In some respects, sitting on top of a launch rocket waiting for somebody to push a button and send you hurtling off into outer space is a doddle when compared with diving.

In 1943, an equally significant – but less well publicised – event took place in the Marne River, outside Paris. Lacking Armstrong's stirring oratory, Emile Gagnan, co-designer of the Aqualung, simply cried out, "Mon Dieu, Jacques! I thought you had drowned!" (He hadn't! And Jacques Cousteau, went on to become one of the most famed underwater explorers of our time.)

It's now more than sixty years since the pair perfected their regulator; a device heralding new opportunities in mankind's attempts to freely explore the 72% of our planet that's hidden by water. But despite diving's growing popularity, we've progressed very little in our exploration of 'inner space'! While we've been busy splashing around at the ocean's edge, the world's attention still remains focussed on the stars.

A doddle
In some respects, sitting on top of a launch rocket waiting for somebody to push a button and send you hurtling off into outer space is a doddle when compared with diving! While engineers and physicists have mastered the technical difficulties of sending men on a 384,000 km journey to the moon, - and even sorted out the logistical problems of what fillings to put in the packed lunches and how much clean underwear will be needed for a 33,000,000 kilometre voyage to Mars! - none of them have fathomed out ways to put even an exceptionally equipped diver to depths much beyond 300-metres!

Unlimited government funding
But imagine what diving might have achieved had Cousteau and Gagnan's pioneering effort received the attention and support of unlimited government funding?

Or had, in 1959, somebody of the stature of a President Kennedy, broadcast to the world, "We choose to go to the sea-floor, not because it is easy, but because it is hard"?

"This is the, 'S.S. Grumpy Grouper', to Mission Control. Divers, Sprat and Mackerel have entered the water and are initiating descent - now!"

"Roger that, 'Grumpy Grouper'! This is Mission Control to divers, Sprat and Mackerel. How do you copy?"

"Brrlluubb! We read you just fine, Mission Control. We're now passing the 5-metre mark! 8-metres! …"

"Mission Control here. You're looking good, Sprat!"

" … 10-metres! 12-metres! Touch down! Mission Control, we have touch-down!"

"Mission Control to Sprat and Mackerel. Well done, guys! All instrument readings show normal. Continue with your planned dive."

"Brrlluubb! Sprat to Mission Control. I'm having difficulty keeping up with Mackerel. He's just chased a parrot-fish around a coral outcrop. It was one small fin-kick for him, but it's a giant swim for me! Brrlluubb! I can't see him! I've lost contact, Mission Control! I've lost him!"

"Mission Control to Sprat! Stay calm! Remember Standard Operating Procedure! A quick search for no longer than one-minute and then surface. Do you copy that, 'Grumpy Grouper'?"

"This is, 'Grumpy Grouper'. Both divers have surfaced two-metres from a nearby sand bank. Diver recovery vessel, 'Bubbly Beagle', is launched and on its way. Oh, Oh! 'Bubbly Beagle' appears to have grounded in the shallows! The 'Beagle' has stranded!"

"Mission Control, here. That's not going to sound good in the history book! I knew I shouldn't have used Sprat to catch Mackerel!"

It took vision, commitment and money to get man to the moon! Imagine what that same level of support for diving might accomplish in this new millennium!