The Great Dive Podcast

This week the boys discuss the recent passing of diving legend, Tom Mount. A technical and cave diving pioneer, Tom’s passion for diving and martial arts gave him a life well lived. He was a former Navy diver, author, founder of training agencies, and so much more. James and Brando discuss the things that Tom introduced the diving world to that helped lead them down their own paths of teaching and...

The boys wrap up International Cave Diving Month with a much anticipated discussion of the Thai Cave Rescue of the boys soccer team and coach back in June/July of 2018. The story has a happy ending fortunately but there was a lot of work and a lot of people coming together to think outside the box and turn this possible tragedy into an incredible commentary on human beings, community, and basicall...

It’s week 3 of International Cave Diving Month and the boys are getting further into Wookey Hole. As the exploration gets deeper inside the cave system of the Mendip Hills, the accidents start to happen. The first fatality occurs in 1949 and Jamesy and Brando take a closer look at that Marriott Accident and what happened when they first brought the Aqualung into Wookey.

This week the boys continue their deep dive into the history of cave diving in Jolly Olde England. From the mid 1930's our mates across the pond began exploring the sumps of Mendip Hills in England and up to this day continue to "push the envelope" in cave diving.

It is the start of International Cave Diving Month and the boys make a trip across the pond to Jolly Ol’ England. This episode takes us on what may be considered the very first cave dive in the UK. In 1934, Graham Balcombe and Jack Sheppard became cave divers. Join Jamesy and Brando as they revisit this exciting tale of adventure and mystery, and homemade cave diving gear.

This week the boys discuss an incident that occurred 15 years ago when 2 US Coast Guard divers died while ice diving in Antarctica. Trained by the US Navy but with little experience and an under appreciation for the essentials of diving, the operation illustrates a lot of what we preach from the pulpit of the church of TGDP.

The boys start off 2022 with an old school TGDP classic. Originally an article written in the UK and published in Watersport Magazine back in the 1960’s, this week talks about learning to scuba dive for the not-so-young. Even 50 years ago we were looking for ways to break away from the work-a-day world and the sport of scuba diving was gaining attention. We look at this diver’s perspective of taki...

Happy New Year People!!! As we dive into nearly completing our 5th year of podcasts, the boys celebrate by reminiscing over the past year at TGDP!! Thank you to all our listeners, donors, supporters, friends and family!!

The boys get into another roundabout discussion about the early days of scuba. A time where the government wanted to write laws against scuba divers. Happy Christmas, Kwanza, Hannukah, Veterans, Whiners, Boxing, Rhubarb Vodka, Rosa Parks, Fritters, Roof Over Your Head, Dice, Festivus Day for all of you divers out there, just like us. Thank you all for another wonderful and very merry year. Happy H...

Time for more underwater photography talk!! James and Brando review the 2021 winners from scubadiving.com 's 2021 Underwater Photography Contest. https://www.scubadiving.com/scuba-diving-magazines-2021-underwater-photo-contest-winners https://www.etsy.com/listing/1136144795/scuba-pens?click_key=9619f51e0a34edb0809e66c4652799a77bc551cc%3A1136144795&click_sum=08ec88d6&ref=shop_home_active_2

This week, Jamesy and Brando go on a “Back to the Future” thrill ride. Traveling back in time they look into the future to see how far off we are or how well the vision was. With the help of a few of the industry leaders back in the 1980’s TGDP examines scuba equipment then, what it was going to be like in the year 2000, and where it is today. Join us on this time traveling episode.

This week on TGDP, it’s a “3 For the Price of One” special. Not only do you get to hear an exciting story of a “meat diver” but you also get to listen to the philosophical introspection of Buceador Brando and the Gringo. But wait, that’s not all. If you act now, you will also get a delicious Ceviche recipe for no extra charge. Tune in friends and dive buddies, this might just be the best episode o...

For all our wreck diving listeners and friends (and especially Great Lakes wreck diving listeners and friends), here's our annual Gales of November shipwreck story. This one's about one of the more popular wrecks to dive in Lake Huron off the tip of the the thumb. The story of her sinking has a few twists and some drama and this coupled with Ol' Jamesy's smooth voice and talent for story telling,...

This week the boys read a story sent in by a listener. It tells the tale of a dive that doesn’t go quite as planned. Was it the buddy? Was it the dive? Was it the training that kept them alive? These are the questions you will hear. Give it listen, won’t you my dear.

Well, in honor of Veteran's Day yesterday, we begin with a flashback to Brando's good ol' days back when he was in service to our country.... and then we'll read a few emails and go on a couple more rants and wrap it up with a pretty bow as a gift for our listeners...:-).

This week the boys sit down and have a conversation about underwater photography. As Ol’ Jamesy enters this new world he seeks out the wisdom of Older Brando. But as we find out, its not as easy as buying a good camera and letting it do the work. We need to understand aperture, focal plane, and ISO. And of course, buoyancy control and good diving habits are discussed as well. Listen as the boys di...

Get ready for the most terrifying episode of TGDP ever. You may never get back into the water after listening to this Trilogy of Underwater Terror. The most frightening monsters that lurk in the deep are waiting here for you this week. James and Brando discuss the scariest things that you can find underwater.

In "light" of Jamesy's newly acquired underwater photography setup and pursuit of the "perfect shot", the boys focus this week on a true life tale of the last dive of an underwater photographer. They'll "zoom" in on what "developed" during the dive and discuss possible ways to avoid these kind of events. I "shutter"[sic] to think of how often photographers find themselves so absorbed in the photog...

Mail call!! This week the boys read a few of the many e-mails they receive every week. The boys also do a deep dive into tacos .... is it possible to have a "good" vegetarian taco? Where do digital pressure gauge transmitters fall in the taco recipe of diving? Is cilantro the DIR of the diving taco? Is diving about making them or eating them? What the hell are they talking about? Have a listen and...

In the spirit of good communication we'll be direct and to the point. This week's episode is about communication and the illusion of communication. Have a Listen!!

Finally, the long awaited part 2 of our Advanced Diver discussion. The boys sit down with some recent student who completed their Essentials course and moved on to Recreational 2. This class is the card equivalent of AOW with Nitrox, but as we can hear it was a lot more than following an instructor around in a slightly different environment. Take a listen and hear what everyone says about what it...

The boys sit down to discuss a few recent reviews, some good but one not so much…. This conversation really highlights what TGDP is all about. The fun, the culture, and the character of a diver as well as the diving towns across the world that share these with us. We hope you like our list, please let us know what your top 10 would have been.

In celebration of Labor Day here in the USA, the boys give a shout out to all the moms out there who went through labor to have babies and talk about the labor of the hard-working scuba instructor. In particular, Scuba Steve and an advanced open water class that takes a bad turn.

What does Scuba Diving, the word "gitchigami", shipwrecks, icebergs, & Miley Cyrus all have in common? They were all part of this week's episode of The Great Dive Podcast! That's right, the boys went diving in northern Lake Huron last weekend and in this week's episode we talk about that and much more!

After a conversation with a new diver about popping up to the surface, James retells the story to Brando. This discussion takes them back many years when the value of a safety stop was just being introduced. What is the most critical part of a dive and what does a No-Decompression Limit really mean? They also discuss the troubles of not having a regular dive buddy and sing a low-down and dirty ren...