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131 The Cousteau in All of Us

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In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we learn about how the passion of Jacques Cousteau exists in all of us dive professionals.

Welcome To The Show!

Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

This past weekend I finally watched the documentary Becoming Cousteau. Now, I, like many other dive professionals my age, grew up watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau on television and THAT is how we fell in love with the underwater world. So to watch a documentary that encompasses Jacques Cousteau’s entire life and works, like the AquaLung, The Silent World movie, The Calypso, his TV show, the Cousteau Society and his family life – was just a glorious unveiling of a time capsule. And it deeply touched me.

In fact, as soon as the opening music and images of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau played, I literally was choked up. Not only did it remind me of being a kid eating TV dinners with my mom in front of the TV, it also stirred my youthful fantasies about someday working underwater. And that is what I do today.

But there’s something more to that documentary that inspired this episode. I realized that it wasn’t just amazing cinematography and spectacular destinations, it was Cousteau’s passion and genius that drove the success of that TV show and frankly all of his works. Friends, I want you to know that you have a passion and genius that others see in you as a dive professional. And that is what we’re gonna explore today.

Items In This Episode

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Thanks For Listening!

That’s it for today, everyone. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes Page at scubaguru.com . There you can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care of my friends.

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#1 “The Silent World” by Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau

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The Silent World by Jacques Cousteau
The Silent World by Jacques Cousteau

There is no singular book more worthy of my number one recommendation than Jacques Cousteau’s timeless classic The Silent World.

The book is written by Capt. Jacques Cousteau.  It recounts his journey from Naval officer to inventor of the most groundbreaking invention for underwater exploration – the Aqua Lung (prototype of the modern SCUBA unit).  Set during World War II, Jacques Cousteau writes of his first attempts at designing the Aqua Lung, along with the ideas and inspirations from others such as his co-inventor Emile Gagnan.

Where the book really shines is in the accounts of the actual underwater exploration.  Capt. Cousteau describes the harrowing details of the first dives with the Aqua Lung, the first deep dives of his dive team, bends, nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity.  He also describes being the first humans to be  underwater in certain places.  How amazing the stories are as you get to read and feel what it was like to be with the first explorers underwater.

I am also fascinated by the photos.  The underwater photos are mysterious and eerie.  All are black and white, with a combination of topside and underwater – including the first underwater photo he ever took on the Aqua Lung unit.  Photos of the earliest divers in their equipment are just superb.

The first printing of the book was in 1954.  However, National Geographic has republished it for its 50th anniversary.  I can’t recommend this book enough for any diver of any level!

The History of Diving: CMAS

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CMAS

The History of Diving: CMAS

With the invention of the Aqua-Lung by Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnon in 1943, the sport of diving with the Aqua-Lung (later to be coined SCUBA) was becoming popular with water enthusiasts worldwide. An association of fishermen, underwater hunters and divers created the International Confederation of Sport Fishing which was founded on February 22, 1952. As diving became more popular in the 1950’s several members of the Sport Fishing Federation wanted to create an organization dedicated to underwater activities. So from January 9th to 11th, 1959 15 countries unanimously voted to form the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) – the English translation is the World Underwater Federation.

Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau was elected as the first President of CMAS, and the organization formed standards for underwater sports, as well as scuba education and training. Thus making it the first international scuba training organization.
Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau was elected as the first President of CMAS, and the organization formed standards for underwater sports, as well as scuba education and training. Thus making it the first international scuba training organization.

CMAS is represented in over 51 countries with over 3 million members. It consists of three committees – Sport, Technical and Scientific. These committees are overseen by a Board of Directors elected periodically at the annual General Assembly. The Sport and Scientific Committees oversee sub-committees known as commissions. Its headquarters are currently located in Rome.

 

CMAS is represented in the United States by two entities: 1. the Underwater Society of America for sports such as underwater hockey, underwater rugby, fin swimming, etc., and 2. Scuba Educators International for recreational scuba training.

 

CMAS utilizes a unique “star” system for diving certifications called the International Diver Training Certification System that consists of Diver, Speciality Diver, Technical Diver and Leadership Diver Training Standards. This system allows divers that have been trained in accordance with the prescribed International Diver Training Standards, to be recognized throughout the world in member countries.

 

For more information on CMAS click here

For more information on the history of scuba diving, I highly recommend the book Scuba America

Welcome Dive Professionals

Welcome to ScubaGuru.com!  The ScubaGuru brand is dedicated to giving dive professionals tools and techniques to be GREAT LEADERS – leaders in the classroom, leaders underwater, and leaders in their diving businesses.  With unique leadership skill-sets, the dive professional can create:

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See what we mean by Go Beyond the Standard and enjoy the rewards of being truly great at what you do!

Sincerely,

Tec Clark

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