Divers To Explore Straits

Scuba divers, their families, and the general public are invited to a 7 p.m. seminar on shipwreck history at the St. Ignace Quality Inn Saturday, August 12. The show will serve as a precursor to the Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve Treasure Hunt, to be held Sunday, August 13, at the American Legion Veterans Memorial Park in St. Ignace.

For $15, certified divers can pre-register for Sunday's hunt in person or by mail at the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce. The deadline is Friday, August 11. On the day of the dive, participants can register at the park for $20.

The free seminar at the Quality Inn will feature a show entitled "Shipwrecks of the Straits of Mackinac: An Underwater Pictorial." An ice cream social will also take place.

On-site registration for the Sunday dive begins at 9:30 a.m., and the treasure hunt starts at 10:30 p.m. As divers compete, the general public can watch from the park, take part in a picnic, and enjoy games.

The event is hosted by the Straits Underwater Preserve Committee with assistance from the Mackinac County Sheriff's Department and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

An area of the bay will be sectioned off with buoys, and divers' boats will be stationed inside the perimeter. Teams of two will search the floor of the bay for coins marked with ribbons.

The more tickets a diver buys, the more tokens he can retrieve. At the end of the dive, tokens will be turned in for prizes.

"We've never had anyone fail to get a prize," said committee member Jim Montcalm.

A drawing will be held following the treasure hunt. The grand prize will be a St. Ignace scuba package where the winner will be taken by charter boat to explore two shipwrecks on the Straits of Mackinac.

Other prizes include two underwater scooters, one scuba tank, a buoyancy compensator, and a regulator.

Proceeds from the event will be used for maintenance and promotion of the Straits Area Underwater Preserve, which includes 12 marked shipwrecks. In researching local lore, Mr. Montcalm discovered that there are approximately 84 shipwrecks in the area, but only 44 or 45 have been identified, he said.

For tickets and information, contact the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce at (906) 643-8717 or (800) 970-8717.