GLSA & WUAA SELF-SUPPORTING SUMMER FIELDWORK:
2026 UNIDENTIFIED STEAM TUG SURVEY PROJECT
Report by: Peter Kastella
Fieldwork Date: Thursday, July 16, 2026
Review of the dive and findings:
Today’s dive has been cancelled. Not for lack of participants, even though the required number had not been met, but
because of extremely poor air quality due to wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Ontario. Overnight the smoke settled
into the lower Lake Michigan basin. As of 9 AM the EPA’s Air Quality Index was 601. The American Lung Association
considers an AQI of over 301 as hazardous and recommends that people should remain indoors and limit any outdoor
physical activity. Jerry is not even running his compressor today due to the heavy smoke in Milwaukee.
This photograph of the Hoan Bridge was posted online by CBS 58 at 8:30 this morning.
We will just have to hope for better conditions next week.
The one tank dives are limited to six divers, with a minimum of five needed to pay for the charter. You can earn a
guaranteed spot on a future charter if you serve as surface support for a week. Surface support does not pay a fee.
Anyone interested in joining the self-supporting study should contact John to make sure there is space available. You
are required to bring your own dive gear.
The Steam Tug Field Project is a GLSA & WUAA self-supporting project. Money received from divers, after paying the
charter fees, is used to purchase new and replacement equipment for this and future self-supported projects on Great
Lakes shipwrecks. Dive reports are posted at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069646586530
“Preservation Through Documentation” ©Kimm A Stabelfeldt
For those of you who have not paid your annual dues for the WUAA group or need to join the group please go to the
web site and do so. https://wuaa.org/index.php/store/WUAA-Yearly-Membership-p447692900