The Sandspur

Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Nicole Fluet Shadow Divers John Chatterton (left) and Richie Kohler (right) pose with students Kelsey Pike, Nicole Fluet, and Samantha Schmid.

Friday the 27th of October was an exciting day for Rollins College. The Shadow Divers, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler from Robert Kurson's critically acclaimed book Shadow Divers made a unique appearance at the Alfond Sports Center. Kurson made a visit to Rollins earlier in the year, and was met with great praise and commendation. The anticipation for the dynamic duo was overwhelming for some on campus. Shadow Divers was required summer reading for the incoming class of 2010. It's a captivating tale of heroism, perseverance and of course, diving. Chatterton and Kohler, as they like to be called, were just as excited as we were when they made their debut. You could see the gleaming in their eyes as they looked at the fresh, eager faces of Rollins students. It's possible that some of us may one day become Shadow Divers.


The Shadow Divers were once just two ordinary divers. They came upon a sunken WWII U-boat off the coast of New Jersey, and their lives were changed forever. No longer could they maintain their everyday diver status. No longer was their mission to simply to dive down and resurrect artifacts. It was much larger than that. They became not only historians, but makers of history. Pioneers in their field. They abandoned much of the lives they once led in the pursuit of going on fantastic diving expeditions. They even had their own program on the history channel. To put it simply, the shadow divers built their empire out of their personal drive and ambition.

Said one Rollins Freshman, Zhenya, "the shadow divers made an auspicious visit to the Rollins campus. They were so interesting to listen to and seemed like very bright, motivated individuals." He then added, "Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson is my favorite book. I make sure to read it at least twice a month."

Shadow Divers the movie is set to come out some time in the next year or two. We are so lucky to have ample knowledge of the phenomenon of this dynamic duo. Hopefully they will return to campus before the end of the semester so that we can continue to bask in the glory of shadow diving.

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