MOST of us do not remember, but not that long ago people did not go into the oceans. Sure, they sailed on the surface and swam in protected lagoons, but conventional wisdom the world over was that the ocean is too dangerous, full of menacing creatures and a thousand ways to kill you. That we no longer think that way, that we see the wonder and beauty of the ocean, can be attributed to one man more than any other. He pulled back the curtain of fear and ignorance to show us what was actually down there, that the ocean was worth getting to know, and proved man could not only survive but thrive there. That man was Jacques Cousteau.
Cousteau served in the French navy during the Second World War. In his position, he explored the possibilities of breathing underwater, which until that time had been dominated by clunky, hardhat outfits connected to the surface by hoses and ropes. Watch the movie “Men of Honor” to get a sense of what that kind of diving was like. Cousteau envisioned something better, something freer, and ultimately, although he could not foresee what he started, something fun.
Scuba diving reached its modern form when Cousteau and his partner invented the on-demand breathing valve for a high-pressure air tank. We know it as the regulator. It allowed divers to swim underwater for long periods of time completely free from the surface, no hoses or ropes. A truly Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, a name Cousteau coined.
Originally, Cousteau applied his device to military purposes. So-called frogmen could swim under enemy ships and plant explosives and so on. When the war ended, the recreational possibilities of scuba gear (the word has become so widespread we do not even capitalize it anymore) were obvious. This is where Cousteau’s greatest contribution came.
Cousteau not only developed the mechanical means for us to explore the underwater world, he furnished the psychological means, because even though we now had the ability to dive, we had to get past our own inhibitions and prejudices. Mankind still feared the ocean. To show us that the underwater world was not as threatening as we had been told for centuries, Cousteau went first.
He wrote a book called “The Silent World” which told us what was really down there, and said it was alright to get in the water. Creatures like octopi and barracuda were not threatening monsters as we had been led to believe. Even most sharks cared nothing for humans, and the few species that were a threat could, if handled properly, be managed. Cousteau was our uncle who got in the swimming pool, held out his arms and told us to come in, the water is fine.
After the French government sold him a surplus mine sweeper, which he converted into a research ship and named Calypso, the most famous ship in the world, Cousteau spent the next several decades traveling the globe, filming everything he saw. His movies and television film series brought the world beneath the waves into our living rooms for the first time, and we were fascinated by what we saw. Suddenly, walls of fear were torn down. The ocean was not some strange, threatening place. It was full of beauty and wonder. It demanded our respect and begged exploration.
“Jaws” is one of my favorite movies. But in many ways, it was the worst thing that could have happened to lovers of the ocean. It was the anti-Cousteau. Where Cousteau sought to de-mystify the underwater world and advertise its beauty, Spielberg shined an exaggerated Hollywood light on the meanest and most threatening part of the sea. Cousteau encouraged everyone into the water, Spielberg chased everyone out of it. But that is a story for another time.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for 20 years. He currently resides on the mainland U.S.
BC Cook