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She may look ready for the scrapyard but Calypso, the former British minesweeper from which Jacques Cousteau explored the undersea world, is to be rebuilt to roam the oceans once more as the symbol of an environmental campaign being piloted by his widow.
Calypso had been rusting in the port of La Rochelle, in western France, as a vicious legal battle raged among the fractious Cousteau clan over ownership of the legendary vessel which had featured in so many films and books about the deep.
“All these awful legal battles are over, thank heavens,” said Francine Cousteau, second wife and widow of the explorer. She has been at loggerheads with Jean-Michel, Cousteau’s son from his first marriage, and Alexandra, the explorer’s granddaughter, both of whom she accuses of trying to profit from the illustrious family name.
She said that a recent court decision on the Calypso in her favour would have been welcomed by the figure universally referred to in France as “the commander”. He died in 1997, aged 87, and is remembered as a pioneer of scuba diving, underwater photography and environmentalism...
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