Have you ever wondered what the shipwrecks below Lake Ontario look like? Now you can see them in vivid detail, courtesy of the efforts of local underwater explorers. The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego is pleased to host the new exhibit “Shipwrecks of Upstate New York”, now available for viewing through the 2023 season.
Developed by local divers and shipwreck enthusiasts Tim Caza and Dennis Gerber, the “Shipwrecks of Upstate NY” exhibit features twenty-five 3D printed and hand painted scale models of shipwrecks located beneath the waters of Lake Ontario and Central New York. What you see is an exact representation of their current appearance, just as a diver would see it. Caza, Gerber, and fellow divers have spent many years researching, locating, and diving the wrecks that had been given up for lost. Through their diligent efforts searching the waters of Upstate New York, these long-lost ships have been rediscovered, untouched by no one else except nature and have been given a new life.
Tim Caza is a licensed USCG Captain and an active scuba diver with over 45 years of experience specializing in wreck diving, search, and discovery of lost ships. He has over 127 discoveries to date. Dennis Gerber is a retired electronics’ engineer and has 37 years of experience diving in the waters of the greater Central New York region. He designed and built the side scan sonar that has helped find many of the discoveries featured in the exhibit. Gerber also developed the software used to communicate to and display the sonar fish data. For more information about the work of Tim Caza and Denis Gerber, visit their website at sonarguy.com.
“With the pending designation of a new National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Ontario, there couldn’t be a more fitting time to encourage the public to explore the submerged cultural resources of our region” said Mercedes Niess, executive director of the H. Lee White Maritime Museum and Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Member. The Maritime Museum and Treasure Chest Gift Shop are open daily, 1-5 pm (10-5 in July & August) and are located on the West First Street Pier in Oswego’s Historic Maritime District.