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Page 5, News, Tuesday, January 28 1992 = Opinion/Letters Raising the Gunilda not a simple matter NORTHERN INSIGHTS by Larry Sanders The Gunilda rammed the McGarvey Shoal off Rossport in August of 1911 because its owner, multi-millionaire William Lamont Harkness inheritor of the Standard Oil Company fortune, was too cheap to pay $15 to an experienced local pilot to steer the luxury steamship through uncharted waters. You may remember several columns I wrote last year about this famous wreck. In 1992, 81-and-a-half years later, there's a debate between those who want to raise the Gunilda and those who think it should be preserved. The debate today centres on much the same issue as the original sinking: whether the own- ers are willing to spend enough money to do this properly. Salvage rights to the Gunilda are now claimed by Albert Kapush and Fred Broennle of Kabro Marine Contractors, Thunder Bay. The Gunilda has been Broennle's passion since August 9, 1970 -- the day his diving instructor, Charles "King" Hague, died diving on the wreck. Broennle says he saw the Gunilda for the first time that day, while trying to find his missing friend and instructor. "You want to stay down there" Broennle says in his haste to find Hague, he fell off an underwater cliff and was "overcome with nitrogen narcosis, and hurting a few times from hitting my head" on the way down. "Nitrogen narcosis is a strange feeling. You have a feeling of well-being and everything is glorious, that you don't really worry about your buddy who is down there somewhere. It's a strange feeling that's usually called the 'rapture of the deep.' You want to stay down there. When I first saw (the Gunilda), with the light turned on it, you have this white paint, and gold leaves (lettering), everything hits you. It's hard to explain. It's not a dream. world, you're physically down there, and yet you're not. You're just looking at something that's so incredibly beautiful." Hague's body was eventually recovered seven years later, perfectly pre- served in the cold depths of Lake Superior. By then, Broennle had bought the salvage rights to the Gunilda from a broker at Lloyd's of London and was pouring every dime he had into efforts to bring the luxury yacht to the surface. His company, Deep Diving Systems, was eventually forced into receivership. "I wanted to do it all by myself, but I realize now that I need help and support." That support now comes from Broennle's partner and financial backer, Albert Kapush, a wealthy 69-year-old Thunder Bay heavy construction con- tractor. Kapush says "I am the owner of Kabro Marine. Fred and I have an agreement, and that's all there is to it. Kabro Marine controls the salvage and the rights to the Gunilda. Freddie turned that over." Kapush says when it comes to paying all the expenses of raising the Gunilda, "I'm, the one that signs the cheques." : f Exactly how large those expenses will be is now the subject of a fierce debate. Thunder Bay marketing consultant and entrepreneur John Henderson has been recruited by Kapush and Broennle to assist in the effort to raise the wreck. Henderson in turn is in the process of recruiting a consulting marine archaeologist who will carry out a detailed feasibility study of the best meth- ods, and costs, of restoring the Gunilda once it's on the surface. Henderson says "we learn more about the ship every week. We are dealing with the best people we can possibly find in the world." Floating tourism promotion Henderson's vision is to use the Gunilda as a floating tourism promotion for Northern Ontario and as a symbol of efforts to clean up pollution in the Great Lakes. "This ship has so much mystique surrounding it, and so much respect from so many people around the world, it deserves that type of end. It doesn't deserve to be improperly restored or not maximized so that most people get that environmental message." Broennle plans to raise the Gunilda from the bottom using 20 inflatable lift- ing balloons, a complex operation he says will cost "$1.2, maybe 1.3 million." Henderson says he is keeping "an open mind" on the question of cost esti- mates, because the projections are constantly being revised as more informa- tion is collected. "I would expect that the project will cost between $4-6 mil- lion. Two-thirds of that is going to be spent on restoration. If it costs more than that, then it's a case of whether groups like the National Geographic Society, Time-Life Books, or the New York Yacht Club, (all of which Henderson says Harkness belonged to) are prepared to support us." But Lorne Murdock, senior archeological conservator with the Historic Resources Conservation Branch of Parks Canada in Ottawa questions whether Kabro should be allowed to approach the project as entrepreneurs. "I have an continued on page 12 Technology changing education by Balan Menon Special The 21st century is almost upon us. Students who are now in grade four will be completing high school at the turn of the century, and university-bound stu- dents who are now in grade nine will be completing their degree program in the 21st century. Science and technology, along with shifting demographics and radically changing global politics and economics, are taking Canadians inexorably into a breath-takingly new and complex world. The fast-changing fabric of society, with its multicultural and multilingual skeins, shot through with bold tints of a global economy, and emblazoned with the regalia of a pervasive technology, requires a highly complex and adaptable educational system, especially at the high school level. Consequently, the secondary school has increasingly complex responsibilities that call for imagination, innovation, resourcefullness and sheer guts--not to mention an inclusive vision that extends beyond the walls of the school and into the community as the whole domain of education. Fundamental to all changes is the computer, which will dominate most aspects of life. It is essential that every subject include in its curriculum a clearly delineated segment on computer applications as related to it, so that every stu- dent may become familiar with, and possibly proficient in, the use of the com- puter for word and data processing, information retrieval and research. Technological literacy is also essential for every student emerging from high school. For example, in this region the major employers require a high school diploma for employment with them, because jobs today call for the knowledge and skills that (should) accompany a diploma. They are also pressuring the high schools to develop in graduates sufficient familiarity with the various technolo- gies and the computer, as well as thinking skills. Schools, therefore, must give top priority to the Broad-based Technological Renewal promoted by the Ministry of Education, which makes the computer central to the technology program, with a full-fledged CAD system that can be effectively used also by the traditional academic disciplines such as English, Science, Art and music--all of which must not only have access to technology, but must also incorporate technological applications specifically within their curricula. At the same time, proactive interaction with industry, business and trade unions will result in valuable contributions from all of them in terms of up-to- date technological skills training essential for both teachers and students. The school can no longer isolate itself from the rich resources of practical technolo- gy that industry can provide if it is made a "partner" in education. One of the major roles of the school of the 1990s is, of course, to prepare stu- dents for employment. At the same time, however, the high school is still a place where students must be given a "broad-based education", including the requisite knowledge, skills, values and personal qualities to function not only as employ- ees or workers but as human beings--as thinking, feeling; rational and spiritual beings, with a wide variety of knowledge and skills to guide them through galaxy of life. The high school should be a place where youth are prepared for life, not merely for the workplace, by providing a humanistic as well as practical education. In short, teachers must be better educated and better trained, both academical- ly and professionally, so that they may bring to the classroom a comprehensive vision of education in the larger sense--with breadth and width that transcends the narrow limits of teaching a subject or course and reaches out into the dimen- sion of bringing human beings and human minds to a realization of their place and potential in the universe. It is imperative that school boards, principals and teachers understand the changes required to prepare students for the 21st century. Letter to the editor Why change the constitution? Dear editor; Our pontificating prime minister says Canada is a wonderful place to live. So why does he want to change it? Does he feel more concessions to Quebec by amending the constitution will make it even better? Express your reaction to his plan by letter to your member of parliament. No postage required. H. Brown Nanaimo, B.C.