My name is Stephanie Gandulla and I am an underwater archaeologist.
I currently work for Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary,
the only freshwater national marine sanctuary in the whole U.S.
We were designated to protect a collection of shipwrecks.
The Big Five Dive became an event
that we wanted to put together with PADI Women's Dive Day
to bring awareness to women divers and also bring awareness to the
Great Lakes and all the natural resources.
If you're not familiar with the Great Lakes
it's hard to really fathom how massive they are and
what a commitment it is to get to all five of them,
whether you're diving or driving.
I mean to get to all five of them is a feat.
And so the people that know the Great Lakes
know that that's something to be proud of. I'm super happy we're going to
I'm super happy we're going to make one stop
in Lake Huron at the Joseph Fay
at Forty Mile Point Light.
That's great. We're going to go to a sanctuary shipwreck
but it's also at a historic lighthouse
which there's this whole kind of maritime landscape in
the Great Lakes that remind you of
how important the shipping was to go to
those efforts to build all these lighthouses all along the coast.
The wreck was in beautiful condition
and we went down and the sun hadn't come up yet
but the clouds were light pink.
And when we came up from our ten minutes underwater
the sun had been shining and it was just beautiful
and it felt like I was in a dream, to be honest.
And then I swam on my back the entire way back to shore
looking at the sunrise.
You know, I think it's pretty important
is really recognizing the rich cultural history
that we have here in the Great Lakes.
As an underwater archaeologist that's really
one of my main focuses, is people understanding how
special these shipwrecks are.