David Merbach

Dive Into the Past Show 2009

by David Merbach

On February 28, I was one of the daring few that ventured north to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society's 'Dive Into the Past' event in North Minneapolis.

John Martin, Mike Ulbrich, Roger Southwick, John Merbach and I went up Saturday for the event. I think we were the first attendees in the door - or very close to it.

As a bit of background, Dive Into the Past is a local event held by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society and was held at the AmericInn in Mounds View. There were 4 main areas for the event. One large conference room downstairs had booths for the various dive shops, charters and other local diving groups (including our own Keith Cormican from Wazee Sports). Then there was a presentation hall for the key speakers, another smaller room for classes and Discover Scuba and Discover Rebreather held in the pool. Think of it as Disney Land for divers.

The entire event was fantastic - but the standout for me was the presentations. They were all very entertaining and captivating.

The first presentation that we went to was about the first ship sunk in WWII by a submarine off the coast of Florida. The current is very high in this area and requires 'smart bomb' decents to get to the wreck. My son wants to do that one after he is certified. The presentation also covered the story of the descendants of the captain of the ship that was sunk and their reactions to the family history and recovery of some of the artifacts.

The submarine Hunley

We also learned about the checkered past of the Great Lakes States during Prohibition. However, I am blocked from posting any photos or additional information related to this portion of the event.

Ralph Wilbanks and Harry Pecorelli gave an in-depth presentation on the locating, recovery and mapping of Hunley. The Hunley is the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel and operated during the Civil War. It also killed more Southerners than Northerners – but that is another story.

Richie Kohler gave a fantastic presentation of the story behind the 'Titanic's Last Secrets' and managed to sneak in a plug for purchasing the book.

Richie and local hero, Capt Jay Hanson of Wreckreation fame, also conducted 'Discover Rebreather' sessions in the hotel pool.

We also took a quick introduction session to advanced wreck diving and learned the key issues to be aware of when starting to delve into wreck penetration.

The event really brought to life the history of the wrecks that we hear about and dive – and the camaraderie on the way to the event made for a very memorable day. However, nothing could prepare me for what would prove to be the highlight of the entire weekend.

No trip to Minneapolis is complete without a stop at Ruby Tuesday's. And now I know that no stop at Ruby's is complete without witnessing the sheer pleasure of Mike Ulbrich devouring bleu cheese crust on top of a bit of steak. It is a thing of beauty.

In case you are wondering – yes that is the actual chunk of bleu cheese crust and the steak that Mike so ravenously consumed.

Note – the quarter is there for size reference only. No quarters were consumed in the course of the meal.

Wazee Ice Dive Social

by Peter Conner

In February Wazee Sports sponsored an Ice Diving Social at Lake Wazee. The event drew 35 attendees on Saturday, most of them coming from Chicago, Wausau, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, St. Paul, and Rochester. The air temperature was a balmy 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the water temp was a chilly 39 degrees Fahrenheit. There were plenty of short sleeve shirts as well as dry suits on display.

With Three holes in the ice, and three Ice Diving classes in attendance, there was plenty of action. MDC sports had one student, Wazee sports had four, and the Sea Lions of Illinois had five Polish speaking students. Keith provided a nice lunch and a very large warming trailer.

Bob Silbaugh tried out his scooter and I think it was Tim Swanberg and Brian Lamonica tending line. They had one line on Bob and one on the scooter. By the time he came back he had released the line from the scooter.

Most of the people I talked to enjoyed two dives of at least a half an hour. The event closed around 3:30 or 4:00, with most people leaving for the weekend. To the best of my knowledge the classes resumed on Sunday and all students completed their dives.