Jim and his wife Pat have been diving for 24 years and are coauthors of the “Shipwrecks of Sanilac” and “Sole Survivor“. Jim has been a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain for the last 14 years, and runs a dive charter boat out of Lexington, Michigan. Pat is a marine artist and computer graphics professional. Jim is the past president of the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council and both he and Pat are on the board of directors for the Lake Huron Shipwreck and Maritime Center. Currently, Jim teaches high school math and science and Pat is an elementary teacher.
Jim and Pat along with Tim Juhl have formed Out of the Blue Productions. Their goal is to locate and video shipwrecks so others can enjoy “taking a step back in time”. The group has discovered and documented eight new Shipwrecks. Their work has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and they have been interviewed by CBC-Radio. Out of the Blue Productions, also puts on “Shipwrecks Remembered”, the second largest shipwrecks show in the midwest.
Multimedia Encyclopedia of Nautical Terms
Deadeye, forecastle, helm: what does all this sailor’s jargon mean? If you are not sure come take a plunge into the pages of a quick moving video encyclopedia. This program comes complete with underwater footage of parts of ships and descriptions of their functions.
Wrecks of Truk Lagoon
On February 16, 1944 the U.S. Navy launched Operation Hailstorm, catching the Japanese fleet in Truk Lagoon by surprise and destroying over 400 aircraft and 50 warships. Join the Out of the Blue Productions dive team as they venture deep within these massive ships filming tanks, trucks and planes. The team will take you on a underwater tour of W.W.II warships, complete with live ammunition and sake bottles.
