Provence Undersea
Diving into Sanary-sur-Mer reveals a world of marine marvels.
Set between Toulon and Bandol, the town of Sanary-sur-Mer began as a fishing port clustered around a Romanesque watchtower. Now a popular summer holiday spot, it remains a pastel-painted village with pointed wooden fishing boats bobbing by the quayside. The morning market at the port is a Provencal painting, piled high with apricots, red peppers, garlic and spicy olives. The glistening sardines and purple sea urchins suggest that the traditional fishing boats still serve a purpose, an impression confirmed by the seafood restaurants awash with bouillabaisse. By now, you’ll have succumbed to this classic fish stew or be sipping a chilled glass of rosé under the palms. But Sanary is not just Provence on a plate.
Instead, Sanary’s history is written on water: Its treasures lie out in the bay, from ancient wrecks to legendary dives made by Jacques Cousteau and his buddies. If Sanary is considered the birthplace of modern scuba diving, it is largely thanks to the exploits of three pioneering pals who reached record depths in their home waters.
THREE MUSKETEERS OF THE SEA
In 1937, Philippe Tailliez, free diver and naval swimming champion, first tracked talented spearfisherman Frédéric Dumas in the pristine waters around the Embiez islands. Tailliez then introduced Dumas to Cousteau, a fellow naval officer on the destroyer Condorcet in Toulon, and a firm friendship that would change the world of diving forever was born.
Without Cousteau’s talent for showmanship, the trio would have made less of a splash. This year marks the
60th anniversary of The Silent World, the magical underwater exploration Cousteau made with director Louis Malle that became the first documentary to win the Cannes Film Festival. Shot aboard Cousteau’s vessel, Calypso, it was a
Now a popular summer holiday spot, it remains a pastel-painted village with pointed wooden fishing boats bobbing by the quayside.
milestone in underwater cinematography — the first major presentation of the ocean depths in full Technicolor.
Internationally, Cousteau’s name crops up everywhere. He is familiar as a
French naval officer, war hero, pioneering oceanographer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, scientist, showman, author and underwater photographer. Tailliez brought diving skills, integrity and a conservationist spirit to the partnership. Yet Sanary gently tips the balance in favor of local boy, Frédéric Dumas. Tailliez teased his dive buddy as “a sandal-wearing hippie before his time” but also revered him: “Dumas was the water god, he did what none of us could do — he played with it.”
The three divers, dubbed the three mousquemers (musketeers of the sea), became the fathers of modern deepsea diving.
CAPTURED IN TIME
The trio’s achievements are commemorated in Sanary’s Frédéric Dumas Diving Museum. It’s a bighearted, low-tech museum, a cabinet of curiosities run by dedicated amateurs.
Set in a medieval tower, the underwater archaeology section is a clear tribute to Dumas’ passion for scouting wrecks, perhaps stirred by memories of his early explorations off Sanary’s Portissol Beach in 1938. The Mediterranean seabed is so rich in Ancient Greek and Roman remains that amphorae — ancient clay urns — continue to be handed in to the museum by divers.
More fascinating is the scuba section, brought to life by local guides. The aqualung, Cousteau’s greatest invention, is there, as is Dumas’ diving mask, a clunky but functional device shaped out of tire inner tubes in 1930. A copy of an early 18th-century diving suit, more like a suit of armor, is a reminder of how far diving has come. The slightly haphazard displays are in keeping with the spirit of camaraderie and improvisation that characterized the exploits of “the musketeers.”
The museum singles out significant books and underwater documentaries as well. Produced in 1943, 18 Metres Deep was France’s first underwater film, inspired by the trusty team’s dives off Sanary without breathing apparatus. A long-running series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, set the benchmark for marine documentaries.
Also in 1943, the trio made Shipwrecks, a documentary that featured two of the earliest aqualung prototypes, made to their specifications. Dumas starred, wearing an aqualung, the first diver to go below 200 feet in the device. Given wartime shortages, during the shoot Cousteau resorted to multiple stillcamera film reels intended for a child's
camera, and linked them to make long reels. Shipwrecks so impressed Admiral Lemonnier that he entrusted the team with setting up a naval underwater research group. Based in Toulon, this soon encompassed missions such as mine clearance and naval exploration. Cousteau still found time to follow his own scientific interests. He deduced sea creatures’ natural sonar by noticing how porpoises tracking his research vessel, Elie Monnier, changed course to find the optimal path through the Straits of Gibraltar.
Above all, the museum prompts reflection on marine conservation, the legacy of these pioneering oceanographers. As a keen environmentalist, Tailliez
In 1937, Philippe Tailliez, free diver and naval swimming champion, first tracked talented spearfisherman Frédéric Dumas in the pristine waters around the Embiez islands. Tailliez then introduced Dumas to Cousteau, a fellow naval officer on the destroyer Condorcet in Toulon, and a firm friendship that would change the world of diving forever was born.
was a founding member of the Port-Cros marine park on the Iles d’Or east of Sanary. His stance inspired Cousteau to also take up arms as an ecowarrior. In 1960, Cousteau and fellow oceanographers led a successful campaign to prevent the dumping of nuclear waste in the French Mediterranean. Partly thanks to these pioneers, the diving here remains delightful, given the combination of unspoiled coastline, underwater cliffs, spooky wrecks and reliable scuba clubs. As for boat trips, head to the Embiez archipelago or to the calanques, the fjord-like creeks that score the coastline towards Cassis.
Set in Bandol wine country, Sanary still serves up the southern lifestyle in a glass. Touched by that magical marine air, Bandol rosé is as subtle and complex as Sanary itself. But, in the end, terra firma is trounced by the sea. In Sanary, one of the sunniest spots in France, what counts are the cool depths, not the laidback southern lifestyle. Cousteau would toast to that.