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
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