ALINAT, Jean

ALINAT, Jean

France (1917-2015)

Last updated: November 10, 2019 at 0:58 am

Officer and diver of the Marine nationale (French Navy); Captain of Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s Calypso; Director of the GERS (Groupe d’étude et de recherche sous-marine); President of the Campagnes océaniques françaises (COF); crustacean Julmarichardia alinati named in his honour.

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First to dive the Five Deeps

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Victor Vescovo was the first human to dive to the deepest point in each of the Earth's oceans using the deep submergence vehicle [...]

Deepest submersible dive (Solo | Men)

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10,925 m (35,843 ft) — Victor Vescovo (USA) aboard the DSV Limiting Factor (Triton 36000/2 model submersible) | Five Deeps Expedition, April 28, 2019 [...]

Deepest fish (Observed)

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The Swire's snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) was captured on video at the depth of 8,178 m (26,831 ft) in 2017. This species, more commonly referred to as the Mariana snailfish [...]

Deepest diving submersible (In service)

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The DSV Limiting Factor dived four times to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in April-May 2019, including the deepest dive ever made by a submersible [...]

Deepest dive by a head of state

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5,109 m (16,762 ft) — HSH Prince Albert II accompanied Victor Vescovo to the deepest point of the Mediterranean Sea, the Calypso Deep, on [...]

Deepest watch (Prototype)

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10,925 m (35,843 ft) — Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional. Two of the Omega timepieces were strapped to the manipulator [...]

Deepest point in Earth’s oceans

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10,994 m (36,070 ft) — The Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench, 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, is the deepest [...]

Deepest submersible dive (Ocean)

By Jeffrey Gallant

10,925 m (35,843 ft) — Victor Vescovo (USA) aboard the DSV Limiting Factor (Triton 36000/2 model submersible) | April 28, 2019 | Challenger Deep [...]

Oldest diver (Men)

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99 — William Lambert (USA) celebrated his 99th anniversary with a birthday dive in Pearl Lake, Illinois, on September 5, 2019. He remained at the depth of 9.7 m (32 ft) for 20 minutes [...]

Fastest drift dive

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17.68 knots (32.74 km/h / 20.34 mph) — Sechelt Rapids (Skookumchuck Narrows), British Columbia, Canada. It is estimated that for a 3.6 m (12 ft) tide, 757 billion litres of seawater flow [...]

Largest jellyfish

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Lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) — The largest individuals have a bell diameter of 2.3 m (7.5 ft) with over 800 tentacles; some reaching lengths of 37 m (120 ft). Despite its [...]

Deepest octopus

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Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis) — 6957 m (22,825 ft), Java Trench (Indian Ocean). The octopus was remotely observed using an autonomous baited camera and trap lander in [...]

First documented case of hydrogen psychosis

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Capt Steve Zissou suffered from the debilitating effects of Crazy Eye after witnessing the demise of his diving companion and partner, Esteban du Plantier [...]

Clearest water

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80 m (262 ft) or the approximate visibility of distilled water. A few locations are claimed to equal the visibility of distilled water, including the Weddell Sea (Antarctica), New Zealand’s [...]

First underwater colony

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1963 — Conshelf II (France). Seven divers lived underwater off Sha’ab Rumi (Sudan) in the Red Sea for one month under the supervision of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. The colony [...]

Most fin patents

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Bob Evans (USA) — Since 1971, he has patented 33 revolutionary fin designs including the Force Fin Tan Delta (polyurethane) which is part of the permanent collections of the New York [...]

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The largest glacier calving event ever recorded took place on May 28, 2008, when Adam LeWinter and Director Jeff Orlowski were filming the Ilulissat Glacier [...]

First aquanaut (Men)

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1962 — Robert Sténuit | Man-in-the-Sea I project by Edwin A. Link. Sténuit spent 24 hours and 15 minutes in a submersible decompression chamber (SDC) at a depth of 61 m (200 ft) [...]

Longest migration (Shark)

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20,142 km (12,516 miles) — A whale shark (Rinchodon typus) was tracked by satellite from Panama to the Mariana Trench between April 2012 and [...]

Oldest active scuba club

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1938 — Göteborgs Amatördykarklubb (Gothenburg Amateur Diving Club). The club, which was founded on October 22, 1938, began its activities after receiving two Le Prieur [...]

Jeffrey Gallant

Jeffrey Gallant is the Editor-in-Chief and Records Keeper of the Diving Almanac. He is also a contributing editor of DIVER Magazine, and the scientific director of the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group (GEERG). Jeffrey started diving in 1982.