Shadow Divers: John Chatterton's Interview with ScubaBoard

[Chatterton]

John...It is a fantastic dive! Last April I was inside and swimming up a ladder and saw what I thought was a huge moray. Turns out it was a 5 ft long American eel. It was also suggested it may have been a Conger? Also a big moray lives there...Plenty of sand tigers,etc...A great wreck for swim throughs. You are right. Anyone coming to NC needs to visit the Spar...Ya got taste Chatterton

Oh...And speaking of taste...about those scallops???

Bad flash placement. Hope I didn't blind it

Nice!!!

 

[adurso]

Mike,

All total, 5 different production companies worked on various DSD shows. Some were really good, and others maybe not so much.

Most popular episodes, 1) Loch Ness, 2) The New Jersey Locomotives, and 3) the Milwaukee Car Ferry. There were a couple of episodes that aired and were immediately buried in the back yard at HC?? Like the one on the human trafficers in Malta. You won't see that one again soon.

Cheers

John,
I always meant to ask you about that Malta one; how did you get that guy to speak to you so candidly?

Al

 

[Chatterton]

Still in a 7mm...Ordered a DUI TL350 with bells and whistles...Not going to mention how very little it cost me. I will put it this way...I am now expected to promote DUI products




Curious to know about the "challenges" of that dive....I know you deal with cold and currents all the time...any other aspects?

B,

I would say cold in the high 30's and current that requires the use of hands to achieve forward movement is challenging. More so when it is from an anchored boat instead of a drift dive, and you need to come up with some scallops for lunch??

Cheers

 

[Chatterton]

John,
I always meant to ask you about that Malta one; how did you get that guy to speak to you so candidly?

Al

Al,

The guy was a Pakistani national, working in Malta for "the Mob". He owned the 65' long wooden fishing boat that went to the bottom with the 283 (as I recall) Sri Lankan illegal immigrants, resulting in 283 counts of murder.

His rap was that he was just a small fish, and they were prosecuting him only because the big guys were offshore beyond the reach of the law. He played the pitiful nobody??? He talked about how his arrest had ruined his life and he was forced to work part time in a Pakistani restaurant just to pay his bills, and every night he would go home and drink a "box" of wine. When I questioned him about a "box" of wine, he mentioned it was apparently not a very fine vintage?

In reality, he was a well connected guy and still involved in crime and partied like an animal. In front of me, over nothing, he threatened the life of a teenage boy who crossed his path. He was a very bad guy.

I assume he was hoping to get some sort of sympathetic treatment from us? Then again, he might also have thought he was bulletproof so why not talk to us? To tell the truth, we were very surprised he would see us at all??? The local priest told us we would never see the wreck, as the locals were not "allowed" to take us there. No wreck made it a tough show to produce, in spite of the good story line.

Cheers

 

[shellim123]

I just finished The Last Dive. Enjoyed Shadow Divers MUCH more.

 

[chuck e]

Hi John, what's the latest on the SD movie? I also see there is a new Dive Portal DVD out. I enjoyed the other 2, so keep them coming.
BTW, do you still have my wife's picture on your cell phone?

 

[Chatterton]

Hi John, what's the latest on the SD movie? I also see there is a new Dive Portal DVD out. I enjoyed the other 2, so keep them coming.
BTW, do you still have my wife's picture on your cell phone?

The SD movie is dead in the water due to the Writers Guild strike. I spent 20 years in the divers union in NYC. No one hates strikes more than I do. After the strike (whenever that comes about), we will have to see what happens???

I doubt Richie and I will have the time for DP4? We are simply busy with other projects and there is not enough days in the week.

Acually, I had to take her picture off my phone and put it on my laptop where it is my screen saver.

You know I am lying about the screen saver, right???


cheers

 

[AlaskaDiver]

USB asks about memorable dives? I have been diving long enough that I have a bunch of memorable dives, both good and bad. They are the ones where I either achieved a long sought after goal, like on the U-boat, or the ones where I learned a valuable lesson, like when I had a complete rebreather failure inside the Britannic in 1998? Both are dives that have helped form who I am as a diver. In my diving career, no one dive or destination stands out. My favorite dive is the next one.

Nice perspective. Your input for this thread is greatly appreciated.

 

[ReefHound]

How about posting the pic here?

 

[Eastbayfe]

The SD movie is dead in the water due to the Writers Guild strike. I spent 20 years in the divers union in NYC. No one hates strikes more than I do. After the strike (whenever that comes about), we will have to see what happens???

I doubt Richie and I will have the time for DP4? We are simply busy with other projects and there is not enough days in the week.

Acually, I had to take her picture off my phone and put it on my laptop where it is my screen saver.

You know I am lying about the screen saver, right???


cheers

John,
I'm just finishing up Shadow Divers and I have really enjoyed reading it. I can hardly wait to see the movie. Thanks for the book and some of the insight you've given us here in the forum. I had a chance to dive the Spar this year and found it to be excellant (my deepest dive to date). I live on the coast very near Beufort and Morehead NC so I have some great diving locations to explore. Thanks again.