EXPLORE AND PROTECT · space reveals that the planet is mostly blue—70 percent of the earth’s...
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110 : | WATCHJOURNAL.COM EXPLORE AND PROTECT EXPLORE AND PROTECT PARTNERSHIP, EXPLORATION AND INVESTIGATION IN SERVICE TO THE PLANET The health of the oceans is declining as a result of human influence, climate change and species extinction. Rampant poaching of sharks and endangered sea life is a major contributing factor. And acidification, caused by hydrocarbon production, is changing ocean chemistry and impacting the food chain. Scott Cassell wants to change all of that. And Luminox, maker of rugged tactical and dive watches, is partnering with him to eect that change. Cassell is an expert military operative, a commercial diver, a marine explorer, a consummate adventurer and one who embraces danger. He is also a man of high ideals and a real modern-day explorer. He begins each day with a five-mile run and a punishing calisthenics routine. Then he gets to work studying and protecting our planet’s oceans. His approach is two-pronged. He divides his time between exploration and research on the one hand and investigation of illegal activities that threaten ocean ecosystems on the other. We think of the earth as green because we make our homes upon its fertile soil, but a view from space reveals that the planet is mostly blue—70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. The oceans drive our weather; they provide half of all the oxygen we breathe and a large part of the food we eat. The oceans support all life on earth, and yet they remain mostly unknown and unexplored. And they are in peril. Barry Cohen of Luminox Cassell and crew on a UVP dive Submersible photos courtesy of the Undersea Voyager Project
Transcript of EXPLORE AND PROTECT · space reveals that the planet is mostly blue—70 percent of the earth’s...
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EXPLOREAND PROTECT
EXPLOREAND PROTECT
PARTNERSHIP, EXPLORATION AND INVESTIGATION IN SERVICE TO THE PLANET
The health of the oceans is declining as a result of humaninfluence, climate change and species extinction. Rampantpoaching of sharks and endangered sea life is a major contributing factor. And acidification, caused by hydrocarbonproduction, is changing ocean chemistry and impacting thefood chain. Scott Cassell wants to change all of that. And Luminox, maker of rugged tactical and dive watches, is partnering with him to e%ect that change.
Cassell is an expert military operative, a commercial diver,a marine explorer, a consummate adventurer and one whoembraces danger. He is also a man of high ideals and a realmodern-day explorer. He begins each day with a five-mile runand a punishing calisthenics routine. Then he gets to workstudying and protecting our planet’s oceans. His approach istwo-pronged. He divides his time between exploration andresearch on the one hand and investigation of illegal activitiesthat threaten ocean ecosystems on the other.
We think of the earth as green because we makeour homes upon its fertile soil, but a view fromspace reveals that the planet is mostly blue—70percent of the earth’s surface is covered bywater. The oceans drive our weather; they providehalf of all the oxygen we breathe and a large partof the food we eat. The oceans support all life onearth, and yet they remain mostly unknown andunexplored. And they are in peril.
Barry Cohen of Luminox
Cassell and crew on a UVP dive
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I met Cassell in California last fall atthe invitation of Luminox CEO BarryCohen. I immediately sensed that, if hewanted to, Cassell could remove part ofmy body in a blinding second, yet he isopenly friendly and enjoyably conver-sant. Because I have also always lovedthe ocean, I felt an immediate connec-tion with him. The following day, withCassell as our captain, we would all plumbthe Pacific waters in the Antipodes, asubmersible designed for deep oceanresearch expeditions and capable ofdescending to 900 feet or more.
Our excursion was planned to be funand low risk. However, the work Casselldoes to hunt down lawbreakers—partic-ularly poachers—and collect evidenceagainst them is anything but.
DANGEROUS MISSIONCassell’s investigations go forward underthe aegis of Sea Wolves Unlimited, LLC,an organization that he founded, and hisbackground as a counterterrorism combatdive instructor, an anti-piracy consultantand sniper and a former special-ops
combat medic uniquelyqualify him for theseoperations—known asrECOn missions, be-cause they combinemilitary precision withenvironmental motivation.
The Sea Wolves team uses Special Opsskills, sniper techniques, camouflage,diving gear, body armor and waterproofthermal cameras as they hunt downpoachers and their camps and capturetheir discoveries on film. It is hazardouswork, but the e!orts of the Sea Wolveshave uncovered the use of illegal netsin protected waters and poaching operations based in a protected natu-ral preserve. Their work has resulted in11 criminal convictions and numerous
formal investigations and arrests.In one particularly harrowing incident,
Cassell homed in on a shark poacherfrom underwater. He rose out of thewater with his camera running, catchingthe poacher in the act of amputating theanimals’ dorsal fins. Most poachers won’thesitate to kill anyone who interferes
with them; this one stabbed Cassel inthe chest with a boathook, so, in self-defense, Cassell reached up with a knifeand relieved the poacher of his arm.
The danger involved in these missionscannot be exaggerated. But Cassellvalues opportunities to venture outsidehis comfort zone. Being smart aboutdangerous situations is key, he says.“My willingness to face danger bringshuge rewards and places poachers at asevere disadvantage. They can’t believethat I take the risks that I do, and theylive in a constant state of fear that I maybe nearby, watching and filming.”
MISSION OF DISCOVERYUnderwater exploration serves up itsown brand of danger, but Cassellclaims that most of the undersea lifehe has encountered has been friendly.He describes times when eels havecome out for a good head scratching,which he happily provided. He has
“MY WILLINGNESS TO FACE DANGER BRINGSHUGE REWARDS AND PLACES POACHERS AT ASEVERE DISADVANTAGE.” —SCOTT CASSELL
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Cassell preparing for a divewearing his Luminox 8409
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played with Great Whites and otherlarge sharks but always outfits himselfwith chainmail armor as a precaution.Cassel says, “With most sea life, oncethey understand that I am not there toharm them and that I am not bait, thenthey can be pretty friendly, circlingclose enough so that I can pet them orscratch their bellies.”
Much of his ocean research has focusedon Humboldt squid. A self-described
“squid geek,” he finds themfascinating and has suc-ceeded both in performingmedical research on thesquid and in filming previ-ously unrecorded behavior.He was the first person tomount a camera on a livingHumboldt squid, and thefootage captured by the“squid cam” included the firstimages of a 50-foot giantsquid in its natural habitat.
No wonder Cassell ismotivated to go back for
more. The fact that he suffered an imploded eardrum and a dislocatedshoulder on an early squid dive—whena large Humboldt pulled him downsuddenly—is no deterrent. Ninety-fivepercent of the ocean remains unseenby human eyes. The ocean is home toat least a billion different microbesand a million marine species, yetonly a quarter of them have been
scientifically identified. So the need istremendous, and the opportunities areirresistible.
Cassell thoroughly enjoys being amodern-day explorer and inventingequipment and techniques that makeunprecedented underwater explorationpossible. To open up undersea explo-ration to researchers, educators, students,and “citizen scientists,” Cassell createdthe non-profit Undersea Voyager Project(UVP). Using a submersible like the onewe tooled around in on my visit, UVPwill collect samples in under-exploredmid-water zones and map and describethe physical, biological,geological, chemicaland archaeologicalaspects of the
“IN EXPLORATION, DANGER IS EVER PRESENT. IF IT WEREEASY, EXPLORERS WOULD NOT BE THE RAREST PEOPLEON EARTH.” —SCOTT CASSELL
ALWAYS ONLuminox dive watches offer divers essential features such as professional-grade ratcheting dive bezels and extreme water resistance. But LuminoxLight Technology is the brand’s most famed feature. This luminous systemuses tritium sealed in micro gas tubes to illuminate the dial. The tubes,mounted on the hands, at the hour markers and sometimes on the bezels ofLuminox watches, glow continuously for up to 25 years, providing constant legibility in low-light conditions, including in the ocean depths.
Diving with the sharks
Luminox 3954 Colormark Special Scott Cassell withLuminox Light Technology dial and dive bezel
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ocean. Its discoverieswill be webcast live toclassrooms worldwide.Eventually, Cassell plansto circumnavigate the
globe in a submersible—a project that could take
two years.
GEARING UPLuminox has long been the watch ofchoice for elite divers around the world,and Cassell easily merits inclusion inthat category. With more than 35 years ofdiving experience, he has spent morethan 13,000 hours underwater as amixed-gas diver and holds the worldrecord for a long-distance saturation dive(52 miles). He wears a Luminox watchevery day and relies on it as part of his
essential gear, whether he’s diving ortracking lawbreakers—or just out on hismorning run.
California-based Luminox shares Cassell’s concern for the viability of theoceans and has committed to supportinghis work through sales of special-editionwatches. This spring, Luminox introducesthe 1525 Deep Dive Special Scott Cassell,created to fund Sea Wolves Unlimited,and the 3954 Colormark Special ScottCassell, created to fund the UnderseaVoyager Project. A portion of the proceedsfrom each will go directly to these organizations to help sustain their vitallyimportant missions.
Scott Cassell is passionate about theundersea world, and, with the support ofLuminox, he is making it his life’s work toprotect and preserve the ocean for futuregenerations. 800.858.5215, luminox.com,underseavoyagerproject.org
FACE TIMEIf Scott Cassell’s face seems familiar, you may have seen him on television.In addition to his many other occupations, Cassell is an underwaterfilmmaker. He has appeared as the host of documentaries broadcast onthe Disney Channel, MTV, the Discover Channel, the BBC and the HistoryChannel. His film credits include stock footage of white sharks, bluesharks and Mako sharks, and his work has appeared on more than 35television shows.
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Luminox 1525 DeepDive Special ScottCassell in steel withpatent-pending bezellocking system andLuminox Light Technology on the dial and dive bezel
