Lotte Hass Dies at Age 86

It would be unheard of now for a woman to train in secret to scuba dive — but that’s precisely what Charlotte Hass did in 1949 when readying for her first expedition with Austrian underwater documentary filmmaker Hans Hass. Hired as his secretary, Lotte wanted to join his Red Sea expedition. Hans finally consented, realizing that her charming looks would attract wider audiences. The trip proved a turning point: Lotte, the first woman to dive the Red Sea, held her own against sharks and schools of barracuda — and Hans. Upon its conclusion, he proposed. In 1956, the duo traveled to the Great Barrier Reef and Aegean Sea to film a BBC series. Two years later, the couple created the six- part series The Undersea World of Adventure. Lotte has often been called the first lady of diving, and the Daily Mail hailed her “one of the most beautiful women who has ever prowled the sea with a spear.” Lotte was inducted in 2000 into the Women Divers Hall of Fame and Scuba Diving Hall of Fame. Lotte died on Jan. 14, 2015, at age 86.