The Grey NATO – 231 – David Concannon On Visiting the Titanic, Recovering Apollo Rockets, And His Love Of Rolex
The Grey NATO – 231 – David Concannon On Visiting the Titanic, Recovering Apollo Rockets, And His Love Of Rolex
This episode has been a long time coming and the TGN boys are thrilled to welcome David Concannon to the show. David is a highly specialized lawyer that works in and around adventuring, expeditions, diving, and more. He has been to the Titanic several times, was among the youngest people ever to join The Explorer’s Club, helped lead the expedition to recover the Apollo F-1 Rockets, and so much more (literally).
In an episode that easily could have been 10 hours long, David, Jason, and James dig into his history with the Titanic, a few stories from his fascinating legal career, and his deep love of Rolex and Omega. A huge thank you from the entire TGN Crew to David for coming on the show – we’re already looking forward to round two (and three).
From the start, Jason is on the mend after COVID and the boys announce that they will be at WindUp Chicago! Stay in the mix for some great watch and adventure-related apparel and for a handle gadget to get the most out of your phone camera.
Click here if you want to play episode 222 from your browser – thanks so much for listening.
1:27 WindUp Chicago (come hang out!)
3:40 James’ Pelagos 39
4:30 Jason’s Submariner 14060M
6:18 David Concannon (and here)
8:54 The Explorer’s Club
12:36 XPrize Foundation
13:50 Mir Submersibles
16:50 The Wreck of the Titanic
21:21 Ocean Gate
26:31 Titan submersible
28:43 Apollo F-1 Engine Recovery Expeditions
31:20 Sea Space Symposium
34:10 Blue Origin
39:28 Shadow Divers
40:16 California vs Deep Sea Research
41:55 Wes Skiles (photographer)
56:55 Apollo 11 Mission Patch
1:00:54 Stowa Flieger
1:05:19 The Illustrated Watch Tees
1:07:25 ShiftCam SnapGrip
“The difference between a Miracle and a Fact is exactly the difference between a mermaid and a seal.” - Mark Twain
Came back to this episode after the tragic events of the Titan. Coming from the aviation sector, I hope that people learn from this and there is more oversight/regulation to prevent a repeat occurrence. When appropriate, it would be interesting to hear David's thoughts on how this will shape the future for these types of operations. No doubt an inherently risky endeavor, but there has to be a better way.
Really interesting points made about private space / private deep sea exploration. I seriously think that the Triton 36000/2 is the most significant piece of technology that we’ve seen this century. Never before have we been able to go full ocean depth, anywhere on the globe. It’s changed everything; but is still weirdly under-known. Hey ho.