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Sarah
01-29-2008, 03:37 AM
465

She may look ready for the scrapyard but Calypso, the former British minesweeper from which Jacques Cousteau explored the undersea world, is to be rebuilt to roam the oceans once more as the symbol of an environmental campaign being piloted by his widow.

Calypso had been rusting in the port of La Rochelle, in western France, as a vicious legal battle raged among the fractious Cousteau clan over ownership of the legendary vessel which had featured in so many films and books about the deep.

“All these awful legal battles are over, thank heavens,” said Francine Cousteau, second wife and widow of the explorer. She has been at loggerheads with Jean-Michel, Cousteau’s son from his first marriage, and Alexandra, the explorer’s granddaughter, both of whom she accuses of trying to profit from the illustrious family name.

She said that a recent court decision on the Calypso in her favour would have been welcomed by the figure universally referred to in France as “the commander”. He died in 1997, aged 87, and is remembered as a pioneer of scuba diving, underwater photography and environmentalism.

She wants his vessel to play a symbolic role in international environmental politics after an estimated £3m facelift, preparations for which were beginning last week at a shipyard in Brittany.

“No matter how much effort it takes, I am determined that Calypso will return to the sea,” she said. “Calypso is like the Eiffel Tower of the seas, the Mona Lisa of the environment. She can travel from place to place, offering herself as a platform for the signing of international environmental treaties.”

The 43-metre Calypso could also host seminars on the environment, she added: “She can anchor in front of the United Nations or cross the Red Sea, wherever she can highlight the cause of the environment, wherever she can be useful.”

Jean-Michel Cousteau has accused his stepmother, a former air hostess, of “walking off” with his father’s legacy and showing no interest in “ecological missions”. She has accused him of using the family name to promote maritime holiday resorts in America.

Jean-Michel’s efforts to prove a legal title to Calypso were matched by those of 33-year-old Alexandra, head of the Philippe Cousteau Foundation, named after her father, the explorer’s second son, who was killed in a seaplane crash in 1979.

Various retirement schemes had been suggested for Calypso – even for the boat to become a museum or the centrepiece of an environmental theme park in the Caribbean. Francine changed her mind when she saw the vessel being towed to dry dock in October last year.

“When I saw her moving over the water again after all those years, I knew that she had to return to sea,” she said. “It is a very big job. Fortunately the funds are available.”

Calypso’s woes began in Singapore in 1996 when she sank in the harbour after a collision with a barge. She was dumped in La Rochelle where she was left to rot as the Cousteaus battled in court over the legacy of “the commander”.

The dispute had its roots in family history: Francine had two children with Cousteau before she married him after the death of his first wife, Simone, in 1990. The marriage prompted a rift between Cousteau and Jean-Michel, whose loathing for Francine is reciprocated.

Francine called it “sad” but said she wished Jean-Michel would stop trying to make unauthorised use of the family name, exclusive control of which has been retained by Equipe Cousteau, her organisation.

“They [Jean-Michel and Alexandra] want to capitalise on the name,” she said. “If their name was not Cousteau, nobody would know who they are. I have to put a stop to it.” Jean-Michel had wanted to make the Calypso a floating museum and “educational” project on the French Mediterranean coast, arguing that it would be a catastrophe if such a national treasure ended up on the other side of the Atlantic.

He said his father had stipulated that Calypso should end her days in the Mediterranean, where he first clasped her wheel in 1951.

The plans to turn Calypso into a museum were undermined, however, when a French radio station dug a soundbite out of the archives in which Cousteau, in his familiar rasping voice, was heard saying: “I would rather sink her than allow her to be turned into a museum . . .

“I don’t want this legendary ship to be prostituted by having people picnicking on the decks.”

The ship is to be completely refitted by a company specialising in the renovation of historic naval vessels. IWC, a Swiss watch company, has offered to pay for new engines. The original hull, made of Oregon pine, is apparently still seaworthy. The restoration is expected to take up to 18 months.

-Mathew Campbell, Time Paris


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35x_rwyBh-8

Bryan
01-29-2008, 10:08 AM
It is about time this battle ended... Great news!!!

Looking forward to seeing the Calypso sail again!!!

Thanks for the post!

acelockco
01-29-2008, 04:07 PM
Amazing news! I figured that by the time the courts came to a decision she would be lost forever. I did not know that she was made of wood either, crazy how a wood hull can outlast a steel one.

Can't wait to see her beautiful again, just like I remember when I was a kid. ;)

BamaCaveDiver
01-29-2008, 04:26 PM
I did not know that she was made of wood either, crazy how a wood hull can outlast a steel one.

Most of the mine sweepers from that era had wooden hulls, for obvious reasons.

It is great to see that she will be refitted and put back into service at long last; there is a lot of history attached to that ship. Great video btw, thanks for sharing that along with the good news.

colinj
01-29-2008, 07:59 PM
That brought back some memories! Thanks for the post & video. Hope the re-fit goes well as the time wasted by bickering has taken its' toll on the girl.

The Publisher
01-29-2008, 09:40 PM
As a kid I watched Mike Nelson of Sea Hunt, and every time we became aware of a "special" on Sunday eves of "The Under Sea World of Jacques Cousteau" the whole family was glued to the television.

It was because of Cousteau that I got into diving. What great news, and what great memories!

I hope the Calypso and the Cousteau family can get right back to and continue Cousteau's work on behalf of mother earth.

lars2923
01-30-2008, 12:34 AM
I too grew up on Sea Hunt and The Under Sea World of Jacques Cousteau.
Especially Cousteau. Nothing would stop me from watching those shows.
It would be nice to have them on television again. To hopefully inspire todays
adventurers into diving, respecting and exploring our oceans and the life within it.
When I was a kid living in Nice France, the Calypso would dock down at the
bay, the Mediterranean ocean. What a site to stand there next to her.. As a kid, knowing this is the ship I see on TV... So kewl..

hbh2oguard
01-30-2008, 04:43 AM
Most of the mine sweepers from that era had wooden hulls, for obvious reasons.

I knew that but I thought there were made from a little harder woods than pine. Putting in 3 million pounds, that ship should be as good as new.

Papa Bear
01-30-2008, 05:10 AM
For those of you who have been to the Blue Hole in Belize the big hole in the reef was put there by Cousteau in order to get the Calypso into it for the fly over in the video. It is called the Calypso Cut, it was done with Dynamite, a lot of it! Oh the things that used to be okay! All for the shot!

DrBill
03-25-2008, 03:09 PM
Having worked for both the Captain and Jean-Michel over the past 30 years, I would have to side with JMC and Alexandra on this issue. I have yet to see anything substantive come out of TCS since Francine took over. Jean-Michel has put out a number of documentaries that seem to be getting even better with time, not to mention a wealth of educational programs. The accusation that he or Alexandra are profiting from the family name seems ludicrous to me. J-M is certainly giving credit to the name.

My impression is that a lot of the real scientific/ecology-minded folks at TCS left after Francine took over. I should add that I have never met Francine or heard her side of this except through news reports. In fairness, I did dive with marine artist Wyland, a TCS board member, last summer and he had good things to say about her. My feelings are simply my opinion based on some good experience.

thalassamania
03-25-2008, 09:06 PM
Having worked for both the Captain and Jean-Michel over the past 30 years, I would have to side with JMC and Alexandra on this issue. I have yet to see anything substantive come out of TCS since Francine took over. Jean-Michel has put out a number of documentaries that seem to be getting even better with time, not to mention a wealth of educational programs. The accusation that he or Alexandra are profiting from the family name seems ludicrous to me. J-M is certainly giving credit to the name.Coming from a similar set of experiences and perspective, I concur.

The Publisher
03-26-2008, 07:17 AM
"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 living,
in search of the answers of 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

Hi dee ay-ee ooo doo-dle oh
oo do do do do do doo-dle ay yee
doo-dle ay ee

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 a 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

Hi dee ay-ee ooo doo-dle oh
oo do do do do do doo-dle ay yee
doo-dle ay ee

he dee Ay-ee
Hi dee oh ooo
hi dee ayee
hi dee oh ooo"

Papa Bear
03-26-2008, 02:33 PM
Okay John Denver! Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirates life for me! :D ;) :p