ot-----the bulbous bow ---Calypso style

New Orleans---1970

I am med student in the Big Easy--heard rumor that exploration vessel Calypso--complete with Commodore J Cousteau + crew were in town
Calypso was queuing for east west transit thru Panama Canal when collision occured
with resultant bow mash--she was able to limp into New Orleans for repair --I believe Avondale yards

brief tour thru Calypso also rumored--so I corralled 3 mates and vectored to riverfront-- RV Calypso was indeed moored--but curiously--no crowds
Philippe Cousteau was on foredeck--and informed tours were suspended--he noted
first tour group pocketed every nikon camera and every rolex watch in crew quarters--these glittery shiny things openly displayed on bunks
Philippe's life would end 9 years later in PBY accident

and as he concluded Madame Simone Cousteau arrived--
exiting the limo she lowered designer sunglasses--wordlessly branding us the criminal element with her scowl

so Captain Cousteau designed the steel bulbous bow with underwater viewports to remedy the bow mashup

Calypso is a wood hull vessel--Seattle built in WWII--
partial restoration has occured--with the iron bow construction nicely defined at separation from hull


YouTube

After all that, you didn't steal her glasses? Slacker.

Too bad about the tour, thanks for the pix and the story.

Ya kinda have to wonder about crew members that'd leave Rolexes out for the taking...

Memory is fuzzy on this but I believe this boat sat around deteriorating for many years, then was finally scrapped. A bunch of people wanted to save her but in the end, no.

But that could be a short circuit in the brain pan.

"As at 19 November 2019, there is news[21][22] that the Calypso has been stripped down to an empty hull, and that Marco Cobau has had its keel straightened; the curve arose by the keel carrying heavy weights at its ends over its lifetime. "

RV Calypso - Wikipedia

Tom