DIVE LOG DECEMBER 25 ISSUE 415

magazine’s closure. Michael’s interest in diving, however, did not. Broadening his scope as an extremely talented investigative reporter, he continued to report, and comment on, developments in diving for publications like, ‘Scientific American’, ‘Wired’, and more. His comments on many of the organisations (and personalities) that he subsequently supported, - like the WKPP – being less than complimentary. Although knowing of him as the editor/publisher of, ‘aquaCORPS Magazine’, my first meeting with Michael,came in April, 1995, when, on the eve of the opening of Singapore’s very first ADEC Show, we were both invited to a dinner in a private dining room atop the Pan Pacific Hotel. Hosted by the publisher of Asian Diver Magazine and organiser of ADEC, Rainer Sigel, his guest list was limited to just four speakers, Jean Michel Coustau, Michael Menduno, wreck salvor, Dorian Ball, and myself. Michael and I immediately bonded, communicated regularly, and were both involved in the following year’s, ASIA.tek Conference, running in conjunction with that year’s ADEC Show. Following the collapse of, ‘aquaCORP’ in that same year (1996) Michael disappeared from the diving scene. And while we did meet up again over dinner with Wings and Ani Stocks in Santa Cruz, on a stop-over by Sylvia and myself on our way to Mexico in 1999, Michael was always reluctant to again involve himself in the diving industry. Having continued to remain in contact with him, and attempted - on numerous earlier occasions - to lure him back into diving as a speaker at Australia’s biennial Brett

Above: Brett Gilliam founder of TDI

Oztek Conference, Michael eventually relented and (with the added post-event inducement of a liveaboard trip to dive the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea if he attended OZTeK 2011) agreed to fly to Sydney and attend the Show. Encouraged by the reception that he received in Sydney, and already laying the groundwork for Rebreather Forum 3, Michael’s parting words to me on our way to the airport and his return home were, “I’ve just had the best two weeks of my life.” It marked his return back to diving. And while, undoubtedly, he later enjoyed far more enjoyable times, his passing has left a huge hole in the hearts of everyone privileged to know him. At a personal level, the saddest aspect of Michael’s passing is his constant good humour, unfailing support of everyone with whom he came into contact … and the fact that we’d agreed that he would write my own epitaph.

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DIVE LOG Australasia #415 December ‘25

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