Short essay on influence of sea hunt

[lowviz]

...//... Was the show's influnce a cause or effect ...

I say cause.

How about an analogy: Get real, forensic scientists: the CSI effect is waning

You want an uptick in scuba? Get a hit dive oriented show on TV.

 

[KathyV]

One of the lines that I cut from the essay (for a future blog) was "Anecdotally, people cite Sea Hunt as the reason they got into diving and The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau as the reason they became marine biologists."....

I grew up watching Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau and I am sure that they influenced my decision, and my husband's decision, to take up scuba diving.

I keep reading about the dwindling number of younger people taking up the sport and I wonder, is it just because we were part of the humongously-large baby boomer generation? Or is it because younger generations were not exposed to Mike Nelson and Jacques Cousteau, or similar undersea icons?

We visited the Scuba Hall of Fame when we were in Grand Cayman last year, it was interesting to see all the antique gear and learn about the pioneers of the sport and industry, and right there in the middle of all the Gods of Scuba was Lloyd Bridges! They had pieces of his gear from the 1st season of the show and he was honored for his tremendous influence, as Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt, on the growth of interest in diving all over the world.

Cayman welcomes Scuba Hall of Fame | Cayman Compass

 

[JamesBon92007]

I grew up watching Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau and I am sure that they influenced my decision, and my husband's decision, to take up scuba diving.

I keep reading about the dwindling number of younger people taking up the sport and I wonder, is it just because we were part of the humongously-large baby boomer generation? Or is it because younger generations were not exposed to Mike Nelson and Jacques Cousteau, or similar undersea icons?

We visited the Scuba Hall of Fame when we were in Grand Cayman last year, it was interesting to see all the antique gear and learn about the pioneers of the sport and industry, and right there in the middle of all the Gods of Scuba was Lloyd Bridges! They had pieces of his gear from the 1st season of the show and he was honored for his tremendous influence, as Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt, on the growth of interest in diving all over the world.

Cayman welcomes Scuba Hall of Fame | Cayman Compass

I visited the Dive Museum on Catalina Island and got to see some of the gear I'm still diving with!

My #1 inspiration was being dropped in about 80 feet of water off Los Coronados at age 11--my immediate reaction was "this is for me." My next-door neighbor was a spearfisherman and he's the one that introduced me to the underwater world for real. I certainly enjoyed watching Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau and I'm sure they influenced me too but nothing could replace my real-life experience. I can't say for sure but there's very little doubt that I would have started diving without the first experience but I'm thinking I probably would have done it even without Mike Nelson or Jacques. My father used to go in Mission Bay with his mask and come back with a starfish or two but he never bothered to take me with him.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

About five years ago, she was with a group of us that went on an annual trip to Avalon for diving and relaxation. Conditions prevented us from diving, so we did the treasure hunt to discover the things hiding in plain sight in town followed by lunch on the pier. She could really relate with my 19 yo nephew. We had a great time. Shortly thereafter, I received a autographed copy of Zale's Sports Illustrated cover from the organizer of the trip. It now hangs framed in my home. the amazing thing is, the magazine and I are about the same age.

Here is that Sports Illustrated article:

ZALE PARRY: UNDER THE WAVES FOR LOVE