Photographs by F.G.O. Stuart/Wikimedia Commons
This month, a spate of local events marks the hundredth anniversary of the Titanic’s doomed voyage, including a Titanic Centennial Week-
end (titanic2012stl.com), April 13, 14 & 15. For John Joslyn, the Titanic has remained his “magnificent obsession.” The former TV producer was so taken with it that he led the first privately funded expedition to the wreck site in 1987, and he’s since built Titanic
attractions (titanicattraction.com).
Why are you so obsessed with the Titanic?
I had an obsession with it as a kid, like so many have, by the scale and size of it, and the fact that it took so many years to build it. Then in five days it was gone.
What was it like seeing the remnants?
It’s like going to the moon. It takes 2½ hours to get to the seafloor. We stayed down there for nine hours. You do it in total darkness. It’s pretty abstract, and it’s very peaceful and solemn. With our spotlights, we could see the ship, including the captain’s bathtub, filled with silt.
How many times have you seen the movie Titanic?
hundred, maybe. [Laughs.] We shared the footage from our dive with a young James Cameron to help him make some of his filmmaking decisions.
