Jacques-Yves Cousteau
The Greatest Explorer
[Part 5 of 5]
Jacques Cousteau's Legacy
"The impossible missions are the only ones that succeed." –Jacques Cousteau
In the photo below, Captain Jacques Cousteau supervises from the bridge of his Calypso, a lift-off of the helicopter from the pad installed on Calypso's bow. It appears they are somewhere in the Antarctic.
There were Rolex Submariner's on the wrist of many of the crew members aboard Calypso including Philippe Sirout pictured below with Captain Cousteau in Calypso's radio room.
The Calypso
Jacques Cousteau was the Director of Monaco's Oceanographic Museum from 1957 until he died in 1997. In the photo below you see the Calypso passing the Museum which was amazing because the Calypso cruised all over the planet which made it a truly international symbol of adventure.
As I previously mentioned, the Calypso traveled all over earth, and it is pictured below traveling down the Amazon river in South America.
In the photo below we see the Calypso as she enters New York Harbor with the Statue Of Liberty in the background.
Jacques Cousteau took the Calypso down the Nile and the photograph below was taken of a Cousteau cameraman taking footage of the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel in Egypt. Cousteau and the Calypso team traveled through every ocean and sea on earth during their travels.
The Calypso was extremely well equipped with innovative technology to capture the mysteries of the ocean including the SP-350 diving saucer, which is pictured below as it is prepared for work in the Aegean Sea.
Jacques Cousteau
Wearing His Platinum Day-Date
T. Walker Lloyd, was a famous deep sea diver and ended up working as an executive for Rolex for a quarter century and he was very close pals with Philippe Cousteau, and knew "The old man" as he typically referred to Jacques Cousteau.
T. Walker mentioned to me in a yet to be released podcast interview I did with him, that Jacques Cousteau was very close with Rene-Paul Jeanerret who was the director of Rolex in Switzerland and was largely responsible for the development of the Rolex Submariner and the GMT Master as tool watches.
[You can check out the detailed and fascinating article I did on T. Walker Lloyd as well as check out podcasts 1-3 of 9 by clicking here.]
Jacques Cousteau is picture below wearing his platinum Rolex Day-Date.
"The Best way to observe a fish is to become a fish." –Jacques Cousteau
Captain, Jacques Coustea is pictured below with Dolly, a dolphin trained in reconnaissance by the United States Navy in the canal waters located in the Florida Keys. What an amazing man and athlete, swimming with dolphins well into his 70s. There is not nearly enough room on Jake's Rolex Watch Blog for me to write about the significance of Captain Jacques Cousteau's accomplishments and achievement, but in the future I am certain we will be exploring his amazing legacy further.
By the way, John Denver wrote a beautiful song in the 1970s about Jacques Cousteau's Calypso ship and I thought I would share the profound words:
Calypso
By John Denver
To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and the living
In search of the answers to questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand
Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well
Like the dolphin who guides you
You bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide
And free as the wind-swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be
Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well
Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well
Video of John Denver at Jacques Cousteau's 75th Birthday Celebration
Footnote: I have heard people criticize Jacques Cousteau by saying he was a showman or some kind of charlatan and I am going to step in and defend Jacques by stating that this notion is absurd. I am sorry, but there is no way in the world that a man who is swimming with dolphins and scuba diving well into his eighties is not the real-deal.
Look at the photo of him on the bridge of the Calypso in the photo above in this story and tell me that is not real. I say Jacques was as real as real will ever get and I also believe that he is as great of a hero as Mother Theresa or Paul Newman.
Despite any foibles–which we all have–Jacques Cousteau's contributions to mankind are immense and typically beyond measure!!!!!!!!!!!!