the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee(OMHC), participating in numerous archaeological programs with this group. An avid underwater photographer, his award winning photographs …