Newfoundland and Labrador’s rugged coast is peppered with ship wrecks – many still hold their secrets, while others are well known and documented.
Regardless of the wreck, each one holds a special fascination because so few people get to explore and experience them first-hand.
That’s part of what inspired local diver and instructor Chris Power to compile a collection of his underwater photographs.
“World War II Ship Wrecks; In Pictures” features photos taken on Power’s dives to the Bell Island wrecks, and the site of the USS Truxton and Pollux.
Power says World War II wrecks in particular carry a lot of interest.
“‘Cause there’s a big interest in World War II” says Power, “the wrecks have a story.” He says the iron ore carriers at Bell Island were targeted by a German U-boat, it was “the closest the war came to the shores of North America. Newfoundland wasn’t a province at a time, otherwise it would be in a lot more history books, I think, in Canada.”
Meanwhile, the Truxton and Pollux carry their own fascinating story, with the miners of St. Lawrence and Little St. Lawrence coming to the rescue to save stranded US sailors from the fury of the waves.
Power says underwater photography poses its own challenges as the deeper into the water column, the more you colour you lose.
The colours drop off, in the same order as they appear in the spectrum says Power “reds disappear first” which means “you got to know what you’re taking a picture of, and know how to use your lighting, if you can use lighting.”
The official book launch takes place today at 5:00 at the Crow’s Nest in St. John’s.