Wreck Diving with Force Fins
Explore the Wreck of the John J. Audubon. She rests in 180 FFW in Lake Huron and is still intact enough to answer questions about her era of shipping as well as bring question to her demise. The reports from the October 20th 1854 collision with the Defiance, claim the Audubon was struck midships, yet the wreck reveals only a massive split to the bow section.
The Ocean Futures Society Dive Team explored this wreck using both Open Circuit (SCUBA) and Closed Circuit mixed gas to complete their survey. They also used Force Fins. The Closed Circuit Rebreather divers are using the Tan Delta Excellerating Force Fins while the Open Circuit divers are using the OPS Force Fin in the Tan Delta material and the Excellerating Force Fin in the Original polyurethane material.
The team had been filming segments for the PBS Ocean Adventures series and this was the first and only fresh water stop. They had one shot to make the dive and when they left the harbor there was thunder, lighting and rain, but under the guidance and support of Captain Luke Clyburn and the sea cadets they made the dive in between storms and experienced how fast Lake Huron’s weather can change. Reports from the Dive Team said they experienced almost no light to bright conditions changing very rapidly while underwater with the passing storms. The closest you get to the wreck is with the OPS Force Fin which is made exclusively for Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society Dive Team. It has a long narrow blade that tapers to a point, to draw water similar to the way in which water wicks to the end of a leaf. When you kick it oscillates like an eel! When locked into its flat position, the blade is flexible. Twist the blade at its point of attachment to stiffen the blade and shorten the oscillation for more sprint acceleration, when confronting current!
The Excellerating Force Fin is the other star of the show as this blade was chosen by the CCR divers that are carrying the lights. The Excellerating Force Fin feature a long, scooped blade with recoiling underside ribs that catapult you forward for instant acceleration. Clean leading edges for turbulence-free, rapid response to changes in direction and tapered trailing edges snap for extra propulsion and is what most of the team flys.
http://www.forcefin.com/product/XCTD.html
Special thanks goes out to Russ Green, Program Operations Coordinator for Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, for his support, guidance and access to the finest ship wrecks in the area.
Please support education, exploration and preservation!
http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/index.html
http://www.oceanfutures.org/
http://www.greatlakesdivision.org/
http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/
Thank you for your support
Duration : 0:2:29
The wreck of the Defiance has been at rest at 185 feet on the bottom of Lake Huron since October 20th 1854. It collided with the John J. Audubon. It was reported that the Defiance struck the Audubon midships, but details to this day are still mysterious. The Defiance was one of the wrecks that the Ocean Futures Society expedition team dove durning filming the PBS Ocean Adventures TV series.
Force Fin and Ocean Futures Society salutes the freedom of all marine mammals everywhere. This piece was shot in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands under the ocean’s surface off the island of Kure during a Ocean Futures Society/KQED expedition for the Jean-Micheal Cousteau Ocean Adventures TV series “Voyage to Kure”
Blair Mott swims on the trail of discovery with his Tan Delta Excellerating Force Fins.