Year: 2020

Published in DIVE LOG Australasia

Jett & Kathryn Britnell July 31, 2020 Comments are off

“DIVE LOG Australasia is striving to constantly produce great reading. August 2020 is a bumper issue. Our plan here is to give something back to the diving industry.”
~ Mike Scotland, Publisher & Editor
In the August 2020 issue of DIVE LOG Australasia, Kathryn and I are both doing our best to give back to the dive industry, and are also helping to make British Columbia’s spectacular ocean realm better known to our brothers and sisters living in the land down under.

Published Work

“Into The Sea Lions Den” Published in Luxe Beat Magazine

Jett & Kathryn Britnell July 23, 2020 Comments are off

“Into the Sea Lions Den” is our latest Third Age Expeditions story for our column in Luxe Beat Magazine and we have been awarded another Editor’s Pick!

DANCES WITH SEA LIONS

After splashing into the ocean, we quickly descend 10 meters and kneel down upon the rock-strewn seafloor. At the edge of underwater visibility, we could make out some torpedo-shaped silhouettes. Suddenly, from out of the emerald haze more than 20 female sea lions appeared. Glancing over at my dive buddy, I could see a young female sea lion inquisitively peering into his underwater camera system’s dome port. Two coquettish sea lions stop to pose right in front of me as third one mischievously yanked on one of my fins. Then as quickly as they had arrived, the sea lions exploded towards the surface while unleashing a whimsical series of un-choreographed pirouettes, dramatic turns and topsy-turvy spins. Soon enough, they returned to swarm us again and again.

Link to story: here.

Life As It Happens

Titanic Adventure: One Woman’s True Life Voyage Down to the Legendary Ocean Liner

Jett & Kathryn Britnell July 20, 2020 Comments are off

“It’s strange to have a friend that you have never hugged, never shook their hand, or looked into their eyes. But you have been touched by their soul, seen the good in their hearts and felt the warmth of their being.”

– Unknown

I’m giving a loud shout out today to someone we have never met in person, but who both Kathryn and I consider to be a friend. Last month during a Facebook conversation wherein I said I was going to source an out of print book and ask the author to autograph it, the author said to me, “I will send you one.”

The person I’m speaking about is Jennifer Carter,
(Fellow in the Explorers Club, Author, Producer, and so much more), who along with her late husband, Academy Award-winning composer, Joel Hirschhorn, co-authored the book “Titanic Adventure: One Woman’s True Life Voyage Down to the Legendary Ocean Liner.” Yes, Jennifer was the first woman to dive to the wreck of the Titanic when she signed on as expedition leader for the all-male French/American Titanic expedition in 1987. And this is but one of her long lists of noble accomplishments.

We feel blessed to be able to call Jennifer our friend.

In The Press

Why did you learn to dive and where did your adventure take you?

Jett & Kathryn Britnell July 8, 2020July 8, 2020 Comments are off

“Why did you learn to dive and where did your adventure take you?”

This is the question Shearwater Research, a Canadian company who designs and manufactures technical dive computers and electronic control systems for rebreather manufacturers, asked several well-known figures from the international scuba diving community and the Shearwater team.

Video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erBakhvAADo

Given that we had been experiencing weeks on end with rain here in Vancouver around the time I made this video, I could not film my segment in the great outdoors. So, I chose to wax poetic while seated in the Terra Incognita Explorers Bar at stately Britnell Manor. Enjoy!

Shearwater Research

Mucho thanks to Shearwater Research for their efforts to keep us all connected during this world pandemic. We are all connected!

Published Work

Big Picture in Canadian Geographic!

Jett & Kathryn Britnell June 28, 2020June 28, 2020 Comments are off

My image of a red eye medusa jellyfish is the “Big Picture” featured in a double-page spread of the July/August 2020 issue of Canadian Geographic, a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Canadian Geographic has been making Canada better known to Canadians and the world since is was first published in May 1930. The publication is the authoritative source for all things geography, wildlife and environment, climate and energy, travel, culture and exploration in Canada.

Life As It Happens

Proud to be Mobby’s Ambassadors

Jett & Kathryn Britnell June 3, 2020June 4, 2020 Comments are off

Mobby’s

It is a distinct honour for both Kathryn and I to announce we are now Ambassadors for Mobby’s the largest dry suit, wetsuit, and marine sports accessories manufacturer in Japan.

This has been in place for a while. but due to the COVID pandemic some plans were delayed. Now, it’s looking like we will be able to get in the ocean this summer so we can put our Croco Dry FZ drysuits to the test.

Gratitude

Our deepest respect and heartfelt thank you to Mobby’s CEO & President, Mamoru Yasuda san, for the faith he has placed in us. Mr. Yasuda founded Mobby’s in 1963 from his home village of Miyagi, a serene fishing community in Northern Japan’s Sendai district. A legend in the world’s diving community… he is someone whom we hope to have the pleasure to meet in person someday soon.

In the meantime, some of our pictures were featured in Mobby’s catalogue which we just love.

Also, many thanks to our friends Michel Joseph and George Klikach for introducing us to Mobby’s and their drysuits!

Published Work

Gearing Up For A Polar Expedition Cruise

Jett & Kathryn Britnell May 26, 2020May 28, 2020 Comments are off

Editor’s Picks

“Gearing Up For A Polar Expedition Cruise” is our latest Luxe Beat Third Age Expeditions column has just been published. And we have another “Editor’s Picks” feature!

Third Age Expeditions May 2020 – Jett Britnell

Not unlike during the “Heroic Age” of polar exploration over just over a century ago, participating in a modern-day polar expedition cruise does require substantially more planning than a vacation trip to Greece or Hawaii.

Link to article: Here

Life As It Happens

League of Underwater Explorers

Jett & Kathryn Britnell May 9, 2020May 9, 2020 Comments are off

“To figuratively stand upon the shoulders of great explorers, one must venture outdoors and seize the opportunity to explore the world that surrounds them. In truth, that’s all we ever did. Explore.. Dream… Discover.”

~ Jett Britnell

Kathryn and I both feel honoured to be part of a fraternity that is EXPLOCEAN’s LEAGUE OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS. Thank you to our long time friend, Bill Nadeau, for the invitation to join such an illustrious band of undersea explorers.

League of Underwater Explorers

EXPLOCEAN and the LEAGUE OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS primary mandate is to create opportunities for all people to discover our world by promoting underwater exploration. Our objective is to empower future generations to leave a legacy of ecological sustainability and inspire them to take stewardship of the planet and all its waterways by sharing our own discoveries.

More info: Here

Published Work

Cold Coast: Exploring Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago

Jett & Kathryn Britnell March 13, 2020 Comments are off

Feel the Polar Bug

Our latest “Third Age Expeditions column” in Luxe Beat Magazine is published online today and we have made the “Editor’s Picks.” “Cold Coast: Exploring Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago” summarizes our polar cruising expedition in August 2019 with PolarQuest, a world leading operator of small ship expedition cruises in Svalbard. If you have ever dreamed of taking the trip of a lifetime, this adventure will leave you with a severe case of “Polar Bug.” To discover what that is, you will have to read to the end of the article. This story also includes numerous images that Kathryn made including this polar bear. Looking at her beautiful image captures makes me want to go back… and perhaps insist that we start co-branding our images.

Life As It Happens

Explorers Talk Memories

Jett & Kathryn Britnell March 13, 2020March 13, 2020 Comments are off

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~ William Arthur Ward

On the same day we learned the 116th Explorers Club Annual Dinner in New York City slated for March 21st had been postponed until October 10th due to growing concerns over the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Winter 2020 Issue of The Explorers Log arrived in the mail.

As I thumbed through the pages, I came across the pages containing highlights from the various chapters. A thank you to my friend and Canadian Chapter Chair, George Kourounis, who gave us and the Explorer Club Fellows (Phil Nuytten, Isabelle Groc & Jude Isabella) who presented at our “Explorers Talk” evening last November at the Vancouver Aquarium’s Theatre.

As people know, I was hospitalized in September and was still recovering from the after effects of a severe blood infection in the weeks leading up to this event. Some asked… understandably given my physical condition at the time… if I was going to cancel the event? In true “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” fashion, that thought never entered my mind. However, I did contemplate the real possibility that I might not have sufficiently recovered in time? But I knew something nobody else knew? I had an Ace of Hearts up my sleeve in the personage of Kathryn Britnell who is also an Explorers Club Fellow. There is no one else who I would have asked to speak and present on my behalf. Fortunately, I did not have to play my Ace of Hearts card.

Thanks for the reminder George. It was a great event supported by several others who also brought their A Game. And, Oh my, every presentation left me wanting more.

(Play Nice In The Sandbox, Kids. Ask, Don't Steal)