Exploring the World Beneath the Waves

Photograph by David Wood

There is another world, a bigger world. It’s a world both alien and familiar, and it starts at the beach. It’s the world of diving, and while this world is often associated with crystal blue tropical waters, there are many great places to dive right here on Cape Cod and the Islands, from offshore and near-shore wrecks to freshwater ponds.

Sport diving is a relatively new, late 20th-century recreational pursuit, but its roots stretch to antiquity. By 1300 AD, Persian divers were already making rudimentary diving goggles out of the polished outer layer of tortoise shells.

What we now call scuba diving is a variation on the original Aqua-Lung, a piece of technology pioneered in 1943 by two Frenchmen, engineer Emile Gagnan and diver Jacques Cousteau. In fact, the word scuba began as an acronym for “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.”

With this in mind, meet three Cape and Islands divers who regularly enjoy stunning views of the region . . . from beneath the waves.