The Current From the Titanic to the North Pole: Joe MacInnis reflects on a life of exploration
Jan 5, 2026
Joe MacInnis, an 88-year-old Canadian physician and deep-sea explorer, takes us on a breathtaking journey through his extraordinary life. He recounts his teenage 'sea fever' and how it led him to dive beneath the North Pole and explore the ghostly wrecks of the Titanic and the Edmund Fitzgerald. Joe shares invaluable lessons on fear, teamwork, and the importance of leadership over technology in survival. He also emphasizes the urgent need for ocean conservation, urging us to prioritize the depths as much as the stars in our explorations.
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Mentor To Multiply Impact
- Mentor and encourage emerging talent; a small act of support can unlock lifelong ambition.
- MacInnis offered Jim Cameron blueprints and encouragement that helped launch a career in exploration and storytelling.
Diving Beneath The North Pole
- Joe MacInnis describes slipping through a dive hole at the geographic North Pole into crystal-clear water with 100m visibility.
- He felt a profound sense of oneness, seeing every direction as south and sensing the interconnectedness of the world's oceans.
Fear As A Friend
- MacInnis reframes fear as a friend shaped by acceptance of mortality and experience with loss.
- That perspective frees him to live urgently and embrace high-risk exploration with gratitude.
