Whether you enjoy cave diving, wreck diving, or simply like spending a little more time on the bottom with the help of mixed gases, there are two famous divers you can look to with gratitude. Dick Rutkowski and Tom Mount together have made incredible strides that have allowed us to dive deeper and enjoy the underwater world more than ever before. Here, we’ll look at two fabled divers who have made a difference to all who enjoy the sport we share.
Dick Rutkowski
Though he never made the claim himself, Dick Rutkowski is often referred to as the “Father of Technical Diving.” A pioneer in the fields of diver training diving medicine, and hyperbaric medicine, and a longtime member of NOAA, he is best known for the work he conducted on breathing gases.
Rutkowski founded the International Association of Nitrox Divers, which later became IANTD (the International Association of Nitrox and Tech Divers,) which is famed as the first modern recreational technical diver training organization. In addition, Dick Rutkowski wrote the first-ever diving accident manual, which formed the basis of today’s Divers Alert Network standard manual. He was a NOAA Aquanaut, and has received over sixty awards, including having an Antarctic glacier named after him.
Though Rutkowski didn’t find the ends to deep cave systems, descend to record-breaking depths, or discover any lost shipwrecks, he did the work that allowed others to do so with the confidence that comes with knowing that you are safe. Among his many publications are The Complete Guide to Nitrox Diving, and Mixing/Blending for Nitrox and Trimix. Still active in the dive community, he currently teaches courses on Advanced Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Team Training in Key Largo, Florida.
Tom Mount
In 1991, Tom Mount joined IANTD, working side-by-side with Dick Rutkowski to teach recreational divers to use Nitrox safely. Between 1992 and 2005, he served as President and CEO of IANTD.
Mount is credited with developing dive tables related to the use of Trimix, and was a founding member of the National Association for Cave Diving, the first Cave Diver training agency in the United States. In addition, he has helped to develop closed-circuit rebreathers designed for recreational divers, and he has written numerous publications on the subject of technical diving, including the popular Technical Diver Encyclopedia.
Unlike his scientific partner, Tom Mount has accomplished great physical feats. In 1965, for example, he and Frank Martz made a record-breaking dive to a depth of 110 meters (360 feet) while breathing standard air. The two men held this record until it was broken by Neil Watson and John Gruener in 1968. Outside the realm of diving, he holds a number of doctorate degrees, and is a triple inductee to the U.S. Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame. With over 40 years of technical diving experience under his belt, he has dedicated his life to making the sport of SCUBA diving safer for everyone. Mount continues to dive and provides instruction in Miami Shores, Florida.
Without the dedicated service of people like Dick Rutkowski and Tom Mount, it is impossible to say where divers would be today – perhaps, we would be attempting to explore using air alone, or perhaps we might wonder what lay beneath the surface at now-famous cave diving sites like those found in Florida’s Suwanee River Valley. Inspiring divers to explore new realms within the underwater world, these dedicated individuals have earned our wholehearted thanks.