Robert J. Shourot
Developer of the Nuclear Reactor Dive System
What type of man desires to have the world’s largest
ships run full speed over him while being just a few
feet from its huge propellers" How does it feel to be
suspended in the water while a gigantic vessel,
traveling at full speed, passes directly overhead" A
diver taking photographs of a ship’s underbelly,
particularly when the behemoth is speeding directly
overhead,
is not most people’s idea of a tranquil
occupation. What type of man dives into lethal nuclear
reactors where death is only a millisecond away" To be
able to develop a technique for looking death in the
face … to sit there and know that you are a millisecond
away from death, and you are unafraid! This man
specialized in such underwater encounters. This man is
Robert Shourot.
Have you ever met someone who has been so involved with
diving as an integral part of his life that he is known
worldwide for his unique accomplishments" Someone who is
known for their development of a NRDS (nuclear
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Robert
J. Shourot
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reactor
dive system) and having been the very first diver to
dive inside nuclear reactors to save his clients lots of
downtime and money. Someone who developed the first
underwater camera system used by the United Stated Navy
to detect noise signatures underwater from the Destroyer
class of vessels. Someone who filmed from underwater the
breaking of ice by a United States Coast Guard
icebreaker vessel while wearing only a wetsuit and just
inches from huge pieces of crumbling ice. Someone who
still found time to form the first commercial diver
training school on the East Coast and also remain active
teaching in the recreational diving industry, which he
continued to do for over fifty years.
Bob Shourot would promise his divers, “You will travel
to all the continents, always have a bronze body, and be
a part of adventures to stagger the imagination.” This
promise was made to many a young individual by a man who
grew up in the poverty stricken area of Bedford
Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. Because of his environment, he
grew up tough and always had to assert himself as a
leader, which only got him in more trouble. In fact, he
once told me, “Trouble sat on my shoulder all day long
and only got off when I went to sleep. Then trouble sat
on the bedpost all night and hopped back on my shoulder
as soon as I awoke.”
Bob Shourot was quite an innovator. His very first
business was hauling groceries for people from the local
A & P supermarket. Growing up in a poor family, he found
an old baby carriage in the junkyard, which he made into
a wagon using the under carriage. He would also borrow
the milkman’s horse and wagon to sell watermelons in the
afternoon.
Later, he made his own shoe shine box and
claimed a spot at the busy “L” train station and charged
a penny to shine shoes. Fighting was the norm for him
while growing up in Brooklyn. If he wasn’t fighting for
himself, he was fighting for his shy brother Jimmie or
his three beautiful sisters. He even had to fight other
kids who wanted his spot on that shoeshine corner.
Bob’s hero was the comic book crime fighter, “Sub
Mariner.” This character was the very first influence
for Bob towards his lifelong quest to be a part of the
much undiscovered underwater world. In 1950, Bob Shourot
made his own snorkeling gear and spear fishing gear. He
told me stories about how he used to climb to the top of
the water tower in Brooklyn and swim in the water and
also dove off the Belt Parkway bridges to swim in Mill
Basin. He would sleep on the Coney Island beach at night
just to be near the ocean. Swimming and snorkeling were
his first interests, then spear fishing, clamming,
scalloping, and lobster hunting.
He then taught himself how to scuba dive using an inner
tube, with a hose to the surface. The very first wetsuit
design was crafted by Bob Shourot for his 4-year old
daughter. Riding the outgoing tide in the Shinnecock
Inlet and Moriches Inlet on Long Island, he would head
out to sea a mile or more and spearfish, using an inner
tube to carry the fish back to shore.
Salvage was the next step in his career towards diving.
Daily he searched for fishing rods, lures, sinkers, and
anchors. Fishing rods and tackle boxes were found around
the piers at Sheepshead Bay. Many anchors were
collected, as well as 100 pound mooring buoys. Then he
began to earn what divers refer to as "treasure" money,
as he started to salvage lost equipment, sunken boats,
and outboard motors. He became an expert at search and
salvage and had an incredible knack for finding the
smallest item. Bob became known as the “Red Adair of the
Dive Industry.”
If the task could not be done, call Bob Shourot because
he will get it done! His largest and most spectacular
"treasure" salvage was one of the 37,000 pound bronze
propellers (18' in diameter) from the USS San Diego,
which lies upside down (at 110 feet) about thirteen
miles southeast of Fire Island Inlet, Long Island, New
York. Bob had been working on the salvage of this
propeller for years, and the true and accurate details
behind this incredible salvage must be revealed to prove
the inaccuracies behind the tale of this incredible
salvage effort.
Robert Shourot is a legend in the dive industry. A
survivor. Bob experienced many firsts in his career of
diving. He opened the very first retail dive center on
Long Island, began the first mail order dive business,
became one of the first dive instructors in the nation,
started the first commercial diving school on the East
Coast, owned and captained the very first live aboard
dive boat. His many years of experience in the marine
field have earned him the reputation of “underwater
detective.”
A man who began in the old days, with the filming of the
first submarine escape hood, and survived to the days of
the sophisticated, highly trained technicians, while not
being afforded the same capsulated education. An
innovator because no one had preceded him to tackle the
problem first. A mind that is highly intelligent around
sophisticated equipment, while maintaining a
“down-to-earth” philosophy of what it is really all
about. A veteran diver with over fifty years of
experience, who has earned a reputation for developing
equipment and techniques that make seemingly impossible
diving jobs routine.
His many years of experience and expertise have earned
him the reputation as one of the foremost experts in
undersea technology and recognition for his innovative
approaches to problems. This all from a man who was
raised in a troubled and poverty stricken environment.
Robert J. Shourot represents a bridge between two eras
in the dive industry. It can only be hoped that the
qualities which comprise the man – integrity, daring,
professionalism, and level-headedness – will not be lost
in an increasingly technical and highly impersonal
world. Bob Shourot has inspired many a diver. His
stories will long be remembered and repeated. His
teachings will carry on in many an individual. He is
everyone’s favorite person and inspiration.
Bob’s experience and know-how dates back a long time.
Since 1950, he has participated in the field of
recreational and professional diving, from design and
manufacturing to writing and instruction. His many years
of experience and expertise have earned him the
reputation as one of the foremost experts in undersea
technology and international recognition for his
innovative approaches to problems.
The list goes on, giving testimony to Bob’s dedication
to diver’s education and safety. His years of experience
in teaching diving guaranteed the students under his
instruction excellent training. His knowledge in the
many facets of recreational, technical, and professional
diving is still well respected in all phases of the dive
industry.
Bob’s long career of teaching diving at all phases –
from recreation to commercial – has prompted me to
submit his profile and nominate Robert J. Shourot, NAUI
No. 358, PADI No. 1851, SSI No. 7206 Course Director and
Platinum 5000 Diver and Instructor.
Robert J. Shourot passed away on February 2, 2005
Information for this bio was supplied by Christine
Shourot

Robert J. Shourot, past owner of "The Dive Shop,"
"Undersea Systems," and "Coastal Diving Academy," was
presented with a portrait montage highlighting events
from his impressive career. The portrait was a gift from
past employees, students, and friends to honor Shourot's
(at the time 25th anniversary) years of dedication to
the diving industry and its people.
Shourot is shown in the portrait wearing a Viking suit
and gear which he designed and used for the first
nuclear reactor dives ever made. To contrast this, the
portrait also shows Shourot wearing the traditional Mark
V dive suit while welding underwater. This dress was the
standard during the early years of his long commercial
career.
The portrait includes representations of the Research
Vessel Black Coral and the Sea Salvor. Both of these
vessels were used to train his commercial diver
students. The R/V Black Coral also transported sport
divers to dive sites off the Long Island Coast and the
Caribbean and was used as a base for many research
projects. The Sea Salvor, a 104' crane vessel with
tremendous lifting capacity, salvaged many a treasure
from the floor of the ocean.
Another part of the montage depicts large container
ships and the Navy's Spruance class of destroyers.
Shourot led a team of divers who performed a series of
hydrodynamic flow studies on both of these ships. Photos
taken by these teams determined erosion and sound
patterns and were instrumental in correcting problems
with the ship's original design. More than a dozen war
ships were photographed at flank speeds, resulting in
the quietest submarine hunters in the world.
Shourot is also seen in the painting taking underwater
photos with one of the many underwater camera housings
he designed and manufactured.
The mixed-medium portrait was created by artist Alan
Reingold. Reingold is famous for his portraits of
statesmen, which frequently appear on the covers of Time
and Fortune magazines.
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