Meet my friend Richie Kohler + lets dive to the bottom of the ocean!

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This is way off topic, like waaaaaaay off topic. Occasionally, I have some fascinating info to share with all of you and this happens to be one of those times. First let me tell you, I am deathly afraid of the ocean. Mostly sharks. You will NEVER ever catch me swimming in the ocean (maybe ankle length), never mind scuba diving to the bottom. Which leads me to introduce my friend Richie Kohler. He and his wife Carrie are friends of ours and happen to live right down the street from us. This guy makes me laugh but he also freaks me out.  He dives regularly, like to the bottom of the ocean, where it takes him HOURS to swim back to the top. Who does that? I personally think he is out of mind, his wife probably agrees with me, but he loves diving. In fact, Richie is one of only four men in the world who has been to RMS Titanic and physically diving inside her equally tragic sister ship, HMHS Britannic. I don’t know about you but I don’t know anyone who has been to the RMS Titanic. Except of course, this crazy man.

So grab a cup of coffee and check out what I have to share, it’s kind of cool!

So here is a little background on my buddy Richie………

He began scuba diving in 1980. He is internationally known for exploring some of the most challenging and dangerous shipwrecks in the world. See, I told you he was crazy. His explorations have helped to locate and name numerous lost vessels, including the mine laying submarine U-215 on the Georges Banks off Nova Scotia, and the WWII destroyer USS Murphy that was crushed and forgotten in the New York approaches.

I won’t lie, I am not a big history buff, in fact, I am pretty clueless when it comes to this stuff. BUT his story fascinates me. Keep reading, his passion and tenacity landed him on the New York’s best seller list, a host of multiple TV shows and a lasting partnership with multiple TV production companies. Here he is below getting ready to dive in his little cage. Oh my!

Richie spent 6 years in an effort to identify an unknown WWII German U-Boat as the U-869 that catapulted Richie’s diving career into the world of television and documentary filmmaking. The daring risks he and John Chatterton (his scuba partner) took and their dogged determination to seek out the truth of the U-boat, are detailed in NY Times best seller, Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson.  Additionally, the PBS program NOVA won an Emmy for their documentary, “Hitler’s Lost Sub”, on this same topic.  Richie has also co-hosted 56 episodes of History Channel’s, “Deep Sea Detectives”, and he has worked on numerous film projects for Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, CBS, PBS, and the Discovery Channel. It was this work that led Richie to history-making expeditions to the legendary Titanic and Britannic. He has joined an elite, small group of divers and maritime historians who are committed to revealing the truth of why Britannic sank three times as rapidly as did Titanic.

Kind of cool right? It’s nice to know people in high places. ha. Seriously, his accomplishments are not only fascinating but amazing. On our last dinner date, Richie told us about the story of the Brittanic, the Titanic’s tragic sister ship.

Richie recently just published his second book called, “Mystery of the Last Olympian.”

Purchase book here.

I can’t spill all the details, you will have to buy the book (it was just released) but can I just tell you, I LOVE the story behind this book. In a nutshell, the book is a true story about the Titanic’s sister ship sinking and about a young woman on board named Violette. Forty men who died a gruesome death. A young woman whose destiny seemed oddly linked to that of the mighty Olympian ocean liners. The eerily similar tragic fate of Titanic and her sister ship Britannic. Questions hastily answered in the heat of World War I. When the legendary Jacques Cousteau found Britannic resting 400 feet beneath the Aegean Sea, he set a sixty-year saga into motion seeking the truth of that bloody day. Of course, who do you think uncovered all this? Yes, my friend Richie along with his partner, Charlie Hudson.

Meet Violette Jessop, she was on board Titanic and Britannic. This poor lady, who on earth gets stuck on two sinking ships?

Obviously she survived Titanic because she then ended up on board the Britannic. Her story of survival is amazing and you have to read the story.

Do you think she survived the sinking ship, Brittanic?

Like I said, I don’t find history exciting but this is a good read! I hope you enjoyed meeting Richie and enjoy reading his book as well.   You don’t need to be a history buff to enjoy this book, it grabbed my attention and that says a lot ;). For those of you who are wondering, I was not paid to write this. Yes, Richie is a personal friend but as you know, I don’t promote anything I don’t believe in, especially a book about sinking ships. -ha.  You can read more about Richie and buy his book here.