2017 Speakers


Russ Green - Battle of the Atlantic: A WWII Battlefield off the North Carolina Coast

NOAA Maritime Archaeologist


Since 2008, NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with other federal, university, and non-profit partners, have systematically surveyed and interpreted North Carolina’s World War II shipwrecks from the Battle of the Atlantic. Russ will talk about this ongoing archaeological work and the exciting history it aims to uncover, a highlight of which is the […] read more...

Fred Stonehouse - Sisters in the Storm

Author, Great Lakes Maritime Historian


The Great Storm of 1913 is unparalleled in the devastation of ships and sailors; 17 wrecked ships, nine of them big steel freighters lost with all hands and an estimated 250 sailors killed. Each loss had it’s own deadly saga of horror, but there is an extraordinary tale of two ships and crews – The […] read more...

Ken Merryman & Jerry Eliason - Shipwreck Discoveries 2016

Shipwreck Hunters, Underwater Videographers


Last summer Ken, Jerry, and friends circum-navigated Lake Superior and found two new shipwrecks along the way. Both wrecks were very old and amazingly intact. The packet steamer J. S. Seaverns sank in 1884 in a remote eastern corner of the lake and has totally intact cargo and passenger cabins and galley. The Facebook short […] read more...

FREE-DAPTIVE Divers - SCUBA Experience to the Adaptive Needs Community

Co-Founders Rick Kline & Tom Cornell, Adaptive Divers Becky & Chad Walker


FREE-DAPTIVE DIVERS, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) was organized in 2016 to provide Scuba diving experiences to the adaptive needs community. For adaptive divers, water is “The Great Equalizer”, offering those with a disability a weightless environment; creating independence, freedom of movement, comfort, as well as a sense of accomplishment which may not be replicated […] read more...

Randy Beebe - Ancient Copper Miners of Isle Royale

Researcher, Avocational Archeologist, Diver


Who Were the Ancient Copper Miners On Isle Royale? What We Know, What We Do Not Know, and Where Do We Go From Here?   A review of an ongoing research project on prehistoric copper mining on Isle Royale as well as a GLSPS survey of McCargoe Cove out on “The Rock” read more...

Yung Yip - Shark Diving Throughout the World

Diver, Underwater Photographer


Sharks have long been integral to human association with the ocean. Historically, they have been portrayed as villains preying upon souls lost at sea, a menace to those who venture into the water for work or play, and a creature to be loathed and feared. In more recent times, the image of sharks has been […] read more...

Tamara Thomsen - Grace A. Channon and the Novel Design of Great Lakes Sailing Canallers

Underwater Archaeologist, Dive Shop Owner & Instructor


On the night of August 2, 1877, the four-year-old schooner Grace A. Channon plunged to the bottom of Lake Michigan within five minutes of being struck by the propeller Favorite. Her co-owner, Henry L. Graham and his two young sons, Harry and Alexander, were aboard taking passage from Buffalo to Chicago by water. Seven-year-old Alexander […] read more...

Jeff Ginther - The Cayman Islands, Celebrating 60 Years of Recreational Diving

Midwest Sales Representative


Cayman Islands is one of the premier diving destinations in the Caribbean. Explore the Cayman Islands above and below the water, then and now. Who better to guide you than an expert from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism? Jeff Ginther will enlighten and entertain you with his highlights of the Cayman Islands. read more...

Ken Merryman - Understanding Great Lakes Sailing Shipwrecks - Lunch & Learn Seminar

Underwater Videographer, Charter Captain, A GLSPS Founder


Resting on the bottom of the Great Lakes is a large number of truly great examples of the sailing ships that plied the lakes in the late 1800’s. A surprising number sit upright with masts still standing and remnants of their rigging and machinery intact. Often we as divers miss some of the most interesting […] read more...