Calypso is the name of a ship that Jacques-Yves Cousteau, one of the most important researchers in oceanography, equipped as a mobile laboratory for field research. Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft. ... // Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1976. ... Thermohaline circulation Oceanography (from Ocean + Greek γράφειν = write), also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of physical geography that studies the Earths oceans and seas. ... Michael Faraday, 19th century physicist and chemist, in his lab. ...

Calypso at La Rochelle.

Calypso was originally a wooden-hulled minesweeper built for the British Royal Navy by the Ballard Marine Railway Company of Seattle, Washington, USA. She was a BYMS (British Yard Minesweeper) Mark 1 Class Motor Minesweeper, laid down on 12 August 1941 with the yard designation BYMS-26 and launched on 21 March 1942. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in February 1943 as HMS J-826 and assigned to active service in the Mediterranean Sea, reclassified as BYMS-2026 in 1944, laid up at Malta and finally struck from the Naval Register in 1947. Image File history File linksMetadata Calypso. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Calypso. ... La Rochelle is a city and commune of western France, and a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean (population 76,584 in 1999). ... USS Pivot (AM 276) World War II United States Admirable Class Minesweeper shown in the Gulf of Mexico on sea trials 12 July 1944 Image:Hameln Class. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... The BYMS class was a class of wooden motor minesweepers, part of the US Navy YMS Yard class minesweepers. ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

After World War II she became a ferry between Malta and the island of Gozo, and was renamed after the nymph Calypso, whose island of Ogygia was mythically associated with Gozo. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The Pride of Rotterdam, One of the P&O Ferriess Flagships operating the Hull-Rotterdam Route A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services. ... Gozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, second in size to Malta Island. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... In Greek mythology Calypso (Greek: Καλυψώ, I will conceal, also transliterated as Kalypsó or Kālypsō), was a sea nymph, daughter of Atlas who lived on the island of Malta. ... Ogygia was believed to have been an island in the Mediterranean that sank following a huge and powerful earthquake, which shook the area before the bronze age. ...

The Irish millionaire Thomas Loel Guinness M.P. bought Calypso in 1950 and leased her to Cousteau for a symbolic one franc a year. Cousteau restructured and transformed her into an expedition vessel and support base for diving, filming and oceanographic research. Group Capt. ... Diving refers to the sport of acrobatically jumping or falling into water. ...

Calypso carried advanced equipment, including one- and two-person mini submarines developed by Cousteau, diving saucers, and underwater scooters. The ship was also fitted with a see-through "nose", an observation chamber three metres below the waterline, and was modified to house scientific equipment and a helicopter pad. Cousteaus Diving Saucer was used in coordination with the Oceanographic Research Tower at Point Loma The SP-350 Denise, famous as the Diving saucer, or Soucoupe is a small submarine designed to hold two people, and is capable of exploring depths of up to 350 metres. ... A Diver Propulsion Vehicle or a DPV is an item of diving equipment used by scuba divers to increase their range while underwater where their endurance is restricted due to limited availability of breathing gas and need to avoid decompression sickness. ...

Calypso at La Rochelle.

A barge accidentally rammed Calypso and sank her in the port of Singapore in 1996. She was raised, and towed to France. After a time in the port of Marsailles, she was towed to the basin of the Maritime Museum of La Rochelle in 1998, where she was intended to be an exhibit. A long series of legal and other delays kept any restoration work from begining. At one time it was rumoured that Calpypso had been sold to Carnival Cruise Lines for the symbolic sum of one Euro. Carnival stated that they intend to give the vessel a 1.3 million dollar restoration, and then likely moor her in the Bahamas as a museum ship. See this cyber diver news page for details of this plan and developments. As of the end of 2006, most of the equipment has been removed from her upper decks, and she sits open to the elements. It is unclear as to what will become of this historic vessel. Image File history File linksMetadata Calypso. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Calypso. ... Self propelled barge carrying bulk crushed stone A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... La Rochelle is a city and commune of western France, and a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean (population 76,584 in 1999). ... Carnival Cruise Lines is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... USS Wisconsin is one of three Iowa class battleships opened to the public as a museum, and one of two Iowa class battleships maintained in the US Mothball fleet. ...

The Calypso in popular culture

John Denver wrote a 1975 hit song "Calypso" as a tribute to Calypso and her crew. Jean-Michel Jarre wrote a four-part composition in tribute to the ship, called Waiting for Cousteau (1990). John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. ... Jean-Michel André Jarre (born August 24, 1948 in Lyon, France) is a French composer and producer. ... Waiting for Cousteau (French title: En attendant Cousteau) is an album by Jean-Michel Jarre, released in 1990 on Disques Dreyfus, licensed to Polydor. ... This article is about the year. ...

GWAR wrote a song entitled Je M'Appelle J.Cousteau, which was featured on their album Hell-O, originally released in 1988. It's not entirely clear whether this song is in tribute or slander, but the song is entirely about Jacques Cousteau and his ship the Calypso. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Hell-O is the first album released by novelty rock/heavy metal/punk band Gwar. ...

Bill Murray starred in a movie parody of Jacques Cousteau's life called The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. In the movie Zissou travels the seas in a ship called the Belafonte. This is an oblique reference to Jacques Cousteau's ship Calypso. Harry Belafonte is a noted Jamaican musician who played calypso music. William James Bill Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-winning American comedian and actor. ... Parody of Back to the Future In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is Wes Andersons fourth feature length film and was released in the U.S. on December 25, 2004. ... Harold George Belafonte, Jr. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in the British and French colonial islands of the Caribbean at about the start of the 20th century. ...

See also

• HMS Calypso for the Royal Navy ships of the same name.

A number of ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Calypso after Calypso, a sea nymph in Greek mythology. ...

External links

• Calypso page from the Cousteau Society.
• BYMS-26
• WWII Construction Records Yard Minesweepers (YMS)
• Miquel Pontes - "El Calypso: Historia de un mito" in Aquanet 67, 2005 [1] (.PDF file)
• Ships of the World - "Calypso"
• Rotary Club of La Rochelle page on Calypso (in French)