WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.245 --> 00:00:11.495 Good morning. Thanks for having me. 2 00:00:11.515 --> 00:00:12.535 Ah, thanks for coming in. 3 00:00:12.535 --> 00:00:15.055 You guys are doing something super awesome here in Alpena. 4 00:00:15.635 --> 00:00:18.935 Now you are one portion of the pie that is Force blue. 5 00:00:19.395 --> 00:00:21.535 That's correct, yeah. And, And what is Force Blue? 6 00:00:21.535 --> 00:00:24.975 So Force Blue's a non-profit that, uh, takes guys like me, 7 00:00:24.975 --> 00:00:27.935 former Navy Seals, Marines, air Force para rescue guys, 8 00:00:28.335 --> 00:00:31.255 retrains them to help support marine conservation. 9 00:00:31.745 --> 00:00:34.095 We're all guys who are, you know, very used to, uh, 10 00:00:34.095 --> 00:00:36.695 more destructive work force Blue helps us, uh, 11 00:00:36.755 --> 00:00:38.855 put those skills to a more positive use. It's, 12 00:00:39.245 --> 00:00:41.895 Yeah, it sounds like it's a really cool thing to be able 13 00:00:41.895 --> 00:00:45.375 to do post career even though it's career continuum. 14 00:00:45.845 --> 00:00:47.575 What we're working on right now is called the Tour of Duty 15 00:00:47.575 --> 00:00:49.095 and we're going around to all the national Marine 16 00:00:49.095 --> 00:00:50.495 sanctuaries all over North 17 00:00:50.495 --> 00:00:51.735 America and the Pacific and Atlantic. 18 00:00:52.025 --> 00:00:53.135 We're trying to hit each one 19 00:00:53.235 --> 00:00:55.615 and do our part to keep the waters clean and healthy. 20 00:00:56.125 --> 00:00:58.055 Well, we need conservation efforts up here. 21 00:00:58.135 --> 00:00:59.495 I mean, I don't need to tell you, 22 00:00:59.525 --> 00:01:00.575 this is nothing you don't know, 23 00:01:00.575 --> 00:01:02.735 but we have a little bit of fresh water in our backyard 24 00:01:02.915 --> 00:01:04.775 so we need to like maintain that 25 00:01:05.075 --> 00:01:07.735 and uh, yeah, do our best to conserve it for years to come. 26 00:01:13.485 --> 00:01:15.015 This morning, as I talked about yesterday, 27 00:01:15.015 --> 00:01:17.415 it's just gonna be a brief mission overview 28 00:01:17.755 --> 00:01:19.535 to understand a little bit more about 29 00:01:19.535 --> 00:01:20.815 what we're gonna be doing this week. 30 00:01:21.155 --> 00:01:23.615 Of course, we're gonna be documenting shipwrecks in a 31 00:01:23.615 --> 00:01:26.935 variety of manners, mainly photography and video. 32 00:01:27.915 --> 00:01:29.775 And then there's our mooring buoy systems. 33 00:01:29.995 --> 00:01:33.575 Pretty much our most important resource protection effort 34 00:01:33.575 --> 00:01:36.295 that we do here at the sanctuary water sampling 35 00:01:36.395 --> 00:01:37.775 for our freshwater acidification. 36 00:01:37.775 --> 00:01:39.735 We'll be doing that both at depth and at the surface. 37 00:01:40.155 --> 00:01:42.535 And then this afternoon you're gonna be on the shore walking 38 00:01:42.555 --> 00:01:44.335 the beach, collecting marine debris. 39 00:01:45.075 --> 00:01:47.535 That's the overall missions we have this week. 40 00:01:53.815 --> 00:01:56.625 Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary was the very first 41 00:01:56.715 --> 00:01:59.265 freshwater marine sanctuary designated in the system. 42 00:01:59.645 --> 00:02:01.945 And so for the last uh, nearly 25 years, 43 00:02:02.085 --> 00:02:04.185 we have been charged with protecting, uh, 44 00:02:04.185 --> 00:02:08.025 over 4,300 square miles of Northwestern Lake Huron where uh, 45 00:02:08.025 --> 00:02:10.705 we estimate at least a couple hundred shipwrecks lie. 46 00:02:11.205 --> 00:02:14.865 So our work here is to not only protect those shipwrecks 47 00:02:14.925 --> 00:02:17.505 by uh, discovering them and then documenting them 48 00:02:17.525 --> 00:02:20.065 and monitoring them, but also provide access 49 00:02:20.165 --> 00:02:22.825 to these amazing pieces of maritime history. 50 00:02:24.325 --> 00:02:25.865 If we went back to 1870, 51 00:02:26.155 --> 00:02:28.585 there were 3000 schooner working the Great Lakes, 52 00:02:28.585 --> 00:02:30.625 about a thousand large steam vessels 53 00:02:30.885 --> 00:02:32.825 and then thousands of other small craft 54 00:02:32.825 --> 00:02:34.065 fishing boats, tug boats. 55 00:02:34.175 --> 00:02:35.665 This river would've just been packed 56 00:02:35.855 --> 00:02:38.385 with ships in a time without radar time, 57 00:02:38.385 --> 00:02:39.745 without great weather prediction. 58 00:02:40.175 --> 00:02:42.505 Lots of accidents happened at this busy intersection. 59 00:02:42.855 --> 00:02:45.265 It's also a spot where weather can get bad quickly. 60 00:02:47.615 --> 00:02:49.905 What happened here in the Great Lakes fueled the fire in 61 00:02:49.905 --> 00:02:50.945 Industrial Revolution 62 00:02:50.945 --> 00:02:53.385 and really built this nation to what it is today 63 00:02:53.385 --> 00:02:55.705 and it all happened on the backs of the ships like that. 64 00:02:55.725 --> 00:02:58.745 And so we want to get people next to in on 65 00:02:58.765 --> 00:03:01.565 or under the water because we think the stronger connections 66 00:03:01.565 --> 00:03:02.685 we make with people in the lake, 67 00:03:02.825 --> 00:03:04.485 the more willing they're gonna be to work with us 68 00:03:04.485 --> 00:03:06.205 to help protect it from the next generation. 69 00:03:12.455 --> 00:03:14.965 We've got quite a bit of documentation of varying levels, 70 00:03:15.065 --> 00:03:17.085 characterization of our shipwreck site, 71 00:03:17.265 --> 00:03:20.645 but we only have 360, like good 360 video 72 00:03:20.785 --> 00:03:22.365 of one shipwreck site. 73 00:03:22.835 --> 00:03:24.485 It's a challenge to document all of these. 74 00:03:24.495 --> 00:03:25.885 We've got five foot deep sites 75 00:03:25.885 --> 00:03:27.165 and then the very, very deep ones. 76 00:03:27.305 --> 00:03:28.485 So that's a big goal. 77 00:03:30.165 --> 00:03:33.445 Consumer 360 cameras is something that is fairly new. 78 00:03:33.975 --> 00:03:35.565 We're trying to make 3D models 79 00:03:36.155 --> 00:03:38.645 with the footage at the moment using photogrammetry 80 00:03:38.645 --> 00:03:41.085 and you can monitor the state of the wrecks, go back 81 00:03:41.085 --> 00:03:43.085 and make another model in a few years time, 82 00:03:43.185 --> 00:03:44.325 see how they're changing over time. 83 00:03:44.425 --> 00:03:47.405 So it should help out the custodians of the 84 00:03:47.965 --> 00:03:49.285 National Marine Sanctuary over here. 85 00:03:50.665 --> 00:03:54.565 One of the biggest challenges is creating an understanding 86 00:03:55.025 --> 00:03:58.045 of what lies beneath the waves of Lake Huron out there. 87 00:03:58.105 --> 00:03:59.125 You know, it's not visible 88 00:03:59.225 --> 00:04:00.685 to everyone right out of the gate. 89 00:04:00.985 --> 00:04:02.205 And so we work very hard 90 00:04:02.225 --> 00:04:05.285 to communicate the amazing treasures under the surface. 91 00:04:05.995 --> 00:04:08.205 Getting underwater is not for everybody. 92 00:04:08.865 --> 00:04:12.725 And what's really cool about the 360 cameras is it's a 93 00:04:12.725 --> 00:04:14.245 completely immersive medium. 94 00:04:14.625 --> 00:04:17.005 So if you put on VR goggles 95 00:04:17.425 --> 00:04:18.565 and then view that footage, 96 00:04:18.905 --> 00:04:22.445 you are essentially in the medium they can get underwater 97 00:04:22.505 --> 00:04:24.245 and actually swim through the wrecks 98 00:04:24.425 --> 00:04:26.645 and you can look around as if you were underwater. 99 00:04:27.075 --> 00:04:29.445 It's really gonna build that connection to what's 100 00:04:29.445 --> 00:04:32.125 beneath the surface so people feel 101 00:04:32.645 --> 00:04:35.565 invested in a national Marine sanctuary rather than it just 102 00:04:35.565 --> 00:04:38.485 being something that's out there away from the shore. 103 00:04:39.925 --> 00:04:42.135 What makes this place so special isn't just the sheer 104 00:04:42.135 --> 00:04:44.295 number of shipwrecks, but the preservation. 105 00:04:44.475 --> 00:04:48.255 So it is cold, fresh, deep water, which helps 106 00:04:48.395 --> 00:04:51.335 to prevent the deterioration of many of our wrecks. 107 00:04:51.335 --> 00:04:53.375 So we actually have these beautiful 108 00:04:53.615 --> 00:04:55.015 shipwrecks just resting on the bottom. 109 00:04:55.905 --> 00:04:58.215 Being able to bring these shipwrecks 110 00:04:58.475 --> 00:05:00.455 to the public will help them understand 111 00:05:00.515 --> 00:05:02.535 and appreciate these resources so much more. 112 00:05:03.005 --> 00:05:05.815 That way they will join in the fight of preserving these 113 00:05:05.815 --> 00:05:09.335 because once they are damaged or disappeared, that history 114 00:05:09.415 --> 00:05:10.455 and information has gone forever. 115 00:05:12.635 --> 00:05:15.615 Danger is not the lack of violence, it's the lack 116 00:05:15.615 --> 00:05:16.695 of connection and, 117 00:05:16.695 --> 00:05:19.695 and I think that healing begins when we connect not only 118 00:05:19.695 --> 00:05:22.135 to ourselves but the environment and the people around us. 119 00:05:23.005 --> 00:05:24.775 There's so much structure of it. 120 00:05:24.985 --> 00:05:26.095 You'd go through the shadows 121 00:05:26.155 --> 00:05:28.015 and it would drop like 10 degrees it felt like, 122 00:05:28.755 --> 00:05:30.015 and then you'd come up up over it. 123 00:05:30.015 --> 00:05:31.695 You know, it was pretty cool man. 124 00:05:32.195 --> 00:05:36.415 It made you feel real small, you know, to swim beside some 125 00:05:36.415 --> 00:05:39.615 of these just beautifully preserved moments 126 00:05:40.115 --> 00:05:41.935 of tragedy in history 127 00:05:42.155 --> 00:05:45.055 and to have that tragedy looming against us 128 00:05:45.635 --> 00:05:46.695 is really profound 129 00:05:46.795 --> 00:05:48.495 and it's unbelievable to get 130 00:05:48.495 --> 00:05:50.255 to help preserve these experiences. 131 00:05:51.805 --> 00:05:53.135 Nothing in science matters 132 00:05:53.475 --> 00:05:55.495 unless you communicate it to the public. 133 00:05:55.915 --> 00:05:57.445 I'm starting to appreciate that a little bit. 134 00:05:57.445 --> 00:06:00.685 And I also am starting to appreciate our unique position. 135 00:06:01.385 --> 00:06:02.965 We can communicate to a demographic 136 00:06:02.995 --> 00:06:05.565 that scientists might have a harder time reaching. 137 00:06:06.825 --> 00:06:10.725 How many of you guys belong to a club? Something to do. 138 00:06:10.725 --> 00:06:11.645 You wanna be a part of something 139 00:06:11.645 --> 00:06:12.525 bigger than yourself, right? 140 00:06:13.115 --> 00:06:14.245 Same thing with veterans. 141 00:06:14.625 --> 00:06:17.045 We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. 142 00:06:17.395 --> 00:06:20.645 Well, when we separate from the military, you miss that 143 00:06:20.865 --> 00:06:22.205 and that's what Force Blue allows 144 00:06:22.205 --> 00:06:23.365 our guys to continue to do. 145 00:06:27.145 --> 00:06:29.125 The goal of this is to make it easier 146 00:06:29.125 --> 00:06:31.645 for divers on bad vista that they can go down, they know 147 00:06:31.645 --> 00:06:34.725 what direction to travel from the buoy line to the wreck. 148 00:06:34.985 --> 00:06:37.005 If you see as any like obvious spray in the line, 149 00:06:37.585 --> 00:06:38.645 things are coming apart. 150 00:06:39.265 --> 00:06:41.405 That's what we need to know. Alright, you got it. 151 00:06:43.905 --> 00:06:46.925 Our mooring buoys provide our firsthand 152 00:06:46.925 --> 00:06:48.325 preservation of our shipwrecks. 153 00:06:48.595 --> 00:06:50.885 They, uh, mark the shipwreck locations. 154 00:06:51.475 --> 00:06:53.325 They encourage visitors to come 155 00:06:53.325 --> 00:06:55.605 and experience the wrecks by tying off. 156 00:06:55.605 --> 00:06:58.125 They don't have to drop anchor cause any additional damage. 157 00:06:58.745 --> 00:07:00.685 Having these anchors checked out, 158 00:07:00.685 --> 00:07:03.565 making sure they're in good condition is super important. 159 00:07:04.795 --> 00:07:06.125 It's the end of our dive season. 160 00:07:06.305 --> 00:07:08.165 We always get sad when the diving ends here, 161 00:07:08.165 --> 00:07:11.525 but the team is assessing these to make sure they continue 162 00:07:11.525 --> 00:07:13.365 to be safe, but then help 'em bring 'em in. 163 00:07:14.945 --> 00:07:16.685 By going to all of these different parks 164 00:07:16.685 --> 00:07:17.685 and all these different areas, 165 00:07:17.825 --> 00:07:20.645 forest blue are connecting there, communicating there 166 00:07:20.905 --> 00:07:22.325 to say, you know, we need to look 167 00:07:22.325 --> 00:07:24.725 after this as veterans, we need to look 168 00:07:24.725 --> 00:07:26.365 after this as people on the planet. 169 00:07:27.345 --> 00:07:29.445 Having the forest blue team here that are 170 00:07:29.625 --> 00:07:32.285 so impressive in their skills to come here 171 00:07:32.285 --> 00:07:35.845 and be impressed with what we do has really reignited my 172 00:07:36.115 --> 00:07:37.565 passion and our work here 173 00:07:38.305 --> 00:07:40.205 To partner with them and know that they're not alone. 174 00:07:40.595 --> 00:07:41.925 That there's other organizations 175 00:07:41.945 --> 00:07:44.045 and we can energize each other with these projects. 176 00:07:44.395 --> 00:07:47.565 It's something that you feel that in itself is cathartic. 177 00:07:48.345 --> 00:07:49.885 We think if we get people here, 178 00:07:49.885 --> 00:07:51.605 they discover what a great place. 179 00:07:51.605 --> 00:07:53.765 This is a great place to live, a great place 180 00:07:53.765 --> 00:07:55.125 to work, great place to visit. 181 00:07:55.505 --> 00:07:57.365 If people are connected to it, they value it. 182 00:07:57.385 --> 00:07:59.525 If they value it, they're gonna help us protect it. 183 00:07:59.525 --> 00:08:01.565 And that's what we're trying to do every single day. 184 00:08:01.985 --> 00:08:04.445 And we're hoping that we can show how conservation 185 00:08:04.445 --> 00:08:07.445 and preservation can help make a community a better place.