Cousteau.
Nice, France, 2023.
You might be wondering why I’m writing about Jacques-Yves Cousteau in a travel blog called Dispatch from Paradise. Well, I’ll tell you. Dispatch from Paradise is about the oceans and beaches of the world, which is where Cousteau spent his life exploring and conducting research. He definitely loved the oceans, and cared about their futures, as I do, so it seemed fitting to honor someone who devoted his life and legacy to all the places I love. Here’s a short list of some of his favorite places to explore and dive:
Richelieu Rock, Andaman Sea, Thailand
Sha’b Rumi, Sudan
The Mediterranean
Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
Cocos Island, Costa Rica
The Great Blue Hole, Belize
The Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Sipadan, Malaysia
Red Sea, Egypt
Vancouver Island, Canada
So, he loved to travel, and he loved the oceans of the world, and that’s exactly what this blog is about.
Let’s call Cousteau an Honorary Ambassador (and I hope I don’t get into trouble for that).
Jacque Cousteau with crew members.
A quick rundown on Cousteau.
Jacques Cousteau is without question the most widely recognized and respected ocean explorer in modern times. His life was one of adventure, discovery and innovation. Cousteau was born in 1910, in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France, the youngest of two boys. He was educated in Paris at Collège Stanislas after which, in 1930, he joined the Ecolé naval. He then founded the French Ocean Campaigns (FOC) and secured his legendary ship, Calypso. In 1973, driven by his desire to protect the oceans, he founded The Cousteau Society. Cousteau obviously did a lot more in his long career than the few things I’ve mentioned here. It would take many, many pages to go through his achievements. So, in the interest of brevity, here’s a list of my six favorite Cousteau accomplishments.
Cousteau underwater.
1. Echolocation Discovery.
Cousteau figured out that porpoise use echolocation to navigate their ocean world. While sailing through the Straights of Gibraltar with a group of porpoise, Cousteau changed course, away from the optimal heading. The porpoise briefly followed Cousteau’s ship, but then adjusted their course away from him and back to the optimal heading. The porpoise obviously new the best route and Cousteau surmised, correctly, that they were using echolocation. It was a brilliant observation by Cousteau.
Echolocation.
2. Palme d’Or film award.
Cousteau won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for his film The Silent World. The Silent World brought the underwater world to the general public like no other film had before. It was filmed in the waters of Abu Dhabi, off the coast of what now called the United Arab Emirates. Cousteau was in these waters investigating possible drilling sites for the British Petroleum Company (being funded by oil companies was something he would later regret). The movie was co-produced with Louis Malle, who made a black-and-white film of the expedition.
Original poster for The Silent World.
3. Pioneering underwater archeology.
Cousteau and team, now aboard Calypso, conducted the first underwater archeological exploration using SCUBA when he and his team explored the wreck Mahdia, located in the waters off Tunisia. This paved the way for the brand new field of study called underwater archeology. In 1955 Cousteau discovered the Thistlegorm. Sunk in 1941 by two German warplanes, the Thistlegorm was a British warship that was transporting a full hold of military equipment; it’s one of the most popular wreck diving spots to this day.
The SS Thistlegorm.
4. Cousteau was a spy during WW ll.
Cousteau never lost contact with his comrades from the Ecolé navale and during WWll he was sent on several missions in different locations, including Shanghai, the U.S.S.R., and Japan. He put together a commando operation against the Italian intelligence service that was operating in France, and did more than one incredibly dangerous operation clearing mines from the ocean. He also helped facilitate the alliance between the French navy and the Allies. He was awarded several military decorations for his service, including the French Legion of Honor medal.
Cousteau, circa WWll.
5. Environmental activism.
In October of 1960, the Commissiariat à l’énergie Atomique (CEA) was preparing to dump a large amount of radioactive waste into the Mediterranean Sea. They claimed the dump was experimental and that several French oceanographers supported the idea. The proposed dump site was between Corsica and Nice, an area the CEA said had little to no sea current and was therefore a safe place for the hazardous waste. French scientists, including Cousteau, disagreed; public opinion backed Cousteau and the dump was postponed. Cousteau then went into action and put together an immensely popular media campaign. Ultimately, the train carrying the hazardous waste was stopped by women and children who sat on the tracks, blocking the train from reaching its destination.
Cousteau.
6. The Aqua-Lung.
Technically, SCUBA already existed. The tanks-with-air system had been invented in 1926 by Commander Yves Le Prieur. Cousteau, however, needed more time underwater than Commander Yves’ design allowed. So he added a demand regulator that had been invented by Émilie Gagnan in 1942. This did the trick, creating what is called open-circut SCUBA. Cousteau spent much of 1943 testing the new Aqua-Lung equipment, as he named it, before patenting it. The basics of this SCUBA design are still being used today by thousands of divers all over the world.
Cousteau and his patented Aqua-Lung.
This short film is a great summary of the amazing life of Cousteau.
Enjoy!
Written by Marc Tepe.