LOCALadk Magazine

56 Summer 2020 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Cousteau and film director Louis Malle released The Silent World in 1956, one of the first films to show the ocean world in color; it won the Academy Award for Best Documenta- r y. The YMC A offered the first certification course in 1959, national training organizations the National Association of Under water Instructors (NAUI) and the Professional Associ- ation of Diving Instructors (PADI) formed in the 1960s, and the RMS Titanic was located in 1985; SCUBA was on its way. Today, about a million new divers are certified ever y year. John Ball has owned Adirondack Scuba in Saratoga for 30 years. Hailing from Long Island, he fell in love with diving in Florida, where he lived until his teens. He offers diving class- es, including an Under water Photography class taught by Andy Deitsch (who supplied the photos for this stor y), does local dive trips, and sells gear in his shop. Along with his wife, Randi, he also runs diving trips to exotic locations including Indonesia, the Maldives, Bikini Atoll, and the Galapagos Is- lands. "Unlike most of the smaller lakes, Lake George and Lake Champlain were formed by retreating glacial sheets," says Ball. These sheets crushed surface soil and rocks, gouged out river valleys, and left the glacial striations we see today. " What you see on the walls and mountains around the lakes, you'll see below the surface as well." Wall dives, one of the options for SCUBA divers in Lake George, start at about 30 feet and can go as deep as 190 feet. While there's no coral, the walls look like cliffs, and offer great diversity and excite- ment, as the environment gets ver y dark ver y quickly. Ball is animated when talking about what divers usually come to Lake George for: the wrecks. "North America's old- est intact warship is submerged at about 100 feet." Known as the Land Tortoise Radeau (French for raft), it was deliberate- ly sunk during the French and Indian War. It's one of the three Submerged Heritage Preser ves in New York State. Located about two miles north of Lake George Beach, this advanced dive site is only accessible with a DEC permit from June through Labor Day. Divers are given two-hour time slots to explore (with a maximum of eight divers in any slot), followed by a one-hour site rest to allow bottom silt to set- tle. Water temperatures range from 35 to 45 degrees Fahr- enheit. Made out of oak and pine, and at 52 feet long and about 17 feet wide with a flat bottom, the Land Tortoise (named because it resembles one with its seven sides) was a float- ing artiller y batter y; it was built by American colonial volun- teers allied with the British in fighting the French for control of North America. In October 1758, the builders were faced with protecting the ship until spring, when the British were planning to attack Fort Carillon (later called Fort Ticondero- ga) located about 30 miles north. During this time period, it was common practice to sink ships and store them under ice so that raiding parties wouldn't find them. The Land Tor- toise eventually drifted into deep water and was lost until 1990, when members of Bateaux Below (bateaux is French for boats) found her. Some features of this National Historic Landmark that can still be seen include cannon ports, origi- nal hardware, and oar and rifle openings. Between 1987 and 2012, Bateaux Below presented over 400 public outreach programs on the histor y, under water archaeological study, and preser vation and protection of Lake George's shipwrecks and other cultural resources. This non-profit corporation was also important in preser ving a

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