The League of Extraordinary Divers Podcast

Imagine sitting down to a coffee or cocktail with your favorite diving personality and hearing their stories. The League of Extraordinary Divers podcast brings legends in the diving industry to you. Hosted by Tec Clark, this podcast features diving legends of the past and present sharing some of their best scuba diving stories. You'll hear stories such as their original scuba training, scariest diving stories, funniest diving stories, favorite diving locations, as well as tips for divers.

LXD 042 : Faith Ortins – Underwater Explorer

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Faith Ortins – Legendary Underwater Explorer

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s great to have you here today.

Today we have an absolutely remarkable guest. Today I have a fun interview with diving legend Faith Ortins.

Faith has spent most of her adult life in the ocean. Starting as a
scientific diver and volunteering for public safety diving operations in the
1980’s, Faith became a technical diver and divemaster and has thousands of
dives over her 42 year diving career.

She worked with DUI to develop some of the first women’s drysuits while still a dive store owner in the early 90’s. As VP of sales for DUI, she created the DUI DEMOTOUR, which promoted local diving while allowing divers to test dive DUI products, and the DIVEOPS program which promotes education about the risks of diving in contaminated water.

She has led expeditions around the world- many to the most remote places on Earth including multiple expeditions to both poles. Recently, she co-founded Blue Green Expeditions and now runs expeditions full time as she continues to share her passion for diving with divers from around the world. A frequent presenter at dive shows and conferences, she is a 2010 inductee into the Women Divers Hall of Fame and a member of the Boston Sea Rovers.

Items In This Podcast

First scuba class in Massachusetts 1979
Public safety diving
Teaching underprivileged youth to dive
Diving both poles
Finding a 200 year old cannon while diving
Stellar Sea Lions, Wolf Eels, Leopard Seals and Giant Pacific Octopus
Blue Green Expeditions

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

Thanks For Listening!

Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Please leave an honest review for The League of Extraordinary Divers podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! And, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

LXD 041 : Ian Koblick – Legendary Aquanaut

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Ian Koblick – Legendary Aquanaut & Ocean Educator

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s great to have you here today.

Have you ever fantasized about living underwater. Of course you have! I do too. You see these images have been set in our mind mostly through television and movies – James Bond movies like Moonraker, SeaLab 2020 cartoon, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jacques Cousteau. Well today’s guest was one of the first aquanauts – those who not only worked underwater, but they lived underwater.

Ian Koblick has pioneered ocean exploration since the 1960’s, and for the past five decades has developed built and operated ocean and environmental education and research facilities in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Florida. He operated and managed for 3 years a 150foot research vessels which was donated to his research and education Foundation.

La Chalupa

He was one of the nation’s first aquanauts, after serving as manager and aquanaut in the Tektite undersea programs. In 1972 he designed and operated, “La Chalupa”, the most advanced undersea lab in the world. He and a partner converted it to Jules’ Undersea Lodge, the world’s only undersea hotel, operating since 1986 at the Marine Resources Development Foundation environmental education center in Key Largo, Florida. The Foundation houses and educates more than 4,000 students a year for the past 35 years. Ian created the foundation and has served as president for 50 years.

Ian is a recognized authority on marine resource planning and has consulted on an international level in Japan, Panama, Vietnam, Brazil, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Malta, Italy, Sicily, Croatia, Spain and served the Governor of the Virgin Islands for two years as Special Assistant for Undersea Programs. He co-authored, Living and Working in the Sea, a book on the history of saturation diving and underwater habitats. He was a Consulting Editor of the 2nd edition of the NOAA Diving Manual.

Ian is a founding Director of Aurora Trust Foundation, which was formed to advance the world’s understanding of the ocean environment, and its marine cultural heritage He managed and operated its 85 foot research vessel in the Mediterranean, and co-founded Deep Blue Surveys, a commercial marine company that operated a full suite of remote survey instruments, integrated navigation, and data collection software from its survey vessel based in Malta.

Items In This Podcast

First scuba dives in California
Specimens were collected on scuba, but frowned by scientists
Training at the Naval Experimental Diving Unit
Tektite missions
La Chalupa underwater habitat
A rebreather goes wrong
Marine Lab
Jules’ Undersea Lodge
Prinul50
Marine Resources Development Foundation
Aurora Trust

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

Thanks For Listening!

Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

LXD 040 : Howard & Michele Hall – Award Winning Underwater Filmmakers

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Howard & Michele Hall – Legendary Award Winning Underwater Filmmaking Duo

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s great to have you here today.

Have you ever been to an IMAX movie? IMAX redefines the phrase big screen films. Well I vividly remember seeing Deep Sea 3D IMAX film, I was stunned at the beauty on the massive screen. It was truly an experience to watch. Well it turns out that movie along with multiple other IMAX and made for tv movies were all filmed by a husband and wife duo none other than Howard and Michele Hall.

Howard and Michele Hall are wildlife filmmakers who specialize in marine wildlife films. Working as a team, Howard and Michele have produced and directed many television films including a National Geographic Special, three episodes of the PBS series Nature and the five-hour PBS series Secrets of the Ocean Realm.

In addition to winning the Best of Show at Wildscreen 1990, The Festival Choice Award at Jackson Hole in 1991 and Best Cinematography in 1993, the Hall’s television work has resulted in seven Emmy Awards.

IMAX

The Halls are perhaps best known for their underwater IMAX® films. In 1994 Howard directed the first-ever underwater IMAX 3D feature, Into the Deep, and in 1998 he directed and Michele produced the IMAX film Island of the Sharks. They returned to the IMAX 3D format in 2005 when Michele produced and Howard directed the Warner Bros./IMAX feature Deep Sea 3D. The award-winning sequel Under the Sea 3D followed in 2009. Of the five highest grossing 3D films produced by IMAX Corporation, two were directed by Howard. The box office receipts for the IMAX films they’ve produced and directed exceed $200million.

Howard and Michele have participated in many other underwater IMAX productions in various capacities, including MacGillivray Freeman Films’ IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, Journey to the South Pacific and Humpback Whales.

They are currently in production on two films. One is an IMAX film, Secrets of the Sea. The release has been delayed due to Covid-19, and is now scheduled for 2022. The second is a feature-length documentary, which they expect will be available on a streaming venue in 2021.

Accolades

The Halls strive to make family-friendly films that raise awareness of and increase appreciation for the marine environment. During the past 30 years, the films they have produced have been seen by thousands of children and adults. They consistently receive feedback in letters, emails and in person from many who have said that not only have their films increased their knowledge of the marine environment, but they have also been the inspiration to turn career choices toward marine sciences and / or environmental issues.

Howard is a member of the Directors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Michele is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Women Divers Hall of Fame. The various awards they’ve received include being inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, and being named as honorees of the Hans Hass Award. Both are recipients of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences’ NOGI Award.

Items In This Podcast

They met at a dive shop in California, Michele was Howard’s student
Howard started on the set of The Deep motion picture
The first PBS specials
Attempting the first ever underwater IMAX film camera scenes – with a 345 pound camera!
Favorite diving locations
Lifesaving measures for a diver… who was going to the bathroom
Helping a Manta Ray has a major reward – Girl of the Sea of Cortez inspiration
Tips for divers
Women Divers Hall of Fame Scholarships
Howard and Michele’s website

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

Thanks For Listening!

Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

LXD 039 : Richie Kohler – Shipwreck Explorer, Filmmaker and Author

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Richie Kohler – Iconic Wreck Explorer, Filmmaker and Author

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s great to have you here today.

So when you say the name Richie Kohler one may immediately think of wreck diving in the Northeast, or German U boats or his long time buddy John Chatterton, or for many of you the New York Times bestselling book he’s featured in Shadow Divers. Well, that’s because Richie is a key iconic figure in all of those circles.

Richie Kohler is a filmmaker, author and explorer whose diving experiences began in the waters surrounding Brooklyn NY, but whose passion for diving and exploring shipwrecks has taken him to all corners of the globe. And, as a founding member of the NY based group the “Atlantic Wreck Divers” Kohler has spent the last 40 years exploring and identifying lost shipwrecks. Those exploits have been documented in newspapers, magazines, documentary films and numerous books. Kohler holds nearly every diving qualification and has certified scores of technical divers in advanced diving techniques and has led shipwreck and technical diving expeditions internationally.

In 1992 his work (with diving partner John Chatterton) to identify a previously unknown German U-boat was the focus of an award-winning NOVA documentary, “Hitler’s Lost Sub.” And, that six-year effort was the subject of several television documentaries and a best-selling book, Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, a New York Times bestseller. The success of that program launched his career in underwater filmmaking. Kohler co-hosted and produced fifty-six episodes of the popular History Channel program “Deep Sea Detectives” that attracted millions of viewers worldwide. The educational program focused on underwater mysteries in nearly every aquatic environment and inspired many to discover diving and explore the undersea world.

Kohler has produced numerous other television programs detailing his explorations on some of the most famous shipwrecks in the world, including the Andrea Doria, RMS Titanic, and the HMHS Britannic. Kohler has worked on film projects for Paramount Pictures, CBS, PBS/NOVA, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Universal Studios and most recently Kohler joined legendary underwater explorer Dr. Bob Ballard aboard his research ship, EV Nautilus, documenting deep water shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kohler’s work is often focused on the human aspect of shipwreck tragedies and he has prioritized reaching out to the survivors and families answering questions and providing closure on wrecks such as the U-215, U-869, USS Murphy, USS Lagarto and the PC 566. Most recently his work in correcting historical wrongs culminated in an award ceremony at the Pentagon in which the Secretary of the Navy posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit with Valor to a World War II Captain.

A Fellow in the Explorer’s Club, Kohler continues to lead expeditions in search of lost ships and the mysteries they hold. Also, he has written dozens of articles about shipwrecks, deep diving and diver safety and in 2016 published his first book, Mystery of the Last Olympian, that details his decade of work on Titanic’s sister ship HMHS Britannic.

Recently Kohler hosted on a new series of diving-centered programing, Dark Waters with Richie Kohler. This programing will promote the fragile underwater environment, showcasing the treasures it holds to a new generation of underwater explorers.

Richie Kohler represents a unique sector of diving professionals with significant contributions to exploration and historical preservation of the ocean’s wreck resources.

Items In This Podcast

Growing up in New York with a father who fished
Retrieving a clock from a shipwreck started his passion
The great New York Mudhole diving
The accounts of Shadow Divers
Diving the Andrea Doria
Discovering the German U-Boat U-869
Meeting families in Germany of sailors from U-869
Stuck in Britannic
Tips for divers
Who will play Richie in the Shadow Divers movie?
Richie’s website

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

Thanks For Listening!

Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

LXD 038 : Cathy Church – Underwater Photography Pioneer

By Tec Clark Leave a Comment

Cathy Church – Underwater Photography Pioneer and Educator

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s great to have you here today.

Back in the early eighties is when I got certified and my favorite magazine was Skin Diver magazine. Today’s guest was photo editor for Skin Diver magazine and it was many of her photos and articles that fueled me on as a new diver. And that is the one and only Cathy Church.

As a child, Cathy was an avid biologist and bird watcher. She earned a BS in biology from the University of Michigan where she learned to SCUBA dive. She was studying marine biology at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine biology station in Monterey, California when she met Jim Church, a scuba diver who was pioneering underwater photography and writing for Skin Diver Magazine in the early 60s. Cathy wanted to document her underwater work and spent many dives with Jim exploring ways to use the Calypso camera and flashbulb systems with homemade accessories.

She earned an MS in Marine biology at the University of Hawaii but in the late 1960s, she was not able to break the barricades against women divers and she quit pursuing a career as a scientist and turned to two other activities—underwater photography and teaching 7th and 8th grade science in California.

She quickly became recognized as one of the world’s foremost teachers and authors on underwater photography. Cathy was a photo editor for Skin Diver magazine for 15 years, coauthored hundreds of magazine articles and four books on underwater photo techniques, and offered seminars throughout the USA. Her first week-long photo courses were taught in Grand Cayman in 1972.

She is well known for many styles of photography from advertising, documentary and editorial to fantasy images for her gallery. For fourteen years she produced limited edition fine art black and white silver gelatin prints. Her coffee table book “My Underwater Photo Journey” was published in 2004. Cathy is still creating new styles to her photography, from imagination to humor to creations with Photoshop. Her latest assignment was to produce an environmental portrait underwater of screenwriter J.V.Hart for a How-to book “Environmental Portraiture” by Jim Cornfield. This required numerous trials and ideas, and a completely different approach to finally capture Hart’s personality and not just another diver in a lovely scene.

Cathy’s enthusiasm when she teaches and her kindness toward her students have won her accolades from divers around the world. She encourages people through her writing, her seminars and her classes to enjoy the wonders of the undersea environment. She spends many hours successfully coaching people who are fearful of the water on how to become snorkelers and divers. Cathy believes in sharing everything she has learned and she has found many ways to do that.

Like most divers she is a dedicated environmentalist and became a vegan to reduce her impact on the over-consumption of ocean sea food and the destruction caused by raising cattle and other farm animals, with the added advantage of keeping her fully healthy at 75.

Items In This Podcast

Growing up with a biology passion
Certified at University of Michigan with the legendary Lee Sommers
Meeting Jim Chuch
Being photo editor of Skin Diver Magazine
Amazing photo assignments
Photo classes and photo trips
Cathy’s book “My Underwater Photo Journey”
Cathy’s website

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

Thanks For Listening!

Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

« Previous Page
1
…
3
4
5
6
7
…
13
Next Page »

The League of Extraordinary Divers Podcast

Faith Ortins – Legendary Underwater Explorer

Items In This Podcast

Sponsor

Thanks For Listening!

Share this:

Ian Koblick – Legendary Aquanaut & Ocean Educator

La Chalupa

Items In This Podcast

Sponsor

Thanks For Listening!

Share this:

Howard & Michele Hall – Legendary Award Winning Underwater Filmmaking Duo

IMAX

Accolades

Items In This Podcast

Sponsor

Thanks For Listening!

Share this:

Richie Kohler – Iconic Wreck Explorer, Filmmaker and Author

Items In This Podcast

Sponsor

Thanks For Listening!

Share this:

Cathy Church – Underwater Photography Pioneer and Educator

Items In This Podcast

Sponsor

Thanks For Listening!

Share this:

Welcome Dive Professionals

Recent

Search