Valerie van Heest has written and directed several exciting documentary films about shipwrecks recently discovered in Lake Michigan off the shores of Western Michigan. Working with her teammates, Craig Rich and Ross Richardson as well as producer/editor Robert Gadbois of Gadbois Productions in Chicago, each documentary details the life, loss, search and discovery of a shipwreck that has unique role in our Great Lake’s maritime history. Two of Valerie's films have had debut showings at the prestigious Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, MI: "Icebound Found" and "She Died a Hard Death".

DOCUMENTARIES AVAILABLE IN DVD
Proceeds directed to MSRA to further the work of the organization.
Special pricing for libraries and bookstores.
Please order through our publishing partner www.in-deptheditions.com

A Tale of Two Schooners - 40 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois

Nearly 25,000 schooners graced the Great Lakes during the age of sail. In 1868 and 1869, two of those vessels, both small, sixty-foot two-masted schooners, both built mid-nineteenth century, both operated out of the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan, and both carrying consigned cargos across Lake Michigan to their home port sank in tragic accidents. Coincidentally, both would be located exactly 140 years after their disappearance and just a few miles from each other in southeast Lake Michigan during a joint venture expedition by nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler, his team from the National Underwater Marine Agency and Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates. These shipwrecks are a reminder of the perils faced by the crews and the economic hardships faced by business owners while doing this rather ordinary task of shipping goods across the lakes.

$19.95 (Order now)
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She Died a Hard Death- The Sinking of the Hennepin - 40 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois
Associate Producer William Lafferty

When the tugboat Lotus moved slowly up the Grand River in Ferrysburg Michigan on the sultry evening of August 18, 1927, it was immediately apparent something was wrong. She had left the day prior towing the barge Hennepin and was returning without it. The Hennepin’s Captain Ole Hansen, who had taken refuge on the tug, shouted across to Construction Materials Corporation employees waiting at the Dock: “We lost her boys. She died a hard death.” Seventy-nine years later Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates discovered the ship that Hansen lost in 230’ of water off South Haven Michigan, one of the most significant vessels ever to sail the Great Lakes.

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Planes Trains and Ships- The Discovery of the Ann Arbor No 5 - 35 minutes. Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois

When Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates (MSRA), nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler, and his organization the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA), teamed up to search for Northwest Flight 2501, a DC-4 airliner that crashed on Lake Michigan in 1950, they made a surprising discovery. In 160 feet of water eight miles off South Haven lay the remains of a huge steel ship seemingly impaled into the lake bottom. Just how this vessel, the Ann Arbor No 5, ended up embedded on the lake bottom of after ferrying rail cars across Lake Michigan for six decades proved as much a mystery as the plane crash itself. Join MSRA as they dive the wreck, revisit the magnificent history of railroad car ferry service on the Great Lakes, and ultimately meet the man who was on the Ann Arbor No 5 when it sank!

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Icebound Found! The Ordeal of the S.S. Michigan - 50 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois
"Difficulties are just things to overcome after all." This quote, made famous by Captain Ernest Shackleton when he and his crew of 27 returned from Antarctica safely six months after his ship Endurance sank, could certainly have been the sentiment of Captain Prindeville as a similar drama played out on the ice-encrusted Lake Michigan. In 1885 Prindeville and his 29-man crew on the S.S. Michigan became icebound off West Michigan during one of the worst winter storms in history. After 40 days their ship was crushed by the ice and sank, forcing them onto the ice-covered lake. With stamina and perseverance, all 30 people made it safely to shore in this local tale of endurance! It would also take endurance for the members of Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates to explore the intact remains of this historic vessel, 275 beneath Lake Michigan, and learn first-hand just how difficulties can be overcome.

$19.95

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The Disappearance of Flight 2501 - 50 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois

Fifty-five years ago, on the evening of June 23, 1950, Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 took off from LaGuardia airport for a stopover in Minneapolis en route to Seattle. As Captain Robert Lind passed over Battle Creek, MI preparing for the Lake Michigan crossing, he requested an altitude drop to avoid turbulence of a thunderstorm over the lake, but was denied. That transmission was the last that was heard from the DC-4. The next morning scattered airplane debris and human remains floating in Lake Michigan confirmed the tragedy--the plane and all 58 persons aboard was gone, making this the worst passenger aviation disaster of its time. Since 2001, members of Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates have been working with author Clive Cussler, to attempt to find the DC-4.

$19.95

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Raising the Alvin Clark - 30 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Jack van Heest

In 1969 a team of adventurous men and women involved in the relatively new sport of scuba diving accomplished what had never been done before on an amateur basis: Raising a century-old fully intact schooner, this one from the depths of Lake Michigan. Through archival underwater film footage of the shipwreck and the raising of the vessel, this program will explore the amazing accomplishment of the visionary and dedicated divers led by Wisconsin man, Frank Hoffman, whose efforts provided the world a glimpse, if only for twenty-five years, back to an age of schooners on the inland seas.

$19.95

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The Discovery of the Shipwreck H.C. Akeley - 50 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois

On a cold and stormy morning in October 1883, 18 crewmen aboard a Grand Haven built cargo steamer heading from Chicago to Buffalo with a load of corn, struggled to save their lives and their ship and a foundering tugboat. Each man, while faced with his own mortality, was forced to make a fateful decision. Twelve men lived to tell the tale of tragic storm and six men went to their watery graves with their ship the H. C. Akeley. Over a century after this disaster, local explorers, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, in pursuit of lost shipwrecks off the shores of West Michigan discovered a wreck in 275 feet of water, 15 miles off Saugatuck, Michigan. Through the first video images acquired of this very deep shipwreck shot by scuba divers and remote operated vehicles, MSRA tells the tale of what happened to those 18 crewmembers in the final, fateful moments aboard this doomed vessel.

$19.95

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Freshwater Monsoon - 35 minutes
Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois

On a violently stormy November day on Lake Michigan more than a century ago, a small schooner loaded with slabs of freshly milled lumber wallowed in the trough of the huge seas as her captain and crew struggled to keep their ship afloat and their lives intact. More than a century later, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates attempts to identify the wreck of a small schooner off Saugatuck, Michigan. Through painstaking research and several dangerous dives to this deep site, MSRA explores not only the wreck, but the lumbering industry that sustained Michigan in its early years as a State as well as the careers of two ordinary vessels whose work often found them along the western shores of Michigan. The journey ultimately leads to a surprising conclusion when it is realized that the schooner was swallowed by...a freshwater monsoon.

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The Verano: Porthole to the Past - 40 minutes
Written and Produced by Robert Gadbois

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A Piece of a Ship - 4 minutes
Produced by Valerie Olson van Heest and Jack van Heest

John Francis’s classic poem, “A Piece of a Ship” comes alive with dramatic photographs and moving music.

$12.95



Home Contact Biography Associates Valerie van Heest has written and directed several exciting documentary films about shipwrecks recently discovered in Lake Michigan off the shores of Western Michigan. Working with her teammates, Craig Rich and Ross Richardson as well as producer/editor Robert Gadbois of Gadbois Productions in Chicago, each documentary details the life, loss, search and discovery of a shipwreck that has unique role in our Great Lake’s maritime history. Two of Valerie's films have had debut showings at the prestigious Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, MI: "Icebound Found" and "She Died a Hard Death". DOCUMENTARIES AVAILABLE IN DVD Proceeds directed to MSRA to further the work of the organization. Special pricing for libraries and bookstores. Please order through our publishing partner www.in-deptheditions.com A Tale of Two Schooners - 40 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois Nearly 25,000 schooners graced the Great Lakes during the age of sail. In 1868 and 1869, two of those vessels, both small, sixty-foot two-masted schooners, both built mid-nineteenth century, both operated out of the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan, and both carrying consigned cargos across Lake Michigan to their home port sank in tragic accidents. Coincidentally, both would be located exactly 140 years after their disappearance and just a few miles from each other in southeast Lake Michigan during a joint venture expedition by nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler, his team from the National Underwater Marine Agency and Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates. These shipwrecks are a reminder of the perils faced by the crews and the economic hardships faced by business owners while doing this rather ordinary task of shipping goods across the lakes. $19.95 (Order now) ......................................................................................................................................................................................…………………………………………………………………............................................... She Died a Hard Death- The Sinking of the Hennepin - 40 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois Associate Producer William Lafferty When the tugboat Lotus moved slowly up the Grand River in Ferrysburg Michigan on the sultry evening of August 18, 1927, it was immediately apparent something was wrong. She had left the day prior towing the barge Hennepin and was returning without it. The Hennepin’s Captain Ole Hansen, who had taken refuge on the tug, shouted across to Construction Materials Corporation employees waiting at the Dock: “We lost her boys. She died a hard death.” Seventy-nine years later Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates discovered the ship that Hansen lost in 230’ of water off South Haven Michigan, one of the most significant vessels ever to sail the Great Lakes. $19.95 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Planes Trains and Ships- The Discovery of the Ann Arbor No 5 - 35 minutes. Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois When Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates (MSRA), nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler, and his organization the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA), teamed up to search for Northwest Flight 2501, a DC-4 airliner that crashed on Lake Michigan in 1950, they made a surprising discovery. In 160 feet of water eight miles off South Haven lay the remains of a huge steel ship seemingly impaled into the lake bottom. Just how this vessel, the Ann Arbor No 5, ended up embedded on the lake bottom of after ferrying rail cars across Lake Michigan for six decades proved as much a mystery as the plane crash itself. Join MSRA as they dive the wreck, revisit the magnificent history of railroad car ferry service on the Great Lakes, and ultimately meet the man who was on the Ann Arbor No 5 when it sank! $19.95 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Icebound Found! The Ordeal of the S.S. Michigan - 50 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois "Difficulties are just things to overcome after all." This quote, made famous by Captain Ernest Shackleton when he and his crew of 27 returned from Antarctica safely six months after his ship Endurance sank, could certainly have been the sentiment of Captain Prindeville as a similar drama played out on the ice-encrusted Lake Michigan. In 1885 Prindeville and his 29-man crew on the S.S. Michigan became icebound off West Michigan during one of the worst winter storms in history. After 40 days their ship was crushed by the ice and sank, forcing them onto the ice-covered lake. With stamina and perseverance, all 30 people made it safely to shore in this local tale of endurance! It would also take endurance for the members of Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates to explore the intact remains of this historic vessel, 275 beneath Lake Michigan, and learn first-hand just how difficulties can be overcome. $19.95 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... The Disappearance of Flight 2501 - 50 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois Fifty-five years ago, on the evening of June 23, 1950, Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 took off from LaGuardia airport for a stopover in Minneapolis en route to Seattle. As Captain Robert Lind passed over Battle Creek, MI preparing for the Lake Michigan crossing, he requested an altitude drop to avoid turbulence of a thunderstorm over the lake, but was denied. That transmission was the last that was heard from the DC-4. The next morning scattered airplane debris and human remains floating in Lake Michigan confirmed the tragedy--the plane and all 58 persons aboard was gone, making this the worst passenger aviation disaster of its time. Since 2001, members of Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates have been working with author Clive Cussler, to attempt to find the DC-4. $19.95 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Raising the Alvin Clark - 30 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Jack van Heest In 1969 a team of adventurous men and women involved in the relatively new sport of scuba diving accomplished what had never been done before on an amateur basis: Raising a century-old fully intact schooner, this one from the depths of Lake Michigan. Through archival underwater film footage of the shipwreck and the raising of the vessel, this program will explore the amazing accomplishment of the visionary and dedicated divers led by Wisconsin man, Frank Hoffman, whose efforts provided the world a glimpse, if only for twenty-five years, back to an age of schooners on the inland seas. $19.95 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... The Discovery of the Shipwreck H.C. Akeley - 50 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois On a cold and stormy morning in October 1883, 18 crewmen aboard a Grand Haven built cargo steamer heading from Chicago to Buffalo with a load of corn, struggled to save their lives and their ship and a foundering tugboat. Each man, while faced with his own mortality, was forced to make a fateful decision. Twelve men lived to tell the tale of tragic storm and six men went to their watery graves with their ship the H. C. Akeley. Over a century after this disaster, local explorers, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, in pursuit of lost shipwrecks off the shores of West Michigan discovered a wreck in 275 feet of water, 15 miles off Saugatuck, Michigan. Through the first video images acquired of this very deep shipwreck shot by scuba divers and remote operated vehicles, MSRA tells the tale of what happened to those 18 crewmembers in the final, fateful moments aboard this doomed vessel. $19.95 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Freshwater Monsoon - 35 minutes Written and Directed by Valerie Olson van Heest/Produced by Robert Gadbois On a violently stormy November day on Lake Michigan more than a century ago, a small schooner loaded with slabs of freshly milled lumber wallowed in the trough of the huge seas as her captain and crew struggled to keep their ship afloat and their lives intact. More than a century later, Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates attempts to identify the wreck of a small schooner off Saugatuck, Michigan. Through painstaking research and several dangerous dives to this deep site, MSRA explores not only the wreck, but the lumbering industry that sustained Michigan in its early years as a State as well as the careers of two ordinary vessels whose work often found them along the western shores of Michigan. The journey ultimately leads to a surprising conclusion when it is realized that the schooner was swallowed by...a freshwater monsoon. ...................................................................................................................................................................................... The Verano: Porthole to the Past - 40 minutes Written and Produced by Robert Gadbois ...................................................................................................................................................................................... A Piece of a Ship - 4 minutes Produced by Valerie Olson van Heest and Jack van Heest John Francis’s classic poem, “A Piece of a Ship” comes alive with dramatic photographs and moving music. $12.95