Minesweeper in the British Royal Navy
On March 21, 1942, the minesweeper, built by the Ballard Marine Railways Company in Seattle, United States, was launched. Intended for the British Royal Navy, the ship's model is a BYMS-26. The 43-metre boat, with its wooden hull, was used for active service in the Mediterranean and then during the war in 1943. In 1944, it was based in the port of Taranto in Naples (Italy). The naval ship was disarmed in 1946 and deleted from the Naval Register in 1947.
After the Second World War, the ship was used as a ferry between Malta and the island of Gozo. It is renamed Calypso in homage to the nymph who imprisoned Ulysses on the island of Gozo for 10 years.
Spotted by Captain Cousteau
Thomas Loel Guinness, Irish billionaire and owner of the famous beer, bought the boat in 1950 to transform it into a luxury yacht. He meets Jacques-Yves Cousteau with whom he makes friends and who is looking for a ship to rent for 1 symbolic franc. The wealthy contractor accepted the offer and handed over the ship's keys to the naval officer. The Calypso then entered the Antibes shipyard to leave it in June 1951. After 9 months of work, the Calypso is transformed into an expedition ship and support base for diving, filmmaking and oceanographic research.
A floating laboratory
The Calypso which has become an oceanographic vessel, is fully re-equipped. All these equipments are quite revolutionary and evolve over the years. First of all, an underwater observation chamber is being built, in front of and under the bow, and will be equipped with 5 portholes for underwater photography. This room is located in the "nose" of the boat, three meters below the waterline. An underwater cage and front and rear platforms to accommodate a helicopter completed the package.
Among the equipment used to explore the seabed were two mini submarines called "Sea Fleas", a diving saucer and underwater scooters.
Expeditions on all the seas of the globe
The 1 re cousteau and his team began their expedition to the Red Sea on November 24, 1951 to study corals. On board, in addition to the numerous equipment, 28 people board each expedition. The Calypso will travel all the world's oceans and seas for 46 years to conduct marine missions, work to protect and raise awareness of the ocean... In 1953, Cousteau and his team tested new underwater cameras and electronic flashes to photograph the deep sea and push the boundaries of underwater exploration.
In 1955, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle made a documentary film on the Calypso . " The Silent World" is the second colour underwater film in history and tells the story of the commander's "frogmen" between 1954 and 1955. A year later, he received the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. This is how Commander Cousteau's oceanographic ship became famous
From 1967, Jacques-Yves Cousteau recorded the documentaries entitled The Underwater Odyssey of the Cousteau team . The show is broadcast in France, but also in the United States and Latin America, making it possible to promote the boat all over the world.
The shipwreck in Singapore and an end of life at Piriou shipyards
In January 1996, one year before the death of the Red Cap Commander, the Calypso is docked in the port of Singapore, before leaving for a report. She was accidentally hit by a barge and found herself immersed in the water for 17 days. She was rescued as best she could and brought back to La Rochelle in 1998. It remained there for nine years at the quayside, in a deplorable, damaged and unmaintained condition. In 2007, she was sent to Concarneau where she had to undergo repairs at the Piriou shipyards.
In 2009, work ceased due to a disagreement between the work sites and the Cousteau Foundation. In 2013, many mobilizations took place to save the ship, and it was finally Mrs Cousteau who sent the boat to Turkey for renovation. But in 2019, the site seems to be abandoned again.
