Ep. 24: Taylor Zajonc- Shipwrecks, Expeditions and Survival

 

We have long-form conversations in large part because we get to go deep with our guests.  Today, we almost get to do that literally as we go under the surface of the ocean and discuss a fascinating world.  My guest is maritime historian, shipwreck expert and author Taylor Zajonc.  Taylor is an incredibly interesting guy and we have the rare opportunity to talk about topics that are both fascinating and have few people know as much about them as Taylor.

At the age of 19, Taylor was part of an expedition to explore the deepest archeological site on the planet – a trading ship three miles (over four km) under the ocean’s surface in the Bermuda Triangle in the 1800s. 

Having done this, it was clear that Taylor was not going to become an accountant!  Instead, he became a shipwreck researcher and has now studied numerous shipwrecks (from The Titanic to many others).  We talk about all of this in this very interesting conversation that covers:

• What the ocean floor looks like several thousand meters below the surface;
• Risk in undersea expeditions;
• Insights into the commonalities in the causes of shipwrecks;
• Wilderness survival – Taylor is also a trained wilderness survival expert;
• The psychology of human beings when everything goes wrong;
• Becoming an author and his inspiration for writing his first novel The Wrecking Crew.

And loads more!

Taylor is very interesting and a lot fun.  I am sure you will enjoy the conversation!

Show notes:

Taylor’s site: http://expeditionwriter.com/

Taylor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaylorZajonc

Taylor’s first book The Wrecking Crew: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27181669-the-wrecking-crew?from_search=true

Taylor’s upcoming sequel Red Sun Rogue: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29887294-red-sun-rogue

Taylor’s interview with Outside magazine: http://expeditionwriter.com/undersea-survival-stories-with-outside-magazines-new-podcast/

Article in National Geographic referencing Malcolm Gladwell’s “cockpit culture” theory in his book Outliers: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130709-asiana-flight-214-crash-korean-airlines-culture-outliers/

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