M.V. CALYPSO

An explorer, an adventurer, a well-worn traveler.

Her tales, told through the eye of a camera, speak of the world's oceans and the marvelous creatures that live therein.

She has made friends in every corner of the globe, sought the secrets of the great rivers and survived storms from Antarctica to Canada. Her story is one of the brave men and women who worked her decks and sailed her to every continent.

• Calypso was launched in Seattle, Washington, USA, during World War II.
• She was built to serve as a minesweeper for the British, to clear explosives from ports and harbors.
• She was christened J-826 and lowered into the water on March 21, 1942.
• J-826 was assigned to the Mediterranean Sea, where, after the war, she was sold and her name changed to Calypso.
• She became a ferry, carrying people and cars between the island of Malta and the very small island of Gozo.
• In the ancient Greek poem, the Odyssey, Calypso was the name of a sea nymph who held the hero Odysseus in thrall for seven years. Gozo is, by tradition, the island where Calypso once lived.
• Purchased with financial help from a wealthy Englishman named Loël Guinness.
• Cousteau transformed her into an expedition vessel.
  • Cabins for a crew of 27
  • Room for camera equipment and dive gear, a laboratory and work areas.
  • New navigation instruments were installed.
  • At the very front of the ship, a narrow tube or "false nose" was added and an observation chamber with eight portholes.
• When Cousteau and Calypso first began exploring together, there was little awareness of how pollution, over-fishing and coastal development could threaten the vast oceans.
• The ship's adventures, as documented in television films, brought the world's attention to the devastating effects of human carelessness, and Calypso has come to symbolize the Cousteau mission to protect the Water Planet for future generations.
• Over the years, Calypso has carried the Cousteau teams more than a million miles. Films shot on their expeditions have brought the sights and sounds of the farthest corners of the world into millions of homes, helping viewers develop a love for the ocean and a desire to protect the fragile environment of its creatures.
• In January 1996, Calypso was severely damaged in a barge-maneuvering accident in the port of Singapore where she had been waiting to depart on expedition to the Yellow River. Water rushed in and the much-loved ship sank.
• Raised from the muddy bottom, she was transported to the historic port city of La Rochelle where she will reign as a centerpiece of the prestigious Maritime Museum.