First published in 2007, the Diving Almanac celebrates the achievements of a unique group of people that share a passion for underwater adventure and discovery. Ten years later, the Diving Almanac has become the world’s only central body of information for diving records, personalities and history, and it is 100% FREE.
Coldest seawater
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017
Seawater with an average salinity of 35 ppt (parts per thousand) freezes at -1.94°C (28.5°F). The coldest seawater ever recorded at −2.6 °C (27.3 °F) was found in a stream under [...]
More
Oldest shipwreck ever found
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017
14th or 13th century B.C. — Uluburun, Turkey. The wreck was discovered by a Turkish sponge diver Mehmet Cakir at a depth of 46 m (150 ft) in 1982. It is [...]
More
FLEUSS, Henry Albert
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 3, 2017
Engineer; Master Diver for Siebe, Gorman & Co. of London; inventor of a self-contained oxygen rebreather successfully tested by remaining submerged in a water tank for one [...]
More
LABAN, André
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 14, 2017
Underwater photographer; filmmaker; world’s first underwater painter; musician; longtime crewmember and diver of the Cousteau Society; chemical engineer; co-designer and [...]
More
Deepest underwater artist
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 11, 2017
40 m (130 ft) — André Laban (France) painted (oil on canvas) at the depth of 40 m off the island of Corsica in 1971 [...]
More
![Largest diveable liner [Recreational depth]](https://divingalmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Largest_Ocean_Liner_R2.jpg)
Largest diveable liner [Recreational depth]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017
The Soviet ocean liner and cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov lies on its starboard side at depths ranging from 12 m (40 ft) to 38 m (125 ft) in the Marlborough Sounds [...]
More
DENNISON, Christine
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 2, 2017
Co-founder of Mad Dog Expeditions; first woman to dive under Arctic sea ice (1994); first woman to dive in the Rio Negro tributaries of Brazil; Fellow of the Explorers Club and of the [...]
More
Oldest drinkable champagne… and beer?
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 29, 2017
In 2010, Swedish divers recovered 145 bottles of champagne and five bottles of beer from the 170-year-old Föglö wreck south of the Åland [...]
More
First diver to film frilled shark
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 7, 2017
Divers from the Awashima Marine Park, filmed a frilled shark near the surface in Numazu, south of Tokyo, after it was captured on January 21, 2007 [...]
More
Deepest shipwreck ever found
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017
18,904 ft (5,762 m) — SS Rio Grande, South Atlantic. The Rio Grande was a German blockade runner sunk by US naval ships off Northeast Brazil in 1944. It [...]
More
Oldest diver (Men)
By Jeffrey Gallant | Nov 30, 2017
95 — Ray Woolley (United Kingdom) celebrated his 95th birthday on the wreck of the Zenobia in Lanarca, Cyprus, on August 28, 2018. The dive lasted 44 minutes with a maximum [...]
More
WATERMAN, Stan
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 22, 2017
Pioneer underwater filmmaker and photographer; owned and operated a dive charter business in the Bahamas (1954-1958); co-producer and cameraman for Blue Water White Death [...]
More
Highest tides
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017
Burntcoat Head, Bay of Fundy (Canada) — The tidal range of Minas Basin in Nova Scotia is 17 m (55.8 ft). A record spring tide of 21.6 m (71 ft) was reportedly observed during a tropical [...]
More
![Longest underwater human chain [Women]](https://divingalmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Underwater_chain_women_4.jpg)
Longest underwater human chain [Women]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Aug 3, 2018
86 — The group of women led by Divetech Grand Cayman, was linked in a human chain off Lighthouse Point to celebrate Women's Dive Day on July [...]
More
ARAUZ, Randall, B.Sc.
By Thomas Leszkiewicz | Jul 28, 2018
Shark and sea turtle researcher and activist; studies have focused on sea turtle nesting biology, interactions between fisheries, sea turtles and sharks, and migratory movements of [...]
More
LESZKIEWICZ, Thomas, B.Sc.
By Jeffrey Gallant | Jul 28, 2018
Associate Editor of the Diving Almanac; marine biologist specializing in sharks; founding Director of Sherwood Scuba Marine Conservation [...]
More
CARGILE, Edward C.
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 1, 2017
Engineer; deep submersible pilot; commercial and military diver; writer and author of over 1,645 articles and several books; photographer; magazine editor and publisher; film producer [...]
More
![Constant weight AIDA [CWT | Men]](https://divingalmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Molchanov_Alexey_5.jpg)
Constant weight AIDA [CWT | Men]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 6, 2017
130 m (426.5 ft) — Alexey Molchanov (Russia) dove to the record depth in Dean's Blue Hole, Bahamas, during the OriginECN Vertical Blue Freediving [...]
More
SELISKY, Lee
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 18, 2017
Founder and CEO of Sea Pearls; pioneered the design and manufacture of molded, coated and coloured weights; early proponent of nitrox; Board of Directors of Divers Alert [...]
More
Heaviest crustacean
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 5, 2017
Atlantic lobster (Homarus americanus) — A specimen weighing 20.14 kg (44 lbs 7 oz) was captured in Nova Scotia (Canada) in 1977. Based on observations made [...]
More
The records chapter showcases over 650 underwater feats and firsts by humans, machines and animals. If you are looking for the world’s deepest scuba diver, freediver, fish or submersible, they’re all here. The 16 categories include scuba diving, freediving, submersibles, oceanography, biology, and underwater art.
Coldest seawater
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017
Seawater with an average salinity of 35 ppt (parts per thousand) freezes at -1.94°C (28.5°F). The coldest seawater ever recorded at −2.6 °C (27.3 °F) was found in a stream under [...]
Read More
Oldest shipwreck ever found
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017
14th or 13th century B.C. — Uluburun, Turkey. The wreck was discovered by a Turkish sponge diver Mehmet Cakir at a depth of 46 m (150 ft) in 1982. It is [...]
Read More
Deepest underwater artist
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 11, 2017
40 m (130 ft) — André Laban (France) painted (oil on canvas) at the depth of 40 m off the island of Corsica in 1971 [...]
Read More
Largest diveable liner [Recreational depth]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017
The Soviet ocean liner and cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov lies on its starboard side at depths ranging from 12 m (40 ft) to 38 m (125 ft) in the Marlborough Sounds [...]
Read More
Oldest drinkable champagne… and beer?
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 29, 2017
In 2010, Swedish divers recovered 145 bottles of champagne and five bottles of beer from the 170-year-old Föglö wreck south of the Åland [...]
Read More
First diver to film frilled shark
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 7, 2017
Divers from the Awashima Marine Park, filmed a frilled shark near the surface in Numazu, south of Tokyo, after it was captured on January 21, 2007 [...]
Read More
Deepest shipwreck ever found
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 23, 2017
18,904 ft (5,762 m) — SS Rio Grande, South Atlantic. The Rio Grande was a German blockade runner sunk by US naval ships off Northeast Brazil in 1944. It [...]
Read More
Oldest diver (Men)
By Jeffrey Gallant | Nov 30, 2017
95 — Ray Woolley (United Kingdom) celebrated his 95th birthday on the wreck of the Zenobia in Lanarca, Cyprus, on August 28, 2018. The dive lasted 44 minutes with a maximum [...]
Read More
Highest tides
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017
Burntcoat Head, Bay of Fundy (Canada) — The tidal range of Minas Basin in Nova Scotia is 17 m (55.8 ft). A record spring tide of 21.6 m (71 ft) was reportedly observed during a tropical [...]
Read More
Longest underwater human chain [Women]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Aug 3, 2018
86 — The group of women led by Divetech Grand Cayman, was linked in a human chain off Lighthouse Point to celebrate Women's Dive Day on July [...]
Read More
Constant weight AIDA [CWT | Men]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 6, 2017
130 m (426.5 ft) — Alexey Molchanov (Russia) dove to the record depth in Dean's Blue Hole, Bahamas, during the OriginECN Vertical Blue Freediving [...]
Read More
Heaviest crustacean
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 5, 2017
Atlantic lobster (Homarus americanus) — A specimen weighing 20.14 kg (44 lbs 7 oz) was captured in Nova Scotia (Canada) in 1977. Based on observations made [...]
Read More
Highest tsunami
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 23, 2017
The Lituya Bay megatsunami, which reached a height of 524 m (1,719 ft) above sea level on July 9, 1958, was caused by an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a [...]
Read More
![Fastest human-propelled sub [1 crew | no prop]](https://divingalmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/OMER_11.jpg)
Fastest human-propelled sub [1 crew | no prop]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 19, 2017
OMER 11 | 4.94 knots (9.15 kph / 5.68 mph) — OMER 11 is a one-person submarine designed and built by the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) of l'UQAM [...]
Read More
Oldest scuba diving club
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 6, 2017
The Cave Diving Group was formed in 1946 by the late Graham Balcombe. The Cave Diving Group is the representative body for cave divers in Great Britain [...]
Read More
![Most jellyfish [Lake]](https://divingalmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Most_Jellyfish_R1.jpg)
Most jellyfish [Lake]
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 19, 2017
Palau’s Jellyfish Lake (Palauan: Ongeim’l Tketau, i.e. Fifth Lake) contains an estimated 10 million golden mastigia jellyfish (Mastigia sp.), a landlocked species which evolved [...]
Read More
![Longest cave penetration dive [DPV]](https://divingalmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Stanton_Rick_1.jpg)
Longest cave penetration dive [DPV]
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 5, 2017
8,800 m (28,871 ft) — British-led team of divers (Jason Mallinson, Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, and Dutch caver Rene Houben), September 2010, Pozo Azul [...]
Read More
Oldest order of female divers
By Jeffrey Gallant | Apr 6, 2017
Ama divers (Sea People) in Japan have been diving for food and pearls for 2,000 years. Traditional Ama divers wear only a loincloth (isogi) and no diving [...]
Read More
The Diving Almanac features more than 650 celebrities or locally-known champions from all parts of the world. Discover long-forgotten pioneers and current day explorers and inventors in our industry-exclusive Who’s Who.
FLEUSS, Henry Albert
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 3, 2017
Engineer; Master Diver for Siebe, Gorman & Co. of London; inventor of a self-contained oxygen rebreather successfully tested by remaining submerged in a water tank for one [...]
Read More
LABAN, André
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 14, 2017
Underwater photographer; filmmaker; world’s first underwater painter; musician; longtime crewmember and diver of the Cousteau Society; chemical engineer; co-designer and [...]
Read More
DENNISON, Christine
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 2, 2017
Co-founder of Mad Dog Expeditions; first woman to dive under Arctic sea ice (1994); first woman to dive in the Rio Negro tributaries of Brazil; Fellow of the Explorers Club and of the [...]
Read More
WATERMAN, Stan
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 22, 2017
Pioneer underwater filmmaker and photographer; owned and operated a dive charter business in the Bahamas (1954-1958); co-producer and cameraman for Blue Water White Death [...]
Read More
ARAUZ, Randall, B.Sc.
By Thomas Leszkiewicz | Jul 28, 2018
Shark and sea turtle researcher and activist; studies have focused on sea turtle nesting biology, interactions between fisheries, sea turtles and sharks, and migratory movements of [...]
Read More
CARGILE, Edward C.
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 1, 2017
Engineer; deep submersible pilot; commercial and military diver; writer and author of over 1,645 articles and several books; photographer; magazine editor and publisher; film producer [...]
Read More
SELISKY, Lee
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 18, 2017
Founder and CEO of Sea Pearls; pioneered the design and manufacture of molded, coated and coloured weights; early proponent of nitrox; Board of Directors of Divers Alert [...]
Read More
BRASHEAR, Carl Maxie, MCPO
By Jeffrey Gallant | Feb 28, 2017
U.S. Navy Master Diver (1953); leg partially amputated during recovery mission of an atomic bomb off Spain in 1966; first amputee to be restored [...]
Read More
RANETKINS, Val
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 16, 2017
Pioneer in the development of underwater camera systems; founder and former owner of Amphibico and Aquatica; built the first underwater housings for National Geographic [...]
Read More
WATTS, Hal
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 22, 2017
Founder of the Professional Scuba Association, originally known as the Florida State Skin Diving Schools in 1962; world air depth record at 390 ft (119 m) in 1967; set the world record for [...]
Read More
CYR, Mario
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 2, 2017
Cinematographer from the Magdalen Islands; has contributed to over 130 documentary productions; first person to dive with walrus (1991); one of the five [...]
Read More
FERRERAS, Francisco ‘Pipin’
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 3, 2017
Competitive freediver; multiple world record holder, including a No-Limits dive to 170 m (558 ft) in 2003; began free-diving at age 5; CEO & Founder of [...]
Read More
COUSTEAU, Jean-Michel
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 1, 2017
Explorer; environmentalist; educator; film producer; architect; President of Ocean Futures; longest active diver in the world; produced over 75 films; member of the world's first scuba [...]
Read More
COUSTEAU, Philippe
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 1, 2017
Environmentalist; explorer; film producer; lead cinematographer for multiple Cousteau Society films; pilot; dove for the first time in 1945 at the age of four using a miniature version of the [...]
Read More
MIRON, Ionel, Ph.D.
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 15, 2017
Associate Professor at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania; biologist; aquanaut (Romania LS-1); Director of the SALMO Lacustris Dive Programme; pioneer of [...]
Read More
HUGHES, Peter
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 11, 2017
Pioneer of the dive liveaboard industry; conservationist; founder of Peter Hughes Diving (Dancer Fleet) in 1986; founder of DivEncounters Alliance; has operated eight dive resorts [...]
Read More
de CORLIEU, Louis Marie
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 2, 2017
Inventor of swim fins; demonstrated his first fin prototype to a group of French naval officers, including Yves Le Prieur, in 1914; received his first European patent for [...]
Read More
TAYLOR, Valerie
By Jeffrey Gallant | Mar 22, 2017
Pioneer underwater explorer; filmmaker and photographer; shark expert; first to film the white shark; ocean conservationist; helped get the white shark and the grey [...]
Read More
From the deepest dives to the most dangerous sea creatures, our feature posts showcase outstanding diving facts and trivia, hand-picked from our Diving Records, Diving History, and Who’s Who. Nothing here is fake or clickbait!
By Jeffrey Gallant / Nov 6, 2017
From true to life nature scenes to the surreal, these amazing underwater artists will make you dream of diving [...]
Read More
By Jeffrey Gallant / Nov 4, 2017
These legendary figures left such a mark in their respective fields that they would change the world of diving forever [...]
Read More
By Jeffrey Gallant / Feb 11, 2017
These trailblazing underwater women have inspired so many divers to follow their passion and make a difference [...]
Read More
Our Timeline of Man Underwater, which chronicles over 6,000 years of exploration and innovation, is the most thorough history of diving available online.
Divers rescue 12 boys and coach from cave
By Jeffrey Gallant | Jul 3, 2018
[2018] On July 2, cave divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen locate all 12 members of a youth football team and their coach trapped in a flooded cave [...]
Read More
Anthony’s Key Resort is founded on Roatan
By Jeffrey Gallant | Jun 14, 2018
[1968] Julio Galindo Sr. and his wife, Cheryl Galindo, welcome their first guests on the island of Roatán, Honduras. Anthony’s Key Resort has since become [...]
Read More
Discovery of HMS Erebus
By Jeffrey Gallant | Sep 9, 2017
[ 2014 ] On September 7, Parks Canada archeologists from the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition discover the wreck of one of the ships from the ill-fated [...]
Read More
Commeinhes develops open-circuit scuba
By Jeffrey Gallant | Aug 7, 2017
[ 1937 ] The first model of a two-cylinder open-circuit breathing apparatus with demand regulator is developed by Georges Commeinhes for [...]
Read More
Refit of Cousteau’s Calypso restarts
By Jeffrey Gallant | Dec 2, 2016
[ 2016 ] Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s famed oceanographic vessel Calypso is moved to Turkey for a full refit, including new engines; Calypso's sad saga began [...]
Read More
Two divers die in Johnson Sea Link
By Jeffrey Gallant | May 30, 2018
[1973] Edwin Clayton Link and Albert Dennison Stover died from carbon dioxide poisoning after the submersible was entangled for over 24 hours at a depth [...]
Read More
Artifacts recovered from Antikythera
By Jeffrey Gallant | Sep 9, 2017
[ 2015 ] Archaeologists excavating the Antikythera shipwreck recover more than 50 items including a bronze armrest, remains of a bone [...]
Read More
Record habitat dive in Romania
By Jeffrey Gallant | Feb 21, 2017
[ 1994 ] Romanian aquanauts Liviu Miron and Constantin Mihaï set the European record for the longest uninterrupted stay in an underwater [...]
Read More
Archaeologists find HMS Terror
By Jeffrey Gallant | Dec 3, 2016
[ 2016 ] On September 18, 2016, Parks Canada confirms that the wreck discovered by the Arctic Research Foundation is HMS Terror. The archaeological [...]
Read More
Renowned explorers in the High Arctic
By Jeffrey Gallant | Sep 9, 2017
[ 2015 ] A team of renowned explorers mounts the Elysium – Artists for the Arctic expedition to the High Arctic to produce a feature documentary, a book [...]
Read More
Kessler designs diving bell
By Jeffrey Gallant | Feb 26, 2017
[ 1616 ] German inventor Franz Kessler designs an unstable diving bell with a harness and glass ports. Kessler was also a was a portrait painter, a [...]
Read More
Antikythera Shipwreck found
By Jeffrey Gallant | Jul 1, 2017
[ 1900 ] Greek sponge divers discover the Antikythera Shipwreck and recover artifacts, including the oldest known analog computer. The [...]
Read More
Natalia Molchanova disappears
By Jeffrey Gallant | Sep 9, 2017
[ 2015 ] World champion freediver Natalia Molchanova (Russia) disappears while teaching a freediving course off the coast of Formentera [...]
Read More
Diving bells salvage the Mary Rose
By Jeffrey Gallant | Feb 26, 2017
[ 1642 ] American Edward Bendall builds two wooden diving bells to salvage the wreck of the Mary Rose off Portsmouth, England. The vessel is [...]
Read More
Earliest ship from Age of Discovery
By Jeffrey Gallant | Dec 15, 2016
[ 2016 ] Oman’s Ministry of Heritage & Culture in cooperation with Blue Water Recoveries announce the discovery and archaeological excavation [...]
Read More
Lorini designs a square diving bell
By Jeffrey Gallant | Feb 26, 2017
[ 1597 ] Buonaiuto Lorini describes a square diving bell made of wood and bound with iron bands. The bell also has glass ports to enable the [...]
Read More
Papin designs surface-supplied diving bell
By Jeffrey Gallant | Feb 27, 2017
[ 1689 ] French physicist Denis Papin designs a surface-supplied diving bell but the technology of the time makes its construction impossible. The diving bell [...]
Read More
Nuytco Research launches Orcasub
By Jeffrey Gallant | Sep 9, 2017
[ 2011 ] Nuytco Research launches the Orcasub, a two-person ‘flying’ submersible with a maximum depth range of 2,000 feet (600 m). The crew [...]
Read More
Join the editor of the Diving Almanac as he visits record destinations, and meets notable divers and personalities from our international Who’s Who.
The Diving Almanac is the only central body of information on diving records, people, and diving history. Browse the website or search our exclusive database of thousands of records, diver profiles and historical events covering every aspect of the underwater world.