Cousteaus Team in 70s using US DIvers Gear

[beel82]

I starting watching some of the Undersea World Jacques Cousteau lately (since TV is just garbage now days ) And I noticed on the Lagoon of Lost Ships and Coral Jungle Episode some of the divers are using US Divers Gear. DA aquamaster Regs and Cousteau himself used a Conshelf VI. Most posts I have read state they mostly used Sprio Royal Mistrals. Seems they were using a combination of all of these regs in the series Ive been watching.

[Bryan]

The hydrodynamic housings that the Cousteau dive team is most famous for is designed to use the LaSpirotechnique Mistral and Royal Mistral. Therefore they are the regulators most often used by Cousteau and the divers of the Calypso. Are there exceptions to this?....of course...But for every DA or single hose you see there will be 10 Mistrals.

This info comes from Ryan Spence who's work documenting the history and equipment of Cousteau and the Calypso is regarded at A+ around the globe.

CLICK HERE for more info

[beel82]

Most people say Cousteau "preferred" the Mistral, however, his crew may not have felt the same way. In Lagoon of Lost Ships they were penetrating hulls at depths of 250 feet. They reference using the "latest regulators" (aka DA Aquamaster) "to allow easier breathing at great depth". I would have to agree.

My guess is it was all a matter of preference. Some guys wore the Hydrodynamic while others just used the tanks with a harness. I'm not sure I would care much for the Hydrodynamic stuff. Seems like more bulk thank necessary.

[Bryan]

Most people say Cousteau "preferred" the Mistral, however, his crew may not have felt the same way. In Lagoon of Lost Ships they were penetrating hulls at depths of 250 feet. They reference using the "latest regulators" (aka DA Aquamaster) "to allow easier breathing at great depth". I would have to agree.

They used the Mistrals with 5000psi cylinders and far deeper than 250'

My guess is it was all a matter of preference. Some guys wore the Hydrodynamic while others just used the tanks with a harness. I'm not sure I would care much for the Hydrodynamic stuff. Seems like more bulk thank necessary.

You miss the point of the hydrodynamic housings.

[beel82]

You miss the point of the hydrodynamic suits.

My observation and speculation is on the possibility of diver preference. I could be wrong. Thats why I wanted some feedback. See this picture



Why are they both not wearing the hydrodynamic suits if there was a point to it? Is it possible the other diver did not care for it? I noticed several of the diving teams had a variety of gear types between divers. In the coral jungle episode I noticed Albert Falco diving US divers gear while his diving partner (cant remember his name) had a Royal Mistral with what looked like the original dx overpressure mouthpiece. Again, this is all what I noticed when watching the series this weekend.

They used the Mistrals with 5000psi cylinders and far deeper than 250'

I noticed they used the Royal Mistrals on the Brittanic dive which if I remember right was around 400 feet. They used DA Aquamasters on the Lagoon of Lost Ships at 250 feet.

[captain]

Cousteau was a showman/movie maker, the hydrodynamic outfits were designed for show rather then go. Usually only those on camera wore them, the film crew wore regular gear.

[beel82]

That's kind of what I was guessing. It definitely looks more fashionable (sort of) than practical. But I think it shows how some of the divers used what they liked.