Buddy diving just before and after the Second World War. After the invention of the "aqualung" by Cousteau and Gagnan, the first commercially underwater breathing apparatus became available for sale for sporting purposes in the late 1940s. As the new sport of scuba diving rapidly expanded through the 1950s, several sporting organisations—notably the YMCA—began programmes to train swimming enthusiasts in this new aquatic pastime, and began to codify what they believed were proper practises for this expanding sport. The YMCA considered the buddy system a useful corollary to the "never swim alone" rule of their swimming and lifesaving programmes. Cousteau himself independently
Céline Cousteau Céline Cousteau Céline S. Cousteau (born June 6, 1972) is a socio-environmental advocate and public figure. She is known for her work as documentary film director, producer, explorer, artist, public speaker, brand ambassador and designer. She is the Founder/Director of CauseCentric Productions and Co-Founder/ Chairman of the Board of the Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship. Céline is the daughter of ocean explorer and filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau and granddaughter of Jacques Yves Cousteau. Cousteau was born in California to Jean-Michel Cousteau, a renowned documentary-maker and environmental advocate, and Anne-Marie Cousteau, a former expedition photographer. She is the sister of Fabien Cousteau, an