Posted on Nov 19, 2023
Don Walsh: The man who made the deepest ever dive
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Ocean explorer Captain Don Walsh has died at the age of 92. More than 60 years ago he made the first ever descent to the deepest place in the ocean, the Mariana Trench which lies almost 11km (seven miles) down. I was lucky enough to count him as a good friend. This is the story of an extraordinary dive by a remarkable man.
In 1960, space-mania was gripping the world and would-be astronauts were dreaming of their first forays skywards.
But 28-year-old Captain Don Walsh had his sights set very much downwards. He was about to descend deeper than any human had ever ventured before.
The US Navy had acquired a submersible called the bathyscaphe Trieste and Don, a submarine lieutenant, volunteered to join the project.
In 1960, space-mania was gripping the world and would-be astronauts were dreaming of their first forays skywards.
But 28-year-old Captain Don Walsh had his sights set very much downwards. He was about to descend deeper than any human had ever ventured before.
The US Navy had acquired a submersible called the bathyscaphe Trieste and Don, a submarine lieutenant, volunteered to join the project.
Don Walsh: The man who made the deepest ever dive
Posted from bbc.comPosted in these groups: 
Submarines
Diving
Submarines Diving
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“When he came back up and opened the hatch, I was there and shook his hand and said, ‘Welcome to the club. There are just two of us,’” Walsh says.
Hopefully, even more explorers will join Walsh and Cameron’s exclusive club.
“The very deepest places of the ocean will mainly be explored by unmanned vehicles, but there will always be room for manned vehicles,” Walsh says. “The unmanned vehicles are going to be doing the heavy lifting in the future, studying the ocean trenches. But there will also be a need for putting humans down there to make direct observations.”
Walsh, like Cameron, remains a passionate advocate for exploring the ocean.
“We’ve only adequately studied 8 percent of the world oceans,” he says. “I’d suggest there’s a lot of work left to do, whether it’s the deepest part of the ocean or anywhere else.”
..."“When he came back up and opened the hatch, I was there and shook his hand and said, ‘Welcome to the club. There are just two of us,’” Walsh says.
Hopefully, even more explorers will join Walsh and Cameron’s exclusive club.
“The very deepest places of the ocean will mainly be explored by unmanned vehicles, but there will always be room for manned vehicles,” Walsh says. “The unmanned vehicles are going to be doing the heavy lifting in the future, studying the ocean trenches. But there will also be a need for putting humans down there to make direct observations.”
Walsh, like Cameron, remains a passionate advocate for exploring the ocean.
“We’ve only adequately studied 8 percent of the world oceans,” he says. “I’d suggest there’s a lot of work left to do, whether it’s the deepest part of the ocean or anywhere else.”
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