Joe McInnis fell in love with the underwater world on his first scuba dive at age 17 while exploring reef systems off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1954.
“It’s filled with these extraordinary creatures and sunlight and shadows,” McInnis said. Electric currentHosted by Matt Galloway. “It's a different world.”
“Feeling like I [had] this connection with something ancient, mysterious and endless [has] never left me.”
Now 88, McInnis has spent a lifetime exploring the world's waters, spending 6,000 hours under the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans. He also helped director James Cameron conduct research for his blockbuster film. Titanic.
For his pioneering contributions to the understanding of science, McNeice was awarded the Order of Canada.
Building a career underwater
Raised in Toronto, MacInnis first attended medical school, attending the University of Toronto and graduating in 1962.
But he says the ocean beckoned, and that he was “very fortunate” to come of age in what he calls a golden era for ocean science, when advances in underwater science and technology were advancing at a rapid pace.
Combining his medical training with his passion for scuba diving, McInnis returned to sea and became a consultant for the US Navy's Sealab project. The program demonstrated that people can live and dive underwater for long periods of time, and MacInnis specializes in the health and safety of divers.
A few years later, in 1969, MacInnis returned to Canada and helped Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau develop the country's first national ocean policy.
He also built Sublimnos, Canada's first underwater research station, under Lake Huron, which allowed scientists to conduct research on fish habitats, aquatic algae, sediments and currents.
Another milestone followed in 1972 when McInnis led the team that built the world's first manned underwater station in the Arctic Ocean, known as Sub-Igloo, and became the first scientist to dive under the North Pole.
“I had this incredible feeling that I could very slowly turn 360 degrees and feel the ocean in all directions—the Pacific Ocean in one direction, the Atlantic Ocean in the other,” McInnis said.
During underwater expeditions in the Arctic, McInnis and his team developed breathing devices and protective suits that allowed divers to operate safely in cold waters. They also captured the first images of a narwhal, bowhead whale and beluga whale 965 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
MacInnis also hosted famous guests of the day on dives, including Pierre Trudeau and King Charles. who was at that time the Prince of Wales.
Canadian research scientist and underwater explorer Joe McInnis remembers diving deep under the Arctic ice in 1975 with King Charles, who was the Prince of Wales at the time. MacInnis hopes Charles' respect for the environment will continue during his reign.
From historical shipwrecks to Hollywood collaborations
In 1980, MacInnis led an expedition that discovered the wreck of the Breadalbane, a British merchant ship that sank under the ice of the Northwest Passage in 1853. The ship's hull was found intact, with its two masts still standing.
Later, he also made “some extraordinary trips down the crystal clear waters of Lake Superior,” where he saw the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which disappeared 50 years ago, taking all 29 crew members with it.
“It was a sacred place,” McInnis said. “I appreciate the technology that will take you there, but you have to respect the history that exists.”
He says he felt similar reverence in 1985, when he served as an adviser to the team that discovered the Titanic's wreck.
McInnis made several dives to it on submersibles.
“The Titanic had a strange organic beauty that I have never forgotten,” he said.
Early on, MacInnis became a mentor to acclaimed director James Cameron, whom he affectionately calls Jim, years before Cameron directed the film that won 11 Oscars.
They first met when Cameron was 14 years old. Cameron saw Sublimnos on display outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto before it was deployed.
Soon after, Cameron wrote to MacInnis asking for drawings of the station so he could build it himself. McInnis sent him sketches.
“I never imagined that I would become a film director in Hollywood. I never imagined that I would actually work on deep dives, that I would dive on the Titanic.” Cameron reminded at the 2023 Royal Canadian Geographical Society event.
“But when you have a moment of empowerment—someone believes in you—suddenly a switch turns on in your head and you believe it’s possible.”
Since then, they have remained friends and worked together on many films and underwater expeditions, including the one that helped Cameron reach the Titanic.
After working with the team that created documentary TitanicMacInnis invited Cameron to the world premiere and introduced him to the Russian submarine pilots who took part in the dive.
Cameron later hired the same pilots to fly him on the plane. ship before filming his 1997 film Titanicwhich earned him an Academy Award for Best Director.
Before filming his blockbuster, Cameron dived into the water 12 times. sunken ship, says McInnis.
“He wanted to experience the sacredness of this place and wanted this experience to create a truly true and authentic history of the sinking.”
Lessons from taking the less traveled path
Going somewhere few people have been is “a complete adrenaline rush,” McInnis says.
On their last dive on the Titanic in 1991, McInnis and the pilot became trapped about four kilometers below the surface when their submersible became snagged on a telephone wire extending from the ship's wheelhouse.
“My heart rate went up into the triple digits,” McInnis said. “After about 30 minutes, the longest year and a half of my life, he was able to turn the submarine back and we rose into the sunlight.”
McInnis says fear can be a helpful companion. He said losing his father at a young age shaped his view of death, freeing him from fear of it and making him more aware of the urgency of life and the importance of accepting fear rather than resisting it.
However, having spent a lot of time in the ocean and working as a doctor observing and treating ocean-related injuries, he says the sea can only feel humiliated.
“My respect for the ocean has turned me into an alpha coward with a Ph.D. in fear,” McInnis said. “My time in the ocean… [has] GShow me great respect and reverence for Mother Ocean.”
McInnis says he wants to “continue the journey of exploration.” [and] opening”.
Through projects such as a memoir and documentary, he hopes to reflect on his “extraordinary life” and use those experiences to make a positive impact on the world.
