By Jon Boucher & Andrea Van Landingham (adapted for MVpro Media)
A Lifelong Mission Takes Root
Jerry Eliason, a lifelong shipwreck hunter from Cloquet, Minnesota, has forged a reputation as one of the Great Lakes’ foremost explorers. His enduring curiosity, kindled in childhood by Sea Hunt, has powered a decades-long mission—leading to the discovery and documentation of legendary wrecks like the Henry B. Smith and the record-breaking Scotiadoc (theiatech.com).
Innovation Born of Necessity
Faced with the challenges of limited budgets and equipment, Jerry and his team turned to ingenuity. They transitioned from basic drop-down SD cameras to high-definition systems, and devised a precise dynamic positioning method using an electronic trolling motor with built-in GPS to hold station directly above wrecks (theiatech.com).
Deep Dive: Research, Sonar & Persistence
Success begins long before deployment. Armed with extensive archival research—including old newspapers and life-saving reports—and deploying homemade side-scan sonar and magnetic anomaly detection, the team peeled back the layers of lost time. They even filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, applying signal averaging to raw data to isolate potential wreck sites. This blend of history and high-tech led them to the Henry B. Smith after nearly a century underwater (theiatech.com).
Breakthrough at 535 Feet
In 2013, their perseverance paid off. Teaming up with Theia Technologies, they dropped camera systems accurately and, within just 20 minutes of sonar deployment, sighted the intact freighter’s flying bridge at a depth of 535 feet off Marquette, Michigan. The moment’s emotional impact marked a crescendo of hard-won effort (theiatech.com).
Pushing Boundaries: The Deepest Wreck Yet
Later that same year, Jerry’s team achieved an even greater feat: the Scotiadoc, resting upright and intact at approximately 850 feet—making it the deepest shipwreck ever documented in the Great Lakes. Guided by sonar grids built on historic court testimonies, factoring in wreck drift, weather, permit readiness, and technical deployments, they struck gold: the ship’s name still readable on film (theiatech.com).
The Role of Advanced Imaging: Theia’s MY125M Lens
In the impenetrable darkness of deep water, standard wide-angle lenses fail. Suspended particulates like copepods blind the camera with backscatter when lighting is too close. The solution: position lights 4–6 feet from the lens on the same cable, and use an ultra-wide, no-distortion lens with a short working distance. Enter Theia Technologies’ MY125M with its 133° field of view, low barrel distortion, and 0.5 m working distance—perfect for capturing expansive wreck imagery in murky environments (theiatech.com).
Leveraging Theia’s patented Linear Optical Technology®, the lens eliminates barrel distortion optically—no post-processing needed—and preserves edge resolution far beyond fisheye alternatives. Mounted inside a dome port housing, the setup maximizes clarity while resisting distortion, and works in tandem with desiccants to prevent fogging in cold depths (theiatech.com).
Looking Ahead: Writing a New Chapter in Underwater Discovery
With two legendary wrecks documented, Jerry’s team is gearing up for its next grand expedition: locating the German U-boat U-656. Building on their achievements with the MY125M lens, they’re preparing to deploy Theia’s next-generation MY23F lens (for larger 1/1.8″ sensors) paired with the Bosch NBN-80052-BA camera—promising more than double the resolution (1,842 px/m vs. 842 px/m) and enhanced low-light sensitivity. When paired with improved LED lighting, better dynamic station-keeping, and refined sonar mapping, this system is expected to redefine deep-water exploration boundaries (theiatech.com).
A Legacy of Discovery
Jerry Eliason and his shipwreck community exemplify the intersection of passion, history, and technical innovation. Through dogged determination and the right tools, they’ve pulled lost stories from the depths—and the next chapter is just beginning.
