|
| THE
LEGEND HUNTERS- THE SEARCH FOR OGOPOGO |
 |
Bill
Steciuk's motivation - his first sighting
Bill
Steciuk was crossing the bridge from the west side of Okanagan Lake
in October of 1978 towards Kelowna. He caught a movement in the
lake and immediately stopped his car. All the traffic behind him
also stopped and he was soon joined at the rail by about 20 other
onlookers. All 20 or so people saw what appeared to be a head with
three black humps behind it perhaps 60 metres away protruding out
of the water. Bill and the onlookers watched the creature 'swimming'
for nearly a minute, after which time it disappeared beneath the
water's surface, leaving a substantial wake. This sighting made
a believer out of Bill and he vowed to try to one day search for
Ogopogo.
|
|
2000-2001
expeditions
In 1999, Bill Steciuk
began to assemble a team of researchers. They were ready for their
first expedition in August 2000 and also mounted a second one in
august 2001. A third expedition was planned for August 2003 but
had to be postponed due to the Okanagan Mountain Park fires which
restricted access to the area. Bill and his associates are planning
another search in the near future.
Click
here to read more about each of the 2000 and 2001 expeditions.
There have also been several documentaries filmed over the years and many of the filmmakers have invited Bill Steciuk to join them on their expeditions. |
|
| THE
LEGEND HUNTERS- THE SEARCH FOR OGOPOGO |
Geological
history of Lake Okanagan
Located at 49 degrees
50 minutes N latitude, 119 degrees 32 minutes w longitude, Lake
Okanagan is situated in the interior of southern British Columbia,
Canada, about 400 kilometers from Vancouver. It is approximately
120 kilometres long; 3.5 kilometres wide and is 235 metres at its
deepest point.
Lake Okanagan has had
a fairly unique geological development. Some of the factors influencing
its origin include tertiary volcanic and sedimentary activity, fault
rupturing, regional tectonic forces, stream dissection and deep
erosion. These glaciers and interglacial streams were the main causes
behind the deepening of formation of the original valley. Because
of this activity, Okanagan Lake has been referred to as a fiord
lake, which may have been open to the sea at one time and many of
these streams may have been interconnected. |
|
| |
MEMBERS
OF THE 2000 AND 2001 EXPEDITIONS - The Legend Hunters |
| |
 |
Bill
Steciuk, a local Kelowna realtor and avid fisherman, became
the expedition leader in charge of the logistics of the expedition,
such as obtaining equipment, personnel and sponsors for both
the 2000 and the 2001 expeditions. |
 |
Len G. Melnyk President of Can Pro Productions and Can Pro Diving
Services, joined our team in June 2000. Len's R.O.V. (Remote
Operating Vehicle) could reach depths of 305 metres and was
equipped with a video camera and underwater lighting unit to
send high quality pictures to the main vessel. Len, a master
scuba instructor and commercial diver, was the underwater equipment
and diver co-coordinator for the 2000 and 2001 expeditions. |
| Bill Steciuk |
Len Melnyk |
 |
Neal Klose, Manager of Can Pro
Diving, led many of our underwater searches as he organized
the underwater video shooting. |
 |
Technician
Tara Lechasseur, a graduate of the British Columbia Institute
of Technology in their Fish, Wildlife and Renewal Resources
program, was in charge of our on-board sonar operations. |
| Neal Klose |
Tara Lechasseur |
 |
Jay Sinclair was the main vessel
pilot as well as an experienced scuba diver and underwater
cameraman. He was also in charge of maintenance of the electronic
equipment. |
|
|
| Jay Sinclair |
|
|
|
|
