As most of you know (and if not I’m letting you in on a secret) we still have a group trip going on in Cozumel right now. Who is jealous? Especially of those who went for 2 weeks and missed out on the nasty cold weather last week. Since we still have a group in Cozumel, I thought it might be fun to do another post on Cozumel.
Today we’re going to feature the Statues that are underwater just to the right of Cozumel Marine World.
The Statues of Cozumel
Last year when we had a group down there, Deb and I were diving off the shore from the Cozumel Marine World Pier. That day we had a couple different groups go out. Everyone kind of dispersed in multiple directions. Deb and I went right. Not too far from the pier, we came across three statues. We knew one was Jacques Cousteau, but the other two were a mystery. Once we were back, I started doing some research and we found out that the woman statue was Sylvia Earl and the other male statue was Ramón Bravo. So the question is, just who are these people? I’m so glad you guys ask these questions ;). Today let’s focus on Jacques Cousteau.
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau is kind of known as the Father of SCUBA Diving.
He was a French Naval Officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author, and researcher who was born in Franch on June 11, 1910. His area of expertise was underwater life in all forms as well as creating documentaries based on books.
In 1930, he joined the French Naval Aviation and graduated as a gunnery officer. Shortly thereafter an auto accident caused his stent in the French army to be cut short. This accident caused him to be able to follow his other passion, underwater life.
With the help of Marcel Ichac, Cousteau created the first French underwater film in 1943. The film was made at 18 meters down without any breathing apparatus. They used a depth-pressure-proof camera developed by mechanical engineer Léon Vèche.
During the 1940’s, Couteau helped to improve the aqua-lung design. Those improvements are seen in the open-circuit scuba technology used today. Being unhappy with the amount of time he could spend underwater with scuba technology he used invented in 1926, he helped pave the way for the first prototype aqua-lung gear which helped extend dive time underwater.
All of this exploration lead to him making more documentary films as well as writing books. His documentary films also lead to dealings with local networks for on-air television shows in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
He has foundations named after him, the Cousteau Foundation and the Cousteau Society. His legacy also includes more than 120 television shows, more than 50 books, and an environmental foundation with more than 300,000 members. Also in his lifetime, he received more than 9 honorable distinctive awards.
In 1997, 2 weeks after his 87th birthday, he passed away in Paris due to a heart attack on June 25, 1997.
I wish they would repeat his shows. There are generations that would benefit from watching them.
I loved his stuff and watched whenever I could.