Niagara Divers Shipwrecks
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 …
SHIPWRECKS/2022 The Niagara Divers’ Association will present its 28th Annual Shipwrecks Symposium, “Shipwrecks/2022” on Friday April 15 and Saturday, April 16, 2022. This year in response to Covid-19 we will be holding a Streaming event instead of our usual in person location at Centennial High School, 240 Thorold Road, Welland, Ontario. The event is free …
JILL HEINERTH is an underwater explorer, writer, photographer, speaker, and filmmaker. A pioneer of technical rebreather diving, she has led expeditions into icebergs in Antarctica, volcanic lava tubes, and submerged caves worldwide. Jill is the first Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Her memoir, INTO THE PLANET, has been lauded by the Wall Street …
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 our unique inland-sea …
Cal Kothrade is an award-winning underwater photographer and maritime artist, as well as a published dive travel writer, specializing in the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes. His hauntingly beautiful photos have appeared in magazines, books, and on TV. Through his art, photos, and public presentations he introduces others to the wondrous submerged cultural resources of …
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. …
Kayla Martin is a fourth-year student of Water Science and Environmental Health (BSc) at Wilfred Laurier University. She launched her diving career at thirteen years of age and has logged hundreds of dives exploring historic shipwrecks and beautiful coral reefs. Kayla is active in Great Lakes conservation and education efforts. She studies invasive species and …
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 …
Roger Roth is a former science teacher and has been diving and filming underwater since 1988. He’s earned nine international first-place awards for underwater video production and has authored dozens of educational videos for schools and educational outreach programs around the world. He has also authored dozens of promotional videos for scuba diving destinations around …
April 1st, 2022 Update – We are sorry to announce that David Trotter will be unable to present David Trotter has been involved in Great Lakes shipwreck searching, diving, exploration, and documenting new discoveries for 35+ Years. In solving “History’s Mysteries” he has made significant contributions to the history of our Great Lakes and provided …
Chris Foisey is Canada’s newly elected PADI AmbassaDiver and is a certified Instructor, technical diver and cave diver who for over 10 years has worked at Canada’s oldest PADI facility Dan’s Dive Shop. For 5 years in a row, he has received his PADI Elite Instructor award for actively creating and further developing divers. For …
New for Shipwrecks 2022 Niagara Divers will be offering Saturday Morning Workshops. All workshops will run at the same time. The Workshops will be recorded and available for 3 weeks after the show, so if you can’t decide signup for more than one and watch one live and another after the show.
Jill Heinerth, the co-author of Sidemount Profiles, will offer a 3-hour interactive sidemount workshop suitable for new and experienced sidemounters. From gear configuration, to safety, Heinerth will share tips from the field so that you can perfect your trim and performance. Recognizing that many people learn to sidemount in warm water environments, Heinerth will offer special support …