Michigan’s Top Secret Dive to the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

In 1995, two men pulled off a Michigan-based stunt that can only be described as part genius and part lunacy. Dive instructor Terrence Tysall from Florida and Mike Zlatopolsky, a Russian-born danger junkie, became the first (and perhaps only) humans to touch the Edmund Fitzgerald since it tragically sank in 1975.

RELATED: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Revealed: Draining Lake Superior

Sure, you've seen the footage from little robot submarines, but nobody had ever placed a gloved hand on the wreck. These two did—530 feet down, into Lake Superior's frigid, unforgiving, pitch-black waters. Oh, and they did it all in secret.

The Dangerous Depths of Lake Superior

Lake Superior is not for the faint of heart, especially when diving in water that is a brisk 36 degrees. The depth? Record breaking. The outcome? Well, they lived to tell the tale—barley.

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With over 300 pounds of gear each and gas mixtures only chemists and deep divers would understand, they dropped into the abyss. Things almost went sideways when Zlatopolsky's regulator (breathing device) freaked out at 180 feet. There's nothing like free-flowing air to spike your adrenaline, but Tystall, who had trained Navy divers and swam like a fish since age 8, kept his cool, and they pressed on and continued their decent.

Seven minutes after leaving the surface, about two minutes longer than they'd planned, they arrived at the Edmund Fitzgerald's wreck. Though it has been seen via deep exploration submarines, Tystall and Zltopolsky became the first humans to touch the ship since its crew of 29 went down with it on November 10, 1975.

RELATED: Why Bodies Don't Decompose In Michigan's Lake Superior

Speaking with Traverse Northern Michigan in an interview published on MyNorth.com, Tystall described the moment he first laid eyes on the wreck, "I knew that people had died in this wreck. And that was what affected me most. In that moment, I wanted to send a message to those who had died. Hey, nobody has forgotten you.”

Because of the dangers of diving to these depths, the pair only spent 6 minutes on the wreck before beginning the 3-hour ascent to the surface. Diving to the Edmund Fitzgerald has been illegal since 2006, when Canada declared the site a "watery grave," making it illegal to come within 500 meters (1,640 feet) of the wreck. For the full tale, read the nearly breath-by-breath account at MyNorth.com. For a close look at what the Edmund Fitzgerald would look like today if Lake Superior were drained, scroll on.