Lake George Shipwrecks and Sunken History

Underwater archaeologist Joseph W. Zarzynski has a bachelor of arts degree in history from Ithaca College (1973), a master of arts in teaching degree in social sciences from Binghamton University (1975) and a master of arts degree in archaeology and heritage from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom (2001). He is co-founder and executive director of Bateaux Below, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that studies historic shipwrecks in Lake George, New York. Mr. Zarzynski has had nearly two hundred articles and professional papers published in newspapers, magazines and professional journals. He is the author of two books on underwater mysteries and also co-author of a young adult book on Lake George's 1758 Land Tortoise radeau shipwreck. He is also an awardwinning documentary film writer and is one of the executive producers for three documentary productions: The Lost Radeau: North America's Oldest Intact Warship (2005, Pepe Productions), Wooden Bones: The Sunken Fleet of 1758 (2010, Pepe Productions and Bateaux Below, Inc.) and Search for the Jefferson Davis: Trader, Slaver, Raider (2011, Pepe Productions). A native of Endicott, New York, Mr. Zarzynski resides with his wife, Pat Meaney, in the Saratoga Springs, New York area. Bob Benway is a native of Glens Falls, New York, and he resides in nearby Queensbury, eight miles from Lake George. Mr. Benway is a trustee of Bateaux Below, Inc., and also is vice-president of the Lake George Historical Association. Mr. Benway has been scuba diving in Lake George for four decades and is an accomplished underwater photographer and videographer. His underwater photographs have appeared in many publications, and Mr. Benway's underwater video has also been featured in two shipwreck documentaries. The co-authors were part of the team that discovered the 1758 Land Tortoise radeau shipwreck in Lake George on June 26, 1990. The Land Tortoise radeau warship has been called North America's oldest intact warship.