In honor of World Oceans Day, we’ve got a dive-themed episode in which Jason and James go deep (sorry) on why they love diving and how diving has enriched their lives.
Great episode! As a divemaster and watch hobbyist I really enjoyed hearing you guys hammer home the same feelings of joy and excitement I have for both. I noticed no one else responded to your call for suggestions on underwater photographers to speak with, so I'd like to recommend one. Matthew Draper is an amazing UW photographer and huge watch enthusiast, he is certainly pushing the boundaries with custom-made underwater housings to suit his craft and he has an incredible watch collection to boot. I've been chatting with him a lot lately, mostly on the latter and I think he would be great on your show. Cheers
Thanks for recomdation for on the Dogwatch podcast. Just finished listening to two episodes, before Shackleton and Zen and the art of mc maintenance. So good. Another fantastic podcast for the quiver 👍
I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and shipwrecks but I’m just too afraid to dive. You guys always tempt me to consider it but I think I’m happy snorkeling 😅
Unrelated question, does anyone have a recommendation for getting an Aquastar Deepstar serviced? Something US-based (I live in Minneapolis) would be great, but not sure if I need to consider anything about the movement, the unique caseback, etc. (I submitted a question to Aquastar a few weeks ago but haven't received a reply.)
So… the chicken or the egg? … I mean the dive watch or the diver? It’s fascinating that a cutting-edge luxury dive watch catalyzed Jason’s passion for diving., including ice diving, Great Lakes wreck diving, and becoming a (the?) go-to dive watch journalist. Not what I would have guessed…
Rewind to early 2016 and you’ll find me discovering TGN ep.1, falling headlong down the watch rabbit hole, voraciously over-studying for my open water cert (I get it, James) while also reading Shadow Divers, all in a 6-month period that will culminate in me taking my first giant stride from a dive boat that June, off the coast of NJ. Later that year I’d also buy a Doxa Sub300 50th Anniversary Professional, my first “nice” watch. In hindsight, I might be the TGN mascot.
But truly, for the last 6 (!) years the entire TGN milieu has brought me so much joy and even real fulfillment. Unlike any other podcast, where the joy is in the listening, the joy in TGN has been in the living, and that has shown up for me nowhere more than in my continued pursuit of diving. Today I’m a NAUI master scuba diver, preparing to head back to Jersey, this time to descend a 2hr boat ride off the coast to the wreck of the City of Athens in 110 fsw.
I still feel like my underwater journey is just beginning, and that’s what makes diving so wonderful to me. It’s a disciplined pursuit in which the learning never ends. It’s surely the most gear-intensive sport on the planet. It’s human beings pushing hard against the limits of the natural world in order to experience things that relatively few ever will. It’s *absolutely* the flow state. It’s real freedom.
I look forward to seeing you boys (as well as many other familiar TGN faces) in Chicago, shaking your hands and thanking you for accompanying, supporting, and feeding my journey into the “silent world.” And when we get the TGN dive expedition on the books, you already know you can count me in.
And in movie news: "Roadrunner" (Anthony Bourdain, HBO) and "long way up" (Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman travel on electric Harley-Davidsons 13,000 miles through Central and South America - Apple+) are finally streaming. The latter is a motorcycle adventure, but if it is anything like the previous two (long way down, long way round), it certainly will be in the TGN wheelhouse. James - thanks for the work on the streaming. Got the supporter feed on Pocketcast before 8am two weeks in a row now. Its working!!!
Great show, I started diving the same as Jason in Mexico doing a try dive and went on to become a master scuba diver. Not dived for some years but you have fired me up
Regarding headlamps, on the old British motorcycles I work on the actual glass lens has a pattern which shifts the low beam to one side depending on the intended market. The idea being that it would avoid blinding oncoming traffic, while still giving a good view of the road. They used different headlamp reflectors based on where they were intended to be sold. It’s not something that is adjustable.
I remember when I was a kid that people who took their cars over to mainland Europe would use black tape to cover part of the headlight to combat the dazzle from the main beam being the wrong way.
Very neat, had read about some cars have left and right side beam shaping before normal adjustability was available, but I hadn't come across it in a single motorcycle lamp. Very cool.
Exactly. I'd be surprised if Jason did not have DOT headlights - and lord knows oncoming traffic will let you know if you have UK headlights (unless they are as weak as Jason says they are, LOL). Stop the truck 10 ft in front of your garage (or any blank wall) - does it throw a lot of extra light to the right (US shoulder) or to the left (UK shoulder). Easy inexpensive change, but ya have to change the whole housing (perfect time to get some up to date halogen (or heaven forbid, LED - no scratch that on the Rover)).
Great episode as always guys! I saw this come up this morning before leaving for work, and it inspired me to wear a fun diver to work today: https://imgur.com/a/GUFhcpq Not sure if you guys care about sharing watch pics here, but I figured why not???
I have basically zero experience in the water. My snorkelling experience is limited to small lakes in Ontario in about 5 feet of water, but there's just something so magical about it. Like being somewhere you don't belong but it feels right.
Also great excuse to test all your dive watches to .01% of their capabilities!
Love diving! Sadly after having covid and an ear infection I now have a slightly perforated ear drum - hope it does not affect the diving long term. I'm going to Raleigh NC early next month and wanted to dive somewhere afterwards but I'll have to take a rain check now.
I am rescue diver level at present and would like to try some tech stuff at some point. Not caves though, although there's a cave diving course in Tulum that I am very interested in trying - do not recall the name of the place but I read that they have nil-visibility masks and teach you how to find the line when you've lost it in difficult conditions etc. Sounds horrible but great to make one a better diver.
In LA there's a freediver who teaches freediving and does trips to or around Catalina (Lance Lee Davis), plan on doing that course eventually as I'm often over there.
I think it's worth recommending a minimum spec of gear people should have for themselves if they travel to dive, and also warn them about learning on holiday in somewhere where there's a lot of churn and bad education!
I seem to have lost my Suunto d6i dive computer so recommendations welcome - looked at the garmin watches but I feel like I'm paying for all these fitness tracker things I am never going to use so kind of put off trying those. Shearwater?
You raise a really important point about resort-based discover scuba, James. When Jason said he always recommends it, I winced a bit because I’ve personally encountered more people who have had an awful experience with it than a good one, causing them to be one-and-done divers for life. I’m grateful that Jason dealt with what sounds like a reputable operation, but I can think of 4 or 5 folks I’ve spoken to who have told some version of the same “man, I tried that once and it wasn’t for me…” story: a light crash-course they didn’t really understand (sometimes just amounting to a couple of rules, such as “don’t hold your breath”), gear they didn’t know how to use, and a rushed entry that made them feel really uncomfortable, and in one case, panicked. Another of those cases had so much lead in his BC that he slammed into the bottom, cutting his chest while crashing through a coral head. Now I don’t share this to scare ANYBODY away from diving. Just the opposite. With even an hour or two of good instruction from a reputable outfit anywhere in the world, scuba truly is a safe and serene sport. I want as many people as possible to be able to experience what Jason (and Andrew, above) did. I guess the bottom line is *read the reviews* whether you’re on vacation in the Caribbean or bopping down to your local dive center. Having the right dive operator or instructor makes all the difference.
Great episode! As a divemaster and watch hobbyist I really enjoyed hearing you guys hammer home the same feelings of joy and excitement I have for both. I noticed no one else responded to your call for suggestions on underwater photographers to speak with, so I'd like to recommend one. Matthew Draper is an amazing UW photographer and huge watch enthusiast, he is certainly pushing the boundaries with custom-made underwater housings to suit his craft and he has an incredible watch collection to boot. I've been chatting with him a lot lately, mostly on the latter and I think he would be great on your show. Cheers
https://mattdraper.art/home
Thanks for recomdation for on the Dogwatch podcast. Just finished listening to two episodes, before Shackleton and Zen and the art of mc maintenance. So good. Another fantastic podcast for the quiver 👍
I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and shipwrecks but I’m just too afraid to dive. You guys always tempt me to consider it but I think I’m happy snorkeling 😅
Loved the episode!
Unrelated question, does anyone have a recommendation for getting an Aquastar Deepstar serviced? Something US-based (I live in Minneapolis) would be great, but not sure if I need to consider anything about the movement, the unique caseback, etc. (I submitted a question to Aquastar a few weeks ago but haven't received a reply.)
Thanks!
In early 2018 I read an divewatch article on Hodinkee from Jason nd it inspired me to go diving.
A buddy of mine and I booked a ticket to Curaçao and I got certified.
So thank you guys for the Inspiration!
PS i couldn‘t find the specific article…
So… the chicken or the egg? … I mean the dive watch or the diver? It’s fascinating that a cutting-edge luxury dive watch catalyzed Jason’s passion for diving., including ice diving, Great Lakes wreck diving, and becoming a (the?) go-to dive watch journalist. Not what I would have guessed…
Rewind to early 2016 and you’ll find me discovering TGN ep.1, falling headlong down the watch rabbit hole, voraciously over-studying for my open water cert (I get it, James) while also reading Shadow Divers, all in a 6-month period that will culminate in me taking my first giant stride from a dive boat that June, off the coast of NJ. Later that year I’d also buy a Doxa Sub300 50th Anniversary Professional, my first “nice” watch. In hindsight, I might be the TGN mascot.
But truly, for the last 6 (!) years the entire TGN milieu has brought me so much joy and even real fulfillment. Unlike any other podcast, where the joy is in the listening, the joy in TGN has been in the living, and that has shown up for me nowhere more than in my continued pursuit of diving. Today I’m a NAUI master scuba diver, preparing to head back to Jersey, this time to descend a 2hr boat ride off the coast to the wreck of the City of Athens in 110 fsw.
I still feel like my underwater journey is just beginning, and that’s what makes diving so wonderful to me. It’s a disciplined pursuit in which the learning never ends. It’s surely the most gear-intensive sport on the planet. It’s human beings pushing hard against the limits of the natural world in order to experience things that relatively few ever will. It’s *absolutely* the flow state. It’s real freedom.
I look forward to seeing you boys (as well as many other familiar TGN faces) in Chicago, shaking your hands and thanking you for accompanying, supporting, and feeding my journey into the “silent world.” And when we get the TGN dive expedition on the books, you already know you can count me in.
And in movie news: "Roadrunner" (Anthony Bourdain, HBO) and "long way up" (Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman travel on electric Harley-Davidsons 13,000 miles through Central and South America - Apple+) are finally streaming. The latter is a motorcycle adventure, but if it is anything like the previous two (long way down, long way round), it certainly will be in the TGN wheelhouse. James - thanks for the work on the streaming. Got the supporter feed on Pocketcast before 8am two weeks in a row now. Its working!!!
Great show, I started diving the same as Jason in Mexico doing a try dive and went on to become a master scuba diver. Not dived for some years but you have fired me up
Regarding headlamps, on the old British motorcycles I work on the actual glass lens has a pattern which shifts the low beam to one side depending on the intended market. The idea being that it would avoid blinding oncoming traffic, while still giving a good view of the road. They used different headlamp reflectors based on where they were intended to be sold. It’s not something that is adjustable.
I remember when I was a kid that people who took their cars over to mainland Europe would use black tape to cover part of the headlight to combat the dazzle from the main beam being the wrong way.
Very neat, had read about some cars have left and right side beam shaping before normal adjustability was available, but I hadn't come across it in a single motorcycle lamp. Very cool.
Exactly. I'd be surprised if Jason did not have DOT headlights - and lord knows oncoming traffic will let you know if you have UK headlights (unless they are as weak as Jason says they are, LOL). Stop the truck 10 ft in front of your garage (or any blank wall) - does it throw a lot of extra light to the right (US shoulder) or to the left (UK shoulder). Easy inexpensive change, but ya have to change the whole housing (perfect time to get some up to date halogen (or heaven forbid, LED - no scratch that on the Rover)).
https://www.headlampconverters.co.uk/
Do yourself a favor and read Firefox. Movie does it a huge disservice.
Charles! I had no idea it was a book. Thank you for this comment.
+1 for the TGN dive trip!
Great episode as always guys! I saw this come up this morning before leaving for work, and it inspired me to wear a fun diver to work today: https://imgur.com/a/GUFhcpq Not sure if you guys care about sharing watch pics here, but I figured why not???
Great looking Zodiac!
I have basically zero experience in the water. My snorkelling experience is limited to small lakes in Ontario in about 5 feet of water, but there's just something so magical about it. Like being somewhere you don't belong but it feels right.
Also great excuse to test all your dive watches to .01% of their capabilities!
Love diving! Sadly after having covid and an ear infection I now have a slightly perforated ear drum - hope it does not affect the diving long term. I'm going to Raleigh NC early next month and wanted to dive somewhere afterwards but I'll have to take a rain check now.
I am rescue diver level at present and would like to try some tech stuff at some point. Not caves though, although there's a cave diving course in Tulum that I am very interested in trying - do not recall the name of the place but I read that they have nil-visibility masks and teach you how to find the line when you've lost it in difficult conditions etc. Sounds horrible but great to make one a better diver.
In LA there's a freediver who teaches freediving and does trips to or around Catalina (Lance Lee Davis), plan on doing that course eventually as I'm often over there.
I think it's worth recommending a minimum spec of gear people should have for themselves if they travel to dive, and also warn them about learning on holiday in somewhere where there's a lot of churn and bad education!
I seem to have lost my Suunto d6i dive computer so recommendations welcome - looked at the garmin watches but I feel like I'm paying for all these fitness tracker things I am never going to use so kind of put off trying those. Shearwater?
You raise a really important point about resort-based discover scuba, James. When Jason said he always recommends it, I winced a bit because I’ve personally encountered more people who have had an awful experience with it than a good one, causing them to be one-and-done divers for life. I’m grateful that Jason dealt with what sounds like a reputable operation, but I can think of 4 or 5 folks I’ve spoken to who have told some version of the same “man, I tried that once and it wasn’t for me…” story: a light crash-course they didn’t really understand (sometimes just amounting to a couple of rules, such as “don’t hold your breath”), gear they didn’t know how to use, and a rushed entry that made them feel really uncomfortable, and in one case, panicked. Another of those cases had so much lead in his BC that he slammed into the bottom, cutting his chest while crashing through a coral head. Now I don’t share this to scare ANYBODY away from diving. Just the opposite. With even an hour or two of good instruction from a reputable outfit anywhere in the world, scuba truly is a safe and serene sport. I want as many people as possible to be able to experience what Jason (and Andrew, above) did. I guess the bottom line is *read the reviews* whether you’re on vacation in the Caribbean or bopping down to your local dive center. Having the right dive operator or instructor makes all the difference.