The Great Dive Podcast

This week the boys dive into the next great character in Shadow Divers, John Chatterton. Commercial diver, scallop fisherman, army medic, deep wreck explorer, boat captain, and submarine researcher, John has done it all. Join us as we learn more about how he came to discover the answer to the U-Who.

This week the boys dive into the New York Times Bestseller ‘Shadow Divers’ by Robert Kurson. It’s another look at the U-Who but this time from the perspective of John Chatterton and Richie Kohler. We are first introduced however to Captain Bill Nagle, a legendary diver himself once, but now on a course of self-destruction. He was a diver’s diver, and we explore who really deserves the title of, “a diver.”

This week the boys prepare for another deep dive into scuba storytelling, another book about the U-Who. It’s part recap, it’s part teaser for the next series, it’s part thank you, it’s a little bit of everything that TGDP is all rolled into one little episode.

Join the boys as the wrap up their discussion of Bernie Chowdhury's, "The Last Dive". It's only fitting to allow this wrap up to serve as a transition from the story of The Rouses and their demise on the newly discovered German U-Boat dubbed, "The U-Who" into the inevitably intertwined story of John Chatterton, Richie Kohler, Bill Nagle, and a host of other well known East Coast wreck divers as they relentlessly pursue their noble mission to identify this mystery submarine.... the story only gets better gang!

The boys continue their discussion of the true story of the Chris and Chrissy Rouse, the father & son diving team and their fatal last dive on a German U-Boat in part 3 of a multi part series of Bernie Chowdhury's novel, "The Last Dive". Have a listen!

Join the boys this week in part 3 of their multi-episode discussion of Bernie Chowdhury's epic dive novel "The Last Dive". This week we learn of Bernie's own bout with DCS. What he thought would be a bump in the road was almost a dead end and definitely was a detour in his life. Have a listen!!

This week the boys dive deeper into The Last Dive. The main story of the book is about the relationship between the father and son dynamic of Chris and Chrissy Rouse. The Bicker Brothers. Two men who were constantly attacking each other in public and on the dive boat. Was it jealousy? Was it ego? Was it love?

This week the boys begin a multi episode discussion of the legendary diving book, "The Last Dive" by Bernie Chowdhury. Even if you haven't read it (do you even dive bruh?) you'll gain fabulous insight into the history & evolution of diving in the early 1990's and technical diving in particular. This is the true story of the Rouses and their tragic demise wreck diving off the US East Coast. As a tech diver himself, Bernie does a fantastic job of portraying the atmosphere of the technical (both cave and wreck) diving community in it's infancy during the late 80's and early 90's. Bernie's excellent telling of the story combined with his explanation of the nuances and details of diving make the book a great read for divers and non-divers alike!

The boys enjoy a little lesson for life, eventually. First, they spend some time recapping cave month and solo diving. What lessons can a beginner open water diver take from all that cave diving talk?

The boys wrap up Intergalactic Cave Diving Month (IGCDM) with a discussion of a 1973 cave dive in South Australia that resulted in the death of 4 divers. In hindsight, the reason for the the fatalities is quite clear. But in 1973, the cardinal rules of cave diving were not yet developed and it would take even more deaths for them to come to fruition and yet, although infrequent, cave diving deaths still result from divers ignoring what was learned the hard way. Learn what caused this fatal outcome as well as how and what open water divers can learn from incidents like this that happen in cave diving world.

In week 3 of 2024 Cave Diving Month, Jamesy and Brando take an interesting look at Solo Diving. What are the special things to consider if you must do it? What does it really mean to be alone? Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code TGDP at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod

This week the boys look at traditional scuba education and how it developed in comparison to cave diving education. The concept of Accident Analysis versus the mainstream scuba idea of, “Don’t Say The ‘D’ Word.”

This week the boys kick off the 2024 International Cave Diving Month Special with a look at a fatality that occurred on a solo cave dive. Was it a medical problem? Did he forget to monitor his gas? Could a buddy have helped him? These questions and more are discussed. Join us.

Is there anything you cannot do in California? Join the boys as they kick off ice diving season with an article on ice diving in the Sierra mountain range in California. Have a listen!

This week the boys bring you a special 2 hour double episode, live from the 2023 Thunder Bay International Film Festival. As TGDP prepares for attending the 2024 show we look back at a few interviews we did last year. All the talks seem to come back to the feature film last year, David Ruck’s “The Erie Situation.”

The boys ring in the New Year with a review of the top dive destinations for 2024!! Have a listen!

Happy New Year from Jamesy and Brando. Here is a look back at our very first New Years Resolutions show.

In 1913 the Great Lakes were devastated by a Great Storm. But after all the death, destruction, and chaos of that white hurricane one ship tried to bring some Christmas joy back home to Chicago. The Rouse Simmons. Locked, loaded, and overloaded with fresh pine and Christmas carols… she was soon to be resting on the bottom of Lake Michigan instead of being safe in Chicago.

Join the boys the week as they reveal the answer to the "Who is it?" Episode of last week and it is.... the impeccable Stan Waterman of course!! The boys recap a story of his from his book "Sea Salt: Memories and Essays" where Stan waxes poetic on the joys of working with "Jacqui B." on the set of "The Deep" back in 1977. The dive world (and the "world" world) will most certainly miss Stan Waterman who passed away this year on August 10th at the age of 100. Doing his last dive in The Caymans at 90 years old he has been an incredible ambassador for the diving community!

The is week the boys look at a DCS hit that took place in Bora Bora. In many ways it is a rather typical incident. Warm tropical location, daily repetitive diving, pushing the limits, and it finally catches up with you. But this story comes from a diving legend. Can you guess who it is?