Has anyone met one of the diving greats such as Gary Gentile?

[RJP]

I've worked with the Cousteaus and dived with Jean-Michel and Dr. Richard "Murph" Murphy, Wyland asked me to be his dive buddy so we could film giant sea bass, I filmed great whites alongside Dr. Guy Harvey and contributed footage to his TV episode about that trip, I chatted with Zale Perry at our own Casino Point Dive Park, I know Lorraine Sadler and used to work with her, I worked with Dr. Sylvia Earle on early Cousteau programs in the 70s and she was a member of the board of directors at the small school I taught at back then, have met many other greats in SCUBA...

I dove with Dr Bill once...

 

[drbill]

RJP, you just ruined your reputation by saying that!

 

[RJP]

RJP, you just ruined your reputation by saying that!

I didn't say I did so ON PURPOSE!

 

[Hank49]

Spent 4 days diving Redang, West Malaysia with John E (Jack) Randall in 1998. Maybe not a "great" diver as diving for sake of diving goes, but one hell of an ichthyologist. Spent a lot of time taking photos of the shrimp gobies. Wonderful story teller. Non stop in the 4 hour drive from Singapore to Kuantan.
We also collected what he was sure was a not yet identified cardinal fish for later classification, but Malaysian Fisheries took it from him, promising to send it to him in Hawaii,...which they never did.
He gets so into photography and getting that perfect shot. I believe it was Richard Pyle who strongly advised him NOT to use a rebreather. Said he'd kill himself for sure.

 

[Paladin]

Does Mel Fisher count?

 

[drbill]

Hank49... that certainly qualifies in MY book! I agree with Pyle's advice... it's one of several reasons I have yet to seriously consider diving a rebreather.

RJP... I'm NOT a great diver, but I'm a pretty good one and mainly a marine biologist (at which I'm not great either, but definitely good). I've been fortunate to dive and/or work with some of the greats.

 

[Randy43068]

I was wandering if anyone had met one of the great living lengend divers such as Gary Gentile?
What makes them so great and based on your meeting what was your impression of them?

Yes. Gary G. Outdated in his methods these days, but I gotta hand it to him for staying alive.

 

[Randy43068]

I dove with Dr Bill once...

I'd like to dive with Doctor "lefty" Bill one of these days.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Hank-I dived with a fish collector who almost killed Dr. Randall. Pete Basabe (another great-however little known) was diving with him once somewhere exotic. Maybe the Phillipines, maybe not. Anyway, Pete fired a speargun into a hole in a coral mound aiming at a fish. The spear went through the mound and out the other side, so when Pete went to retrieve his spear, he followed a line that draped over Dr. Randall's torso, with Randall still behind his camera taking his picture completely oblivious to his brush with the other side.

 

[Rockhound76]

Met Gary Gentile (got him to autograph a couple of his books). Interesting guy, if a bit intense. My teenage son is wreck fanatic and he loved talking to him.

Spent a hour or so with Richie Kohler talking about wreck diving. Richie was very nice to us and made a big impression on my son. We ended up buying his book on the Titanic and Brittannia, as well.

And yes, i know Gary is not in the "Shadow Divers" fan club. I read his book on the subject, (Shadow Divers Exposed) too. It read as a bitter treatiste, but Gary in person is much nicer. IMO, he is also at the top of the wreck diving pyramid.

Both were interesting folks. Both were intense.