With a significant portion of us stuck at home trying to keep entertained, whilst longing to be back in the water and getting our gills wet again. Our suggestion to keep the passion alive is to read books, watch movies, and listen to podcasts!
Dive Into These Books
Nothing beats reading a good book about diving, especially when you are stuck at home. We’ve listed some of our favorites below.
Shadow Divers
The story begins in autumn 1991 when a group of experienced divers heads off in search of an unidentified object lying on the ocean floor only half a day’s boat ride off the coast of New Jersey. Amazed by their discovery of a world war II – era German U-boat, the group decided to keep this incredible find to themselves, in order to avoid ‘wreck-jumping’ which is known by many an experienced diver as when another group comes in and takes credit for the discovery. However, the pact is broken and the word gets out, spreading like wildfire.
Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last...
Into the Planet
“Into the Planet” is a thrilling insight into places inside this earth you may not have imagined existed, that famed diving explorer Jill Heinerth has dived while bravely illustrating intense political issues and presenting hard evidence about the impacted ice caps and beyond.
Within her gripping adventures, Jill’s autobiography explores life-or-death decision-making in critical underwater situations, her experiences within the dive industry tirelessly pursuing her career and recovering the bodies of her friends from caves no one else in the world has the ability, training and mindset to access such extreme conditions.
Oh, and she was the first person in the world to dive inside an Antarctica iceberg.
The Soul of an Octopus
An unusual book bridges the gap between humans and one of this planet’s strangest and most wondrous creatures – the octopus. You’ll come out of it learning an amazing amount about these amazing creatures that are cooler and stranger than you could ever imagine.
Breathology
This unique book takes a different slant to others in that whilst it is an educational book it isn’t about diving specifically. Inside this book, you’ll find smoothie recipes, stretches, visualizations, stories, philosophy and lots and lots of science presented in an engaging style.
Oxygen: A Memoir
This memoir by the World Champion Freediver William Trubridge. Through the pages you are taken through Will’s evolution as a competitive freediver. His writing on this subject is evocative, insightful, compelling, and sprinkled with gems of hard-won wisdom that will make this book a valued reference on any free-diver’s shelf. Oxygen is a must-have for anyone with even a passing interest in freediving.
One Breath: Freediving, Death, and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits
Adam Skolnick, a writer who is often found on the pages of the New York Times or Outside Magazine, takes a deep look into the story of Nick Mevoli – the first US freediver to hit 100m who died in the Bahamas during the Vertical Blue freediving competition. It reads like a thriller and is totally gripping from page 1.
The Human, The Orchid, and the Octopus
By the legendary Jacques Cousteau, this book is a part adventure story, part manifesto, the legendary ocean explorer’s passionate plea for sustaining life on earth.
Diving Movies To Watch
There are so many beautiful, inspiring and educational films out here for divers and ocean lovers. We highlight a few of our favorites.
The Big Blue
This was a big hit when it came out in 1988 and still maintains an almost cult status amongst the diving community. The story is based on two lifelong friends who have followed their dreams and become freediving rivals in the Mediterranean Sea. It is also a love story that shows what can happen to a friendship when they are battling, not only to be the champion freediver, but also the champion of love.
The Abyss
Not only does this movie contain deep-sea diving, but it also has aliens which is always a great combination. This fantastic movie is all about a group of civilian divers who have been enlisted by the military to locate a missing nuclear submarine. As the group begins their task, they run into a number of issues and realize that they may not be alone down there.
Last Breath
A diver is stranded on the bottom of the North Sea with only five minutes of oxygen and no chance of rescue for at least thirty minutes. The original participants deliver emotional first-hand accounts of an incident that changed their lives. A tense movie showing the challenges around commercial diving.
Dolphin Man
A documentary about the life-story and legacy of legendary freediver Jacques Mayol, who became the inspiration for Luc Besson’s cult-movie “The Big Blue”.
Blue Planet
Not strictly a film, this critically acclaimed documentary series is narrated by the legendary Sir David Attenborough as it dives deep into the marine environment of Planet Earth. Although two-thirds of the world’s surface is covered with water, scientists know less about the oceans than they do about the surface of the moon. This limited series travels from various coasts to the poles to examine watery denizens ranging from the gigantic blue whale to microscopic coral polyps.
Men Of Honor
This movie is based on the real-life exploits of Carl Brashear, the son of a poor Kentucky sharecropper. Carl is a dreamer, and he lets nothing stand in the way of those dreams, even as he faces significant resistance to becoming the first black US Navy diver.
Podcasts To Listen To
There are some amazing Podcasts out there for the diving world right now. Plug-in put the headphones on and listen to these podcasts for divers of all types.
League of Extraordinary Divers
Hosted by Tec Clark, this podcast features diving legends of the past and present sharing some of their best scuba diving stories such as their original scuba training, scariest diving stories, funniest diving stories, favorite diving locations, as well as tips for divers. Plus you get to head the story of how DeeperBlue.com came into existence with the interview with our Founder – Stephan Whelan. You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
Scuba Radio
ScubaRadio is likely the most downloaded scuba themed podcast in the world. It airs every Saturday from 3-5pm EST on radio stations throughout the US and worldwide both live and through archived podcasts. Each week Greg The Divemaster and friends guide you through the latest dive related news and information often combined with an irreverent twist. Imagine hanging out at a Tiki bar after a day of diving and sharing fish tales with friends. You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
Big Deep
Scuba Diving, Freediving, Ocean Environmentalism, Marine Science. Big Deep is about people who have a deep connection to our world’s oceans; connections strong enough that they have dedicated some part of their lives to being in or working on behalf of the water. You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
The Great Dive Podcast
Join hosts James and Brando as they chat about your favorite subject and theirs, scuba diving. Each episode, these guys will share with each other an interesting and relevant story, tale, adventure or experience from under, in or on the water. It’s just like hanging out with a couple of cool buddies at the dive shop, on the dock or at the pub. You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
This Ocean Life
A weekly podcast series capturing the stories and perspectives of people around the world who have based their lives on the ocean. Fishing, freediving, surfing, paddling, spearfishing, sailing, anything in the ocean… You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
The Freedive Cafe
Dedicated to the freediving world, host Donny sits down with freedivers great and small – discovering the personal stories, techniques, and routines of some of the biggest names in the freediving world. You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
Noob Spearo
This podcast is dedicated to interviewing spearfishing experts, authorities and characters from all over the world. Hosts Isaac ‘Shrek’ Daly and Levi ‘Turbo’ Brown dial in on the experience and wisdom from a diverse bunch of spearos from all over the globe. From spearfishing in the cold waters of the North Sea and the Arctic to the clear, tropical waters of the great barrier reef, they find spearos with tips to help you improve your spearfishing. You can find out more at the show website or listen to an episode below:
So there you have it – that should keep us all busy for a while. Do you have any favorite books, films or podcasts to keep us entertained whilst we are out of the water? Let us know in the comments below.
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