How do you celebrate the birthday of a Mark V helmet? On the bottom of course with a birthday cake!
How do you celebrate the birthday of a Mark V helmet? On the bottom of course with a birthday cake!
A special birthday party rally was held at the College of Oceaneering in Wilmington to celebrate the 60th birthday of the old Schrader Mark V - born April 5, 1943. CCED's senior Mark V experts, Harold Nething and Ken Mc Elvain did the honors.
Two sheet cakes were donated by Mom Orr for the special occasion. Not to be out done by Mom, Harold "baked" a special water proof cake to take inside the tank. Although Mom's cakes were very tasty, Harold's cake had it hands down on durability. He made his cake out of steel and lead! With Harold tending, Ken and the old Mk V hit the water complete with cake and candles to the delight of the crowd. Hoyt Smith, the COO's Public Relations Officer, said he thought this was a first!
Later Mark Howell tried out his "bunny suit" and Jack Brown mask. (Just in time for Easter.) Earl "Earl the Pearl" Weatherby dipped his brand new Desco heavy commercial hat (a real beauty!). COO Raffle winners were A.J. Jadal and Steven Langer. California Wreck Divers raffle winner Ted Sharshan also dove. A total of 17 dives were made with classic equipment. Winning the "prize" for traveling the greatest distance was new member Wayne Sayers and his wife from Orem, Utah.
The gang packed up their gear about 5:30 and ended up at the Grinder Restaurant in San Pedro for their usual BS session and decompression after a long day. In my opinion, the best event this year.
~ Charlie Orr
Note: See additional article on written by Hoyt Smith, COO Public Relations Officer
Setup 8:00 a.m. and diving to continue until about 4:00 p.m. New members will be instructed on the use of the equipment, and will tend at least one other diver before making their first hard hat dive. The COO will be furnishing us with BBQ hamburgers for lunch. Call Charlie @ (310) 834-7051 for info.
The 3rd Annual Dive Demonstration and Display will be held at Banning's Landing on June 7 from 9:00 a.m. til 4:00 p.m. We will be diving both hard hat and vintage scuba gear from the boat dock and using the old DeVilbiss Air Compressor with two "K" bottles for backup. (As far as we know at this time, no rebreathers will be allowed due to the high security in the L.A. Harbor.)
A display of old equipment will be set up inside the building. If you have something you would like to show, bring it along. The display will be monitored throughout the day to avoid any loss or damage.
Since this is in open water, all hard hat divers must be familiar with tending and diving the heavy gear. New gear should be throughly checked out and be in top working condition prior to diving at The Landing.
Banning's Landing Cultural Center is located at the south end of Avalon Blvd. in Wilmington. This has been a good dive spot with about 35 feet of water with fairly good visibility. And don't forget the old bottles we have found each year.
HELP!!!! is needed to unload and set up the dive station. If you can lend a hand, be there at 8:00 a.m. For more information or directions call Charlie Orr (310) 834-7051.
The Second Annual Divers' Day was held at The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California on March 23. A popular event for our members and their families, we had a large turnout of divers to dive in the Blue Caverns 30' tank. The smaller Tropical Pacific tank was used for rebreathers and scuba.
Aquarium director, Pete Pehl, made the first dive of the day using Charlie Orr's old Schrader Mark V helmet. Also diving the Mark V were CCED members Ken McElvain and Bill Kurka. Rick Eriksen dove next using his Yokohoma hat. The remaining heavy gear divers used the Kirby-Desco. Divers included, Charlie Orr, Duke Drake, Patti Balian, Ben Briggs, Bill Huffman, John Hilliard, Carol Gross, and Paul Thetreau. Diving vintage scuba gear were Mark Howell, Jocko Robinson, Brad Spears, Alan Pilkington, Al Perez, John Hilliard, and Brian "Rude Dog" Koneval.
An exhibit of early hard hat dive gear was set up under the big blue whale in the entrance area. Hats included in the display were a Japanese TOA, TOA Pearler, Divin Hood, a new Galeazzi, a new Chinese, and the Schrader Mark V used earlier in the day by the divers. On display was also a 1944 Mark V dress, Jocko Robinson's brass Widoff mask, a mid-50s Aqua Lung air tank, Ben Brigg's English torch and Mark V knife, a collection of old diving knives and other related dive gear. Other participating organizations included the HDS-USA, Nick Icorn's "Museum of Diving History," California Diving News, the U.S.C. Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, College of Oceaneering, and the U.S. Navy Consolidated Dive Unit from San Diego.
A number of members attended Divers' Day who did not dive, but spent the day tending, helping with the display, giving presentations on the old diving equipment, helping with the gear and visiting with the public. They were: Harold and Ruby Nething, Earl Weatherby, Al Perez, the Medeiros family (Butch, sons Ray and Butch, Jr., and grandson Isaiah), Kevin and Reese Monahan from Texas, Al Casal, Dorothy Barstad, Mom Orr, Rhonda Drake and family, Dr. Bob and Jane Innallo, and Kent (Rocky) Rockwell.
Seen at the HDS booth were Bob and Carolyn Kirby, Scrap Lundy, and Norma Hanson. Also diving rebreathers were the Ready Family (Steam Machines).
A long day that began at 7:00 a.m. for most of the divers, drew to a close just before the Aquarium shut the doors at 6:00 p.m. The divers, in a state of "Shock & Awe," quickly gathered and loaded all the dive gear into the waiting vehicles and headed out to the Whale and Ale in San Pedro for debriefing and a well deserved R&R.
COO Rally - January 18, 2003
What a day! We had a record breaking number of divers hit the water at the College of Oceaneering on January 18. Mark Howell and Alan Pilkington were the first divers in the water, with a total of 18 hard hat dives before the day was over. Kevin Monahan, who flew in from Austin, Texas, won the "prize" for traveling the furthest distance. Paul Thetreau, one of our newest members, made his first dive along with several guest including Don Williams and Chet Tussey from the San Diego area who dropped by for the day. Harold Nething spent the day helping out and visiting with the onlookers along with "Mom" Orr and Dorothy Barstad.
Dr. Bob Innallo brought two Feor Rebreathers, and several members brought out some of their vintage scuba gear. Also diving scuba were Brad Speer, Rocky Rockwell, Al Pilkington, and Brian "Rude Dog" Koneval.
Bill & Bob Meistrell, owners of Dive 'n Surf in Redondo Beach, dove together. Bill used the Kirby-Desco and Bob used the Chinese hat. These two men are also the co-founders of Body Glove.
Shane Hodgson, a COO student, and Mickey Scott from the San Diego area, were the winners of the raffle to dive the hard hat gear. Shane, a Canadian, good naturedly took a lot of teasing about his Canadian accent.
Afterwards a wet, tired, and bedraggled crew met at the Whale and Ale in San Pedro for a little "after the dive" R&R.
Thanks to Alan Pilkington, who spent a lot of time the past
few months making arrangements, a small group of our
members were able to attend the Harbor Clean Up Day at
Avalon on February 22, diving heavy gear.
Two dives were made off the beach near the Green Pier
with the old TOA hat. Divers were "Big" Al Pilkington
and "Wild Bill" Kurka. The safety diver in scuba gear was
Susie Willis. Tenders were Jim Pride, Kent Rockwell and
Charlie Orr. Lending moral support was Jim's friend,
Diane.
Although the heavy gear didn't create the interest we had hoped for, plans are in the works for next year. A special thanks to "Big Al" for arranging the event and to "Big Jim" for pushing the "K" bottle all over Avalon.
Coming Soon . . .
After a lot of discussion by several group members it has been decided to host an event similar to the old "Diving Into History" held at Point Lobo.
Dubbed "Diving Into the Past" it will be held at the historic Banning's Landing in Wilmington, California on Saturday, October 18, 2003. In association with the HDS, the event will be a tribute to E.R. Cross who owned the Sparling School of Diving and trained many of the early divers who worked in the Los Angeles Harbor area.
During the morning, a diving demonstration using classic hard hat and vintage scuba gear will be presented. Diving will be limited to CCED members only. A catered lunch is planned, with two or three guest speakers to follow during the afternoon. (Several people have been contacted as potential lectures and will be announced at a later date). There will also be a display of classic diving equipment and tables for those who have "Swap and Sell" items.
Even though this event is several months away, it will take a lot of planning (and work) to make it a success. It is not too early to start thinking about displaying your classic dive gear, having a Swap & Sell table, or to be one of the divers. More information will be forthcoming over the summer.
There are a limited number of reserved tickets which are available at $20 each. No tickets will be sold at the door. Your ticket includes access to the lectures, exhibits and lunch and may be purchased by contacting Charlie Orr (310) 834-7051 - E-mail: neverbent@aol.com
What's Happening?
Portside L.A. - Plans are being made to set up a booth for the "Portside Neighbors" held at the Phineas Banning Home in Wilmington. This will be to promote the diving history of the construction of the L.A. Harbor. We plan on having a display and possibly do a dry dress-in. This should be in the latter part of August, but no date as yet. Anyone who wants to help or display their gear, should contact Charlie (310) 834-7051
COO San Diego - The tanks are being completed at the new COO facility in San Diego. A rally will be held there hopefully sometime this summer. We will keep you posted.
2003 Tentative Dive Schedule - See following list. Most dates are confirmed, but due to unforseen circumstances may be changed or canceled. You will be notified of any changes.
June 7 Dive Rally and Equipment Display at Banning's Landing, Wilmington
June 22 Dive Rally, College of Oceaneering
August (?) Equipment Display and Dry Dress-in at Portside L.A., Banning Park (Wilmington)
August 23 Dive Rally, College of Oceaneering
September 6 Dive Demonstration, L.A. Maritime Museum, San Pedro (Note: The date for the dive is the week following Labor Day, not the Labor Day weekend)
October 4 Dive Rally, College of Oceaneering
October 18 Diving Into The Past, A Tribute to E.R. Cross, Banning's Landing, Wilmington
November 8 Dive Rally, College of Oceaneering
Bill Kurka was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to the
Los Angeles area after serving in the Army Special Forces.
He has worked for American Air Lines until recently when
he retired after 36 years of service. He now lives in Playa
del Rey, California.
Bill's interest in diving started when his parents bought
him a "Dive Air." His only instructions were "stick this in
your mouth and breath." After several self-taught lessons
in the YMCA pool, Bill started getting the hang of it. Bill
also said that two books greatly sparked his interest in
diving. They were "Diving to Adventure" by Hans Haas,
and "Silent World" by Jacques Cousteau. Bill also toured
the U.S. Navy Dive School in Washington, D.C. and in the
70s, took a weekend "Heavy Gear" class at the old CDC
in Wilmington, California. (The old CDC is now the
College of Oceaneering)
Bill's interest in hard hat diving began with an article he
read in a local paper about the L.A. Maritime Museum
and the CCED Dive Demonstration held there each year.
He attended the demonstration in 2000 and applied for
membership with our group. He is also a member of the
HDS-USA.
In the two years since Bill joined our group, he rarely
misses an event. He has the "Hard Hat Bug" real bad,
and is now considering the purchase of his own set of gear
in the near future. ~ Charlie Orr
Hard Hat Divers Wear Dresses - by Bob Kirby
Bob Kirby, co-founder of the original Kirby Morgan company, has just published a book on his adventures in diving and equipment design. The book is hard bound with 262 pages with numerous black and white photos and tells Bob's story "with humor as my medium, plus an occasional dose of terror." Limited edition - 1,000 individually numbered copies. The price is $40, plus $8 domestic P&P. CA residents add 7.75% sales tax.
More Than Nine Lives - by Alfred H. and Norma J. Hanson
This new book tells the story of Al Hanson's life beginning with his parents immigration from Norway, homesteading in North Dakota where he was born and later moving to Washington were Al grew up. Al was a well known diver in southern California who along with his wife Norma, did exhibition dives for the Catalina glass bottom boats. They lived on Catalina Island and operated a dive service there for a number of years. The book is hard bound with a beautiful fly cover and 704 pages. There are numerous black and white photos of the Hanson's. Limited edition - 500 individually numbered and signed by Norma Hanson. Price is $40, plus shipping and handling. CA residents add 7.75% sales tax.
Contact the HDS by e-mail (HDS@HDS.org), website (www.HDS.org), or by mail - Historical Diving Society, 340 S. Kellogg Ave Ste E, Goleta, CA 93117
Bob & Bill Meistrell, co-founders of Body Glove, are identical twins who were born and raised in a small town in Missouri. Both were always interested in the water and became accomplished swimmers at an early age. Also interested in deep sea diving, at 13 years old, they made their first dives in a swimming pool with a homemade hat connected to a garden hose and using a bicycle pump for air.
"We got a five-gallon vegetable can, cut out the bottom and had a guy solder shoulder pads on it so it didn't cut into us," recalls Bill. "We put a piece of glass on the front and used tar as a seal around the glass. We had enough sense to put in a check valve, made from a marble and a spring so the air wouldn't come out when we stopped pumping. One of us would wear this thing in the swimming pool, sit down on the bottom and read magazines, while the other pumped air on the surface with a tire pump. The pump would get so hot that you would have to dip it in the water to cool it off. You'd feel the water coming up to your nose. I can't tell you how many times we had to bail out of that thing. It's a wonder we didn't get an air embolism. We used to walk around in some of the local lakes at depths of about 15 feet."
In 1944, the family moved to Manhattan Beach, California, where the boys fell in love with the ocean. During high school, they bought a genuine diving helmet for $25 after the owner was killed using it. "We marched all over the breakwater with that thing, one at a time while the other would be pumping. There were no wetsuits in those days so we would be freezing. The helmet was just good for looking around. You couldn't lean over and grab anything. Maximum depth was 20 feet. There was clear water with a white sandy bottom and many fish. A whole other world!"
After graduating from high school they became lifeguards, but Bill was soon drafted into the Army. Bob, thinking he would be deferred because of his broken back sustained while playing football, was drafted by the Army two months after he was married. They said, "You're warm, you're breathing, you're in the Army now." Bill went to Korea where he received a Bronze Star. Bob was stationed at the Monterey Army Base near Santa Cruz, California.
Needing a way to combat California's cold water, they tried a variety of ideas, including electrically heated flyers' suits from war surplus, but those would burn up and wool sweaters lasted only as long as they were dry, which wasn't too long. Finally in 1953, they found some insulation material, which was used in the back of refrigerators. The material was called neoprene and it was used to make the first practical suits.
It was in 1953, that Bill's friend Bev Morgan offered Bill a share in his local sports shop, Dive N' Surf. Bill took Bev up on his offer, but only if Bob could also buy into the business. Bill and Bob borrowed $1800 from their mom and became partners in the dive shop business. At first business was slow and the brothers continued to work as life guards on a part-time basis. Four years later, the business had grown to the point that they were able to buy out the remaining partner, Bev Morgan.
In 1955, Bob was part of the Underwater Instructors Certification Course - Class #1. These were the first people in the world that were certified scuba instructors. Some of the other people in the class were: Bev Morgan, Al Tillman, Ramsey Parks, Andy Rechnitzer, Bill Walker, E.R. Cross and Herb Barthels. Bob's certification number is 1UICC #13.
From the start, Bob and Bill made a healthy sideline business out of manufacturing and selling wetsuits, though in the early days, wetsuits were not used for surfing. Still, the Meistrells were grateful for any extra sales and happily designed and tailored their own brand of wetsuits. In the beginning, the wetsuits were named Thermocline. Wanting a better name for the wetsuits they hired marketing consultant Duke Boyd. When Duke asked about the characteristics of the suits, Bill said, "They fit like a glove." From there, Duke came up with the name Body Glove.
As their business grew, so did their families. Bob has three sons, while Bill has a son and daughter. The children grew up with the business, holding several different jobs throughout their childhood and later as adults. "We grew up with the business, but we all started out sweeping floors," says Ronnie, one of Bob's sons. Throughout the years, the children (second generation) have received more and more control of the marketing of the company. Body Glove is recognized worldwide for its quality products and outstanding customer service.
In 1990, Bob and Bill were inducted into both the Diving Hall of Fame and the Pioneers of Surfing. Now in their mid-70s, the brothers oversee the family's business empire and still dive regularly. Everybody knows them as friendly, savvy and above all, honest businessmen.
South Bay Collectors Take The Plunge With
Valuable Antique Diving Equipment
By Hoyt Smith, COO Public Relations Officer
Imagine throwing a $5,000 antique into the pool. While some enthusiasts will pay that much for an authentic Mark V diving helmet, one group of local collectors has no hesitations about putting the rare relic to its intended use.
The California Classic Equipment Divers utilize vintage diving gear much the same way an antique car enthusiast might take a Model A for a weekend spin. The difference is that nobody gets wet driving a Ford Model A, and it doesn't require donning 185 pounds of equipment.
"It's an awful lot of fun," says Ken McElvain of El Segundo, a member of the California Classic Equipment Divers. The retired Navy diver celebrated the 60th anniversary of his organization's Mark V diving helmet on Saturday April 5, by sporting a Mark V diving suit and taking the plunge at the College of Oceaneering in Los Angeles Harbor. Mr. McElvain, who is 74 years old, wore a helmet, boots and weights that were first used in 1943. "The old equipment still works beautifully," he said after his dive. "I really love it down there."
The Mark V helmet is an amazingly durable piece of equipment, according to Leslie Leaney, Editor of Historical Diver Magazine. "It was the mainstay of American military diving from 1916 to the early 1980s and is still in professional use throughout the world," he said. "It is also relatively indestructible. One could take a helmet from 1916, replace a few gaskets and it would be ready to go."
According to Wilmington resident Charlie Orr of the California Classic Equipment Divers, the Mark V helmet is also a valuable piece of equipment. "Judging from what I've seen on e-Bay, a vintage helmet will go for about $5,500," he says.
Compared to modern commercial diving helmets, the Mark V is bulky and cumbersome. It screws onto a shoulder harness and is accompanied by a canvass and rubber diving suit. The complete outfit, including weights and lead boots, can weigh up to 190 pounds. The helmet alone weighs more than 60 pounds. Nonetheless, the Mark V possesses a Jules Verne-like mythology that captures the imagination. "It's rather odd looking, if you've never seen one before," said McElvain. "The suit will make an ordinary guy like me look almost larger than life."
McElvain and other members of the California Classic Equipment Divers make public appearances every few months to showcase their unique collection of antique diving gear and inform the public regarding the history of their chosen profession. Last month McElvain made a dive at the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach.
Commercial diving is a growing business with several fields where well-educated professionals are in high demand, say officials at the College of Oceaneering. "I'm going into hyperbaric medicine," says Jerry Miller, a 24-year-old Oceaneering student who sports the tattoo of a Mark V helmet on his chest. "It's kind of like being an underwater paramedic," he adds.
Miller trains in a modern Superlight 17 fiberglass diving helmet that weighs a fraction of the classic Mark V helmet. He has a lot of respect for McElvain. "It takes a lot of stamina for a 185-pound 74-year-old to suit up in 190 pounds of equipment," said Miller. "Obviously he loves what he does. I hope I'm just as enthusiastic about diving when I'm his age." ~ Hoyt Smith
A new shipment of CCED T-Shirts are available in three colors - navy blue, black and grey. The shirts are Hanes Beefy T's, with a Mark V Helmet on the back encircled with the name "California Classic Equipment Divers." The printing is a combination of black, grey, white and gold. On the front, left side, is a double-hose with twin bottles, also encircled with the group name. Sizes Medium to XX-large. Cost is $15.00 plus $4.00 for mailing - total $19.00 if mailed. State size & color desired and send with check to Charlie Orr, 1036 Gulf Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 or by phone (310) 834-7051 (E:mail: Neverbent@aol.com)
From "The Far Side"
"Now wait a minute . .
He said two jerks
means 'more slack'
and three meant 'come
up' . . . but he never
said nothin' about
one
long, steady pull."