SPEAKERS

Richie Kohler

Richie Kohler's passion for technical scuba diving and maritime history has led him to explore some of the most challenging and dangerous shipwrecks in the world, including the Andrea Doria and HMHS Britannic. Exploring lost ships has led him to locate and help name numerous lost vessels, including the mine laying submarine U-215 on the Georges Banks off Nova Scotia, a WWII destroyer USS Murphy crushed and forgotten in the New York approaches, and the 1800 steamship SS Peconic, a hurricane victim off the Georgia coast. But it would be the identification of an unknown WWII German U-Boat, the U-869 that would catapult his diving career into the world of television and documentary film making. Detailed in the NY Times best seller, Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, this exciting story is slated to be a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox. Kohler, along with long time dive buddy John Chatterton, co-hosted the long running History Channel series, Deep Sea Detectives, and has worked on projects for Paramount Pictures, CBS, PBS, and the Discovery Channel.

In 2005 Kohler and Chatterton headed an expedition to the worlds most famous ship wreck, RMS Titanic. Using the Russian Mir submersibles they made a series of dives 2 ½ miles down. Following a tantalizing clue they located and documented new evidence that has changed perceptions about Titanics final moments, shedding new light on the tragic sinking and loss of 1500 people. These important discoveries led the pair to executive produce three award winning History Channel documentaries "Titanics Final Moments: Missing Pieces", "Titanics Achilles Heel", and Titanics Lost Sister: Britannic. A new book "Titanics last Secrets" by Brad Matsen, detailing these expeditions and their findings will be available fall 2008.

Along with his wife Carrie, Kohler is currently conducting technical dive training, rebreather instruction, and leading shipwreck expeditions worldwide, more often than not his head underwater, looking for the next great dive.

www.U869.com

www.RichieKohler.com