08x06 - Horse Ferry Shipwreck

[bunniefuu]

- [Narrator] Coming up,

Jonathan and Todd explore a famous cave

with an even more famous cave diver.

But first, Jonathan
investigates the wreck of a boat

that allowed horses to walk on water.

Meet Jonathan Bird,

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers,

traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks.

He is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

In freshwater or salt,

reefs, wrecks, or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

Welcome to the "Blue World."

- [Jonathan] It's a beautiful
day for a drive in Vermont.

The "Blue World" team
is taking a road trip

out to Lake Champlain
to do some wreck diving.

Lake Champlain, the 13th
largest lake in the US

lies on the border between
Vermont and New York State.

We are diving with Waterfront
Diving Center in Burlington.

Over the past few days,

we visited the wrecks of

historically significant canal schooner

and less significant,
but equally mysterious

deep water wrecks.

Today we're exploring

one of the most famous wrecks
in the lake, the horse ferry.

In the early 1800s,

before steam power was in
widespread use on boats,

animal powered vessels known as team boats

were used for short ferry
crosses on lakes and rivers

where wind power was
unpredictable or ineffective.

Horse-powered ferries
were slow but reliable.

The wreck of a horse powered
ferry in Burlington Bay

is the only archeologically
studied example

of a turntable team boat
in the United States.

Our day starts with suiting up at the shop

and walking over to the marina.

- Let us hook off.

- Woo!

Such a long walk.

- Our dive master, Sheila Cooley

brings the gear in the
truck and we load the boat.

Soon we're off in a small dive boat

with a 150 horsepower motor.

We take for granted how many
horses fit on this boat.

The weather has turned a
little rainy, but we don't mind

because we're gonna get wet anyway.

[gentle music]

- Well, let's go check out this wreck.

- What did he say?

- What he said.

- [Jonathan] At the mooring,
we drop 50 feet to the bottom

and follow the guideline

from the mooring to the wreck itself.

The horse ferry is part
of the Lake Champlain

underwater historic preserve,

and it's extremely fragile,
so we won't touch it.

This site is also very silty.

Sheila demonstrates
that one wrong fin kick

could ruin the visibility for hours.

So we have to dive with
perfect buoyancy control

like cave divers.

The first thing we notice

as we swim over the
wreck is the turns style

that the horses walked
on to transmit power

to the paddle wheels.

The deck planking is long gone,

but the wooden beams

that comprise the frame of
the boat are still intact.

Nobody knows exactly when
this boat was billed or sank,

but given the general timeframe

that horse ferries were used,

we know the wreck is probably
at least 150 years old.

So given their age, the paddle
wheels don't look too bad

and they still look like paddle wheels.

Over at the Lake
Champlain Maritime Museum,

archeologist, Chris Sabick gives us a tour

of the Horse ferry exhibit.

They have a working model
of the turnstile mechanism,

showing how the turnstile
is kind of like a treadmill

crossed with a hamster wheel

to turn a drive shaft
connected to the paddle wheels.

Underwater, we can see the resemblance.

The wreck is covered
with freshwater sponges

and invasive zebra mussels.

Zebra mussels are native
to Southern Russia,

but were accidentally
introduced into the Great Lakes

and have made their way
all over North America.

They get their name

from the distinctive zebra
stripes on their shells.

Zach and I hover carefully over the wreck,

looking at the remains of the mechanism

while keeping our fins way up
to avoid disturbing any silt.

Finally, we make our way
back to the mooring line

and the surface.

Man, that wreck is sail D,

but you could still see the turnstile

where the horses walked.

You know what's amazing?

It was two horsepower.

The wreck of the Horse
Ferry in Lake Champlain

may not look like much,

but this unique piece of history

may very well be the only such example

of a horse-powered ferry of this type

surviving in the world.

So it represents a unique opportunity

for people to visit the
past in the blue world.

- [Narrator] Don't go away.

Jonathan and Todd are going cave diving

with world famous cave
diver, Edd Sorenson.

- [Jonathan] Merritt's Mill
Pond in Marianna, Florida

is a cave diver's paradise.

If it looks like a flooded river,

that's because this pond was
created by damming upper river

to power a mill.

The mill is gone,

but now it's a reservoir,

originating at Jackson Blue Spring.

The spring discharges

a massive amount of groundwater every day

from an immense cave system,

making it popular with cave divers.

Jackson Blue Spring is a
first magnitude spring,

which means it spits out

at least 64 million
gallons of water every day,

which is enough to keep that
entire Merritts Mill Pond

filled with crystal clear water.

The Blue World team begins the day

carrying our gear from our
rental house down to the dock.

Cameraman, Todd,

Zach of all trades and I

are preparing for a fun
day on and in the water.

You know, on most shoots,

we have to rent a van to get around,

but for this sh**t, we have to rent a boat

because all of the dive sites
are accessible only from water

on this little pond.

We begin assembling our
dive gear on the dock

where we have a little more space to work.

Today, cameraman Todd and I

are gonna be diving with Edd Sorenson,

who is a world famous
legend of cave diving.

He was Brian Kakuk's instructor.

So Brian Kakuk was my instructor.

So if I think of Brian
Kakuk as like Obiwan Kenobi,

then Edd Sorenson is Yoda.

Once the last of the gear is
aboard, it's time to shove off

and see how well Zach can drive a boat.

I've never been in a
situation where I'm on a boat

and we have to watch
out or we'll hit a tree.

With Captain Zach of
all trades at the helm,

we head north up the shallow pond

towards the dive shop to meet with Edd.

You know, it's kind of weird

when you pull up to the
dive shop in a boat.

Zach brings her in like a pro
and we tie off to the dock.

We meet dive instructor Mehdi Zinetti,

who unfortunately has to
watch the dive shop today

while Edd goes diving with us.

Up the hill, Cave Adventurers
known around the world

as the gateway to the numerous
caves of Marianna, Florida.

- Hey, Ed.
- Great to see you.

- Great to finally meet you.

- So you ready for some diving?

- I am ready.

Alright, well, why don't we
head over to Jackson Blue

and see what crystal
clear water looks like.

- I can't wait to see it.

As soon as we can get Zach away
from his new buddy Maverick,

we can hit the road.

I mean, the water.

Back down at the dock,

Mehdi loads Edd's gear onto the boat.

Given that it's actually Ed's
boat and he knows the way,

we figured it would be
better for him to drive.

On the way further North,

Edd tells us about life on
the pond in northern Florida,

and we're all thinking the same thing,

this sure does seem like
a nice place to live.

Soon we approach Blue
Springs recreation area,

a state park built around
Jackson Blue Spring.

Since it's after Labor Day,
they're closed for the season,

but diving is still allowed.

Most people show up in a
car and dive from shore,

but with a boat, we
can tie up and swim in.

We'll gear up in the water

and Edd certainly has a
casual way of doing it.

Finally, it's time to suit up.

Todd and I are wearing
seven millimeter wetsuits,

but Edd has a dry suit.

[gentle music]

- Do a little lawn mowing.

- [Jonathan] Ed moves some
of the floating eel grass

to clear a spot.

[gentle music]

Then we finish gearing up.

- All right, so let's recap
on what we're gonna do.

- Okay.

- If we survive the swim
over through the weeds-

- [Jonathan] Much of
the pond and the spring

is covered with eelgrass beds,

swaying in the strong current of water

emerging from the spring.

All we have to do is swim over it.

Ed leads the way around
the outside of the spring

to avoid the strongest
current in the middle.

It's like swimming over a field of wheat.

Soon we reach the cave entrance.

The water blasting out
pushes us backwards.

It seems like it will be
really hard to swim in,

but Ed leads the way,

entering through a corner
section with less current.

He points out his reel that
he placed for teaching,

so we don't need to run our own.

We will follow this line
to the permanent guideline

deep in the cavern zone.

The streamlined profile of Ed's
breather and his expert form

makes swimming against
the current look easy.

Where the entrance narrows,

the current becomes quite fierce.

But fortunately, there are
big rocks to grab for help.

Past the narrow section,

the current drops to a
much more manageable level.

Inside the cavern zone,

we can still see daylight
from the entrance.

We make slow but steady
progress against the flow.

I can already tell

I'm not going to get
very far into this cave

before I hit my thirds
and need to turn around.

Soon we approach the stop sign.

Most popular caves have
some version of this sign

at the back of the cavern zone,

warning divers not to go any further

unless they're properly
trained and equipped.

Most cave diving accidents

involve divers that lack the
proper training and gear.

With proper equipment and training,

Todd and I follow Edd past the stop sign

into the magical world of Jackson Blue.

The first big breakdown area

is a giant jumble of huge boulders.

There are all kinds of little
swim throughs restrictions

and side passages.

Since they're so close to the exit,

we can check those out on the way back.

For now, we're pushing into the cave

so Ed can show us some
of his favorite spots.

It isn't long until we hit a steep crack

going down at a 45 degree angle.

An impressive flow pushes up
through this narrow crack,

but Ed glides right
down like it's nothing.

I, on the other hand,

claw my way down it like a wounded sloth.

I blame my camera.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

At 90 feet, Ed takes a left turn

and we jump to a side tunnel
known as the Horseshoe Circuit.

This is a low tunnel with very little flow

that goes around in a big loop

and comes back to the main tunnel.

Because there isn't
much water flow in here,

we need to be careful
not to kick up any silt.

If we do, it will just hang
in the water for a long time,

but at least we don't
have to fight the current.

Back mount divers

would have a hard time fitting
through this low tunnel,

but side mount divers like
us with a lower profile

float right through with ease.

Soon Ed approaches a restriction.

He vanishes into a hole in the wall

and pops out on the other side

back in the main section of the cave.

It doesn't look too tight,
so I squeeze in next.

It probably says something about me

.that I enjoy squeezing
through tight sections of cave.

Huge fun

Back in the main cave tunnel,
we keep going upstream

and the tunnel has gotten quite large.

Because it's larger in
diameter, the water moves slower

and swimming is a little easier,

but we're still swimming
upstream and it's slow going.

On the floor of the cave,

the sand has formed waves
like the bottom of a river,

a condition created by the flow of water.

In the troughs between the waves,

tiny fossils, shells,

and pieces of coral from the limestone,

which used to be an ancient seabed.

The clearwater means the
guideline is always easy to see.

The wavy section of cave floor

almost looks like a path leading
the way into the darkness.

Soon we approach a well-known
landmark in the cave,

chicken-head rock.

Does it look like a chicken?

Maybe a little.

As a couple divers on scooters pass by,

we've just about reached our thirds,

so this is a good place to
turn around and start back.

Of course, on the way back,
we drift along with the flow,

so we go faster with much less effort.

When we get back to the steep crack,

I go flying up in a lot
faster than I came down.

Back in the shallows of
the big breakdown area,

Edd shows us another cool circuit

I watch as he disappears down
a very small restriction.

It seems to me that I would
probably fit down that hole,

but I think better of it when I realize

I'm not sure how much
space there is in there

to turn around.

So I back up and watch
as Ed comes back out.

Soon it's time to leave the cave

and we make our way back
into the cavern zone.

We get shot at high speed

out of the throat of the narrow section

and back up into the main cavern area.

We pause for a safety stop

with a beautiful view of light
race coming into the cavern

and the sway of the eelgrass outside.

After our safety stop, we
float gently out into the pond

and make our way back to the boat.

That was fun.

That was super fun.

Yeah.

Oh, crystal clear.

Jackson Blue Spring is
a massive cave system.

We went about 700 feet back into a cave

that has been mapped more than

containing many miles of passages.

Edd Sorenson has been
mapping this cave for years,

having thousands of
dives in this one cave,

and now that he's given us
an introduction to the cave,

we might just do another dive.

Stay tuned for part two of Jackson Blue.