Guided by passion, an Airdrie diver led the team that helped unveil the 85-year-old mystery of a vintage vehicle beneath Banff's Lake Minnewanka.
On May 22 and 23, a group of divers of the VexNow dive team-- Jhonny Ryan, Alan Keller, and Brian Nadwidny--solved the mystery of a vintage vehicle submerged in Lake Minnewanka, confirming that the long-rumoured tale was based on fact, not fiction.
They dived 55 meters in 4° Celsius, successfully located and took pictures of the 1928 Hudson Essex Saloon with Saskatchewan licence plates dating back to 1940-- red letters on a white background.
According to the divers, the license plate, the national park pass and a metal buffalo found placed on the dashboard suggests that the car had been underwater for 85 years.
Originally from Cobh, Ireland-- the Titanic's last port of call—Johnny Ryan carries with him a deep connection and passion for the history of shipwrecks and similar mysteries.
Ryan's passion for scuba diving is deeply connected to his roots and the historical importance of his hometown during both World Wars.
He says the Cork Harbour, located on Ireland's south coast, is not only the second largest harbour in the world, but during World War I, it actively served to counter U-boats and during World War II, Ireland remained neutral though there were reports of German U-boats operating in the Atlantic near Ireland.
Ryan was also attracted to diving by seeing his role model, his father, do it along with the stories he heard about Titanic.
"My father was a Navy Commander, who's retired now but he's also a diver, so he kind of instilled it into me at a young age," he expressed.
That historic context is important for readers to understand, as Ryan conducted numerous dives in the area associated to missions involving World War I and two shipwrecks. Through these dives, he gradually deepened his involvement in the technical side of the sport.
In 2013, Ryan moved to Airdrie from Ireland to settle here with his wife Gemma and son Seán.
"When I moved to Canada, it was landlocked, and I didn't do much diving until I met with a small community of guys and then started to get back into it only to realize how much there is around the inland," he said.
Inspired by a strong will to discover his own wrecks and go on missions locally, Ryan began listening to stories from the locals to attain local knowledge and exploring different provincial lakes.
Driven by a passion for uncovering pieces of history and discovering objects that few people ever get to see or experience firsthand, he invested in purchasing a boat, allowing him to travel to various locations and explore what lay beneath the surface in the area.
In fact, the VexNow divers identified the approximate location of the car based on the side-scan sonar in 2020. This discovery came during a search operation for a 26-years-old Yannick Bastien, who went out on a canoe on Lake Minnewanka and went missing on Sept. 21, 2019.
The history of wrecks also greatly contributed to his increased interest in becoming a technical diver.
"The type of diving we do is called technical diving and we use rebreathers, which is certainly mainstream now, but would've been fairly advanced 20 years ago," he stated.
Rebreathers help recycle diver's exhaled breath to remove carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen. It allows for greater efficiency and extended underwater times.
"It worries my wife, but she knows that I'm careful and very methodical; we plan [our missions]," Ryan shared.
On the other hand, Ryan's son, Seán, 13 is rather interested in diving himself with no hints of fear or worry.
"I've taken him on some shallow dives and we dived the Barrier Reef together," Ryan said. "He is still young, so I'm hoping he'll take it up when he's older and earning his own money as it is quite the expensive hobby for a kid."
Practicing such a sport requires plenty of time and effort. Employed by an oil-and-gas company currently, Ryan says, he work rotational shifts with two off and two on.
"Once we had the details, it was just a case of putting together a small team, who's capable of the dive like that, who has the equipment," Ryan said. "The guys that I dive with have all dived up to that depth and possess the knowledge and skill set."
"We use dry suits, battery operated heat underneath, but the cold is a factor including decompression sickness, so you've got to have a plan A, B and C," Ryan noted.
He met his teammates when he decided to get back into diving in Canada.
"I've known Alan the longest; he was one of the first guys I met when I started getting into diving in this side of the world—a methodical and very seasoned diver."
Adding that "I met Brian as I kind of progressed into the deeper [explorations], and he was always looking for guys that were willing to go deeper and see other stuff [underwater]."
Overall, it was a rewarding experience. "If you're diving for a certain target and you actually find it, it's pretty exciting and Alan and Brian did a great job."
Ryan says he wasn't too aware of the local knowledge surrounding the car story and realized it was a bigger deal to have found that car. He credits Alan and Brian for being able to shoot the photos that they did for the hype.
"I kind of got the story afterwards when there was a lot of interest and the media picked up on it."
For his next mission later in September, Ryan and team is working with Parks Canada Archaeology unit on a few other pits and pieces. "There's a couple of targets near Kootenay Lake that we're going to check out-- a crane and dozer."
