Brothers Daniel, 18, and Joseph, 15, Morrison are too old for a traditional Easter egg hunt. But throw in scuba gear and plastic eggs hidden near a timber spill at the base of West Grand Traverse Bay and you have interested teens eager for adventure.
Besides the Morrison brothers, 20 other divers participated in the first annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt, held Saturday at the Clinch Park Marina. The treasures were colored plastic eggs, though instead of candy each contained a golf ball that had been drilled so it would sink. The golf balls were numbered and corresponded with a prize back on shore. Prizes ranged from T-shirts and dive flags to a tool set and golf package.
"This is their first time to dive in something like this," said Linda Morrison, their mother. "They took the classes at the end of July."
The Underwater Egg Hunt was hosted jointly by Scuba North and Great Lakes Scuba and drew divers from around the region and state. Proceeds benefited the proposed Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve and the hunt added $760 to the effort. The Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve is a fund of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.
Organizers of the proposed preserve launched the idea last September and envision a portion of West Grand Traverse Bay as a diver's playground. From the results of other underwater preserves, founder Greg MacMaster believes it would be a magnet for underwater tourism, especially if the group receives permission to sink a boat or airplane as a centerpiece.
"We're also linking underwater tourism with the Michigan Lighthouse Association and also maritime heritage alliances, both local and regional," said MacMaster, a local meteorologist and an avid diver for more than five years.
The group has received inquiries from all over the world via their website and interest also runs high in the regional diving community.
"We have people now emailing from the Caspian Sea in Russia asking about shipwrecks here," he said.
Thinking long-term, with their goal at least two or three years away, proponents of the underwater preserve tirelessly network, advocate and educate. The non-profit organization has named many local, state and national representatives as honorary members after receiving aid in some form.
The group is convening an Underwater Tourism Summit in September to boost interest in the concept. In addition, members are promoting underwater exploration through classes at Northwestern Michigan College's Extended Education Services: Underwater Marine Archeology this summer and Underwater Investigations, slated for this fall.
They have made headway on one crucial aspect: the expensive clean up and preparation of a ship or airplane for eventual sinking.
"Right now we have a company in Illinois who will finance the cleaning of the vessel, which is close to a million dollars," said MacMaster, noting that after all the approvals are in place: "We just have to find a ship and tow it there."
In addition to his energetic and passionate advocacy of the preserve, MacMaster played Easter bunny Saturday morning. Donning his scuba gear, he tucked the eggs near a woodpile that sunk in the early 1900s near the marina.
"A barge just lost it all out there, it looks like pick-up sticks — just the size of the football field," he said, before shifting into meteorologist mode: "The temperature is 41 degrees at the surface and 38 degrees at the bottom and visibility is 75-100 feet, which is really good."
Rob Houston of Traverse City surfaced after a short dive that netted him a golf ball with number 43 on it. This corresponded to a blow-up buoy and dive flag, better than jelly beans.
"Most of the eggs were pretty obvious, some were hidden under things," he noted.
For more information on the proposed Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve, see their website at www.gtbup.org.