Cousteau to film in northwest islands

By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press

Explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau set off on a six-week filmmaking expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands yesterday, carrying on his father's legacy.

Cousteau and his 19-member crew will travel throughout the 1,200-mile island chain, filming for a public TV special, "Voyage to Kure," expected to air in fall 2004.

Cousteau's father, Jacques, whose films and television programs made him a household name, died in 1997.

Jean-Michel Cousteau heads the Ocean Futures Society. He will command the Searcher, a 96-foot, 240-ton vessel his crew will call home until their return to Honolulu Harbor.

The Searcher will make stops at Midway Island, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, Pearl and Hermes Atoll and Raita Bank, making its last stop at Kure Island.

Cousteau, 65, said this is his first journey to the northwestern islands. "I'm very excited," he said. "Like a kid."