08x02 - Canal Boats of Lake Champlain

[bunniefuu]

- [Narrator] Coming up, a deep dive

into seahorses and pipefish.

But first, the bass are chasing the perch

on a shipwreck in Lake Champlain.

[upbeat adventurous music]

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."

[air bubbling]

[glass thumping]

- [Jonathan] Lake Champlain,

comprising almost 500 square miles,

is the 13th largest lake
in the United States.

It's a boater's paradise.

But the lake is large enough

that storms have sunk hundreds
of vessels over the years,

making it a popular scuba
diving destination too.

Lake Champlain spans the border

between Vermont and New York state,

and stretches up into Canada.

In colonial times, the lake
was used as a water highway

between the St. Lawrence
and Hudson Valleys.

But because it also provided direct access

from British-controlled Canada,

it was of strategic importance
to colonial America,

both to defend borders and for trade.

As the area became more settled,

a certain type of vessel
called a canal schooner

became the standard for
hauling cargo to the area.

[bright music]

Today I'm heading to
beautiful Burlington, Vermont

with Zach of all trades, cameraman Zach,

and Annalise, our new assistant diver.

We arrive at Waterfront Diving Center,

the local dive experts.

And apparently we are early.

It's locked!

Eventually, owner Jonathan Eddy lets us in

and we meet our dive
master, Shelagh Cooley.

- How are you?
- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you. [laughs]

Next, we unpack all our gear.

[easy upbeat music]

It's not a huge boat, so it's easier

to set our gear up at the shop.

The boat is a few hundred meters away,

so we load our gear in the shop truck

and then it's time for a dive
briefing on today's adventure.

Al' right, so two dives is the plan.

So the O.J. Walker and the General Butler.

These are historical
sailing canal barge boats.

- [Jonathan] Then we don our dry suits

and walk on down to the boat.

Shelagh brings the boat.

[easy upbeat music]

At the waterfront,
Captain Larry has brought

what looks like a World
w*r II landing craft

right up on the boat ramp.

This comfortable vessel
will be our diving platform

for the next three days.

It's a bit overcast and windy,

but the breakwater protects
the marina from the lake waves.

[boat motor puttering]

Outside the breakwater,
waves are crashing on the bow

and splashing us, so it's
time to finish suiting up.

- Oh yeah. I'm so fashionable.

- [Jonathan] With the
landing-craft-style front gate down,

it's an easy giant stride entry

[water splashing]
or something like that.

[diver whooping]

Like most lakes, Champlain
is not exactly known

for crystal clear water,

but during the summer the
surface is quite warm.

It's over 70 degrees

and I'm wondering why
I brought a dry suit,

but 65 feet down at the mooring,
it's quite a bit colder,


We follow the guideline from
the mooring to the wreck

of the O.J. Walker.

The O.J. Walker is a
historically significant wreck

that's part of the Lake Champlain

Underwater Historic Preserve.

The wreck is covered in zebra muscles.

These invasive mollusks
coat much of the wreck,

including the bow.

There's a dead eye on the bow
shimmering in the thermocline.

[mysterious music]

[air bubbling]

There's also an anchor on the bow,

a bit camouflaged in zebra mussels.

This canal schooner sank during
a severe storm in the spring

of 1895, so it doesn't look too bad at all

for a 125-year-old wooden vessel.

The holds are filled with
a century's worth of silt.

Swimming down the wreck,

we reach one of the masts.

Damaged, but still in place.

There's a sign reminding
divers that as part

of the underwater historic
preserve, divers are not allowed

to penetrate the wreck
because it's so fragile.

[mysterious music continues]

I am swimming along a spectacular
piece of American history

as I make my way back to the
most famous part of the wreck.

[air bubbling]

The ship's wheel is still upright.

It's missing a few pieces,

but still looks like it
could steer the boat.

[mysterious music continues]

And the wheel was connected to the rudder,

which is in good shape,
planted into the mud.

The O.J. Walker had a working career

of 33 years hauling heavy cargoes.

When she sank, she had a load of bricks

and ceramics, which can
still be seen on the wreck.

[curious music]

Supplies can be transported

by water from New York City all the way

to Lake Champlain via a system of locks

that connects Champlain
to the Hudson River.

When a river has a large elevation change,

the result is either a waterfall

or a section of rapids,
neither of which is possible

to navigate in a large boat.

To get around that, you can
build a system of locks,

which basically creates
an elevator for boats.

By controlling the water
level in the locks,

you can raise boats to sail upstream

or lower them to sail downstream.

Between the Hudson River
and Lake Champlain,

there are currently 13 different locks,

each with an elevation
change of between four

and six meters, allowing
boats to make the journey.

Requiring very little power, in the 1800s,

this was by far the most efficient way

to move large quantities of
materials to and from New York.

There's a practical limit
on how large a lock can be,

and that limit dictates
the size of the boat.

The original lock system
was completed in 1823

and enlarged in 1862.

It could accommodate
boats about 88 feet long

and 14 feet wide,

so that was how large
the canal boats were.

[bright music]

At the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum,

we check out the Lois McClure,

a reproduction of a period canal schooner.

Canal schooners were sail-rigged boats

that could travel across
the lake on wind power,

then lower the sails,
pull up the centerboard,

and go through the locks being
towed by horses from shore.

Over the years, canal schooners developed

a very specific design for
this very specific task

and underwater on the wreck,
we can see that design clearly.

There are windows in the stern.

This section of the boat
was the crew quarters.

Like many canal vessels, it was
both a work boat and a home.

One of the O.J. Walker's
captains lived on board

with his family for over nine years.

After a 45-minute dive, it's time

to head back to the surface.

We ascend slowly and do a
safety decompression stop,

and it feels good to
rise back into the warmth

of the surface waters.

[wind rushing]

[motor pulsing]

Back at the museum, we meet Chris Sabick,

the director of archeology and research.

Even though the museum
is closed during COVID,

we get a private tour.

Inside we see an exhibit
on the O.J. Walker.

[gentle music]

We also see an exhibit on the next wreck

we're going to dive, the General Butler.

This exhibit includes a large collection

of artifacts from the wreck.

In the winter of 1876,

a powerful storm hit the General Butler

as the crew was attempting to get her

to the safety of the harbor.

The steering linkage broke...

[wood cracking]
- [Sailor] Uh-oh.

- [Jonathan] ...and the wind blew the boat

right into the breakwater.

So close to the harbor.
[boat crunching]

The captain and crew
managed to jump off the boat

onto the breakwater before she sank.

[air bubbling]

The next day, the
weather has turned rainy,

but the wind is down.

We're gonna get wet anyway, so
a little rain won't hurt us.

- Whoo.

- Whoo.

- [Diver] [laughs] Yahoo.

- [Narrator] Coming up,
some spooky shipwrecks

and then one of the ocean's
oddest fish: sea horses.

- [Jonathan] We sink down the
mooring line to only 40 feet

because the General Butler

is so shallow right off the breakwater.

The wreck is also part
of the historic preserve.

Being so shallow,

the zebra mussel are even more
numerous in the warm water.

[mysterious music]

But the fish seem to love
the warm shallow water too.

There's a huge school of perch.

[magical music]

Shelagh shows me the
giant hole in the hull

where the boat hit the breakwater.

[ominous music]

As a classic canal schooner,

the Butler has the same basic stern design

as the O.J. Walker.

[mysterious music]

As Shelagh and I head
back towards the bow,

we're surrounded by fish.

And while it's not unusual
to see large numbers

of fish aggregate around
wrecks in the ocean,

I can't remember ever
seeing this many fish

on a fresh water wreck.

[gently stirring music]

The perch are being chased by bass.

[gently stirring music continues]

Hey, you guys, this is a historical wreck.

You're not allowed to go in there.

[air bubbling]

[gentle music]

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

Finally, Shelagh leads us
back to the mooring line

to head back to the surface.

[air bubbling]

[divers laughing]

Diving the canal schooners of
Lake Champlain was great fun

and a fascinating look
into American history.

I never expected diving in a lake

to offer so much excitement.

There are dozens of
wrecks in Lake Champlain

and we filmed several
of them, so stay tuned

for more Lake Champlain adventures

in the "Blue World."

The seahorse.

It's one of the most mysterious
animals in the ocean.

Few people have ever seen one in person

and for scuba divers, finding one

of these cryptic
camouflaged fish on a dive

is considered grounds for bragging rights.

Seahorses are contained within
the subfamily Hippocampinae,

which loosely translated
from ancient Greek

means horse-like sea monster.

And while they certainly
have a horse-like head,

monster is a bit of a stretch considering

that most seahorses are
only a few inches tall

and the largest one in the world

is only a tad over a foot tall.

Seahorses are part of a family

of fish called Syngnathidae,
which means fused jaws.

This family of fish includes
not only the seahorses,

but similar fishes known as pipefish.

[wondrous music]

The fused jaw means that seahorses

and pipefish can't open
their mouths very wide.

If I was a seahorse,

I'd have a very hard
time eating a sandwich.

Get in my belly.

Seahorses and pipefish
all have fused jaws,

elongated snouts, a lack of pelvic fins

and and a body covered
in thick bony plates,

making them somewhat
unappetizing to predators.

Pipefish in general look like
eels with a seahorse head.

They come in all colors

and have become quite specialized
for their environments.

[air bubbling]

For example, the robust
ghost pipefish has evolved

to mimic sea grass.

[gentle music]

It floats within the sea grass undetected

until it can grab some prey

like a tiny shrimp or copepod.

The ornate ghost pipefish
has frilly projections

that make it look a little
like a feather star.

It can camouflage easily

among feather stars
while waiting for prey.

There's even a remarkable pipefish

that looks exactly like Halimeda algae.

While pipefish tend to be swimmers,

seahorses have mostly become
adept at not swimming.

They have a prehensile tail
for hanging onto things

and staying very still to avoid detection.

Some seahorses have taken camouflage

to a very high degree of sophistication.

The pygmy seahorse,
only a centimeter tall,

looks just like the sea
fan in which it lives.

[curious music]

If it doesn't move, it's
almost impossible to find.

A large sea fan may host a dozen

or more of these tiny inhabitants,

but predators swim right by
and never know they're there.

In Australia, the leafy
sea dragon has made itself

almost invisible within seaweed

with its stunning camouflage.

[gentle music]

And while this fish definitely
looks like a seahorse,

sea dragons are actually more
closely related to pipefish.

The weedy sea dragon also found

around Australia definitely
looks more like a pipefish

than a seahorse.

[gentle music continues]

And another member of the family,

which defies easy classification,

the pygmy pipe horse,
which looks like a cross

between a seahorse and a pipefish.

But the taxonomy experts
tell us they are pipefish

that look like seahorses,

not seahorses, that look like pipefish.

[gentle music continues]

All seahorses and pipefish
share one reproductive trait.

The males care for the eggs.

Most fish just release
their eggs into the water

and leave their fate to chance,

but seahorses and pipefish
protect their eggs

until they hatch, giving their babies

a little better chance to survive.

Because the female expends a
lot of energy making the eggs,

it's only fair that the male

spends his energy protecting them.

Some pipefish, males carry their eggs

around on their body until they hatch,

but other pipefish and the
seahorses actually have

a little pouch like a kangaroo,

where the eggs stay safe until they hatch.

When they start hatching, it must tickle,

because the proud father
immediately pushes them

out into the world.

[whimsical music]

At this point, the
babies are on their own.

No parental care or college tuition.

Because seahorses and pipefish

can't open their mouths very wide,

they feed in a special
manner called pivot feeding,

where the seahorse snaps its head quickly,

forming a small vacuum in the mouth,

which sucks in the prey.

[Jonathan slurping]

Occasionally, a seahorse
might literally bite off

more than it can chew,

[comically tense music]

and sometimes the food fights back.

[comically tense music continues]

While seahorses and pipefish

are mostly found in tropical oceans,

a few species can be found
in cooler temperate waters.

For example, the northern pipefish found

in the North Atlantic is far
north as Newfoundland Canada.

I filmed this guy in Massachusetts.

[mysterious music]

Pipefish go back further
in the fossil records

than seahorses, and
most taxonomists believe

that seahorses are the
newest members of the family.

Basically highly adapted pipefish.

And a recent study on
their genome indicates

that seahorses are one

of the fastest-evolving fish ever studied.

So who knows, maybe in a few hundred years

they will be sea monsters.

That would certainly make
diving even more fun.

In the meantime, seahorses

and pipefish are among the most magical

and wondrous fish in the sea.

Certainly one of my favorite things

to see on any dive in the "Blue World."

[bright adventurous music]

[gentle music]