Underwater Treasure Hunt Renamed for Jim Montcalm
Event Is Sunday at St. Ignace Beach
By Paul Gingras

This year's Underwater Preserve Treasure Hunt in St. Ignace will be dedicated to organizer and shipwreck enthusiast Jim Montcalm, a longtime promoter of local diving opportunities, who passed away September 4, 2006, while exploring the Newell Eddy shipwreck near Bois Blanc Island.

The event has been renamed the Jim Montcalm Memorial Treasure Hunt, said Larry Sanders, president of the nonprofit Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve Association. A memorial will be dedicated to Mr. Montcalm at American Legion Veterans Memorial Park, where the dive takes place.

Scuba divers, their families, and the public are invited to the treasure hunt Sunday, August 12. Registration is from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at which time the hunt begins. Most divers are out of the water by 11:30 a.m. A family picnic follows, which is covered by the registration fee.

The event is free for spectators. Divers who pre-register pay $15 per ticket, and they may purchase as many tickets as they would like. Each ticket allows participants to retrieve one coin from the floor of the bay and collect one corresponding prize. Divers can pre-register at the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce by 5 p.m. Friday, August 10.

For $20, divers can register at the park on the day of the hunt.

As divers compete to find the coins, spectators can watch from the park. In the past, the event has drawn up to 150 divers, family members, and other spectators, Mr. Sanders said. Many divers return to compete every year, and the association encourages new participants.

Also a shipwreck enthusiast, Mr. Sanders noted that there "is stuff all over those bays" to explore, but on the day of the hunt, divers will search for coins strewn throughout a designated area.

The grand prize is a diving vacation in St. Ignace, which includes meals, two days at a hotel, and free charter service to dive sites. Coupons for each of the vacation's 16 components can be used whenever the winner chooses.

In addition to the vacation, divers will compete for four or five major prizes, including scuba tanks and regulators, Mr. Sanders said. Smaller prizes include T-shirts, hats, and other items. Prizes are donated by dive shops throughout Michigan, and divers from all over the state come to St. Ignace to compete for them.

Most divers find a coin within 20 minutes, but it's likely not all coins will be found. After the dive, unclaimed prizes will be auctioned off.

The treasure hunt is hosted by the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve Association, with assistance from the Mackinac County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Divers will hunt in about 10 feet of water.

Proceeds will fund the association's activities, including the replacement of buoys on area shipwrecks, which allows divers to find them easily, helping promote diving in the area, Mr. Sanders said.

Mr. Sanders describes St. Ignace as a "very diver-friendly community," and the association uses treasure hunt proceeds to help fund its presence at trade shows throughout the Midwest, where members provide information about the area, Mr. Sanders said.

A host of interesting shipwrecks can be found between Moran Bay and Mackinac Island, and between the shore and St. Helena Island, he said. Association members give presentations about the shipwrecks at the trade shows.