"The water in these tanks? It's colder than the harbor", said Ug. Ug teaches underwater inspection at the College of Oceaneering in Wilmington, California. "I see you brought your camera." He made a diving motion with one hand. . . "So what's keeping ya? Dive in, you'll get some great shots."
The College of Oceaneering was the site of the latest rally of the California Classic Equipment Divers, a volunteer group of Historical Diving Society members. This was their second time out as a group, and a full day was spent donning antique, totally functioning and serviceable diving helmets, dresses, weight belts, brass-toed boots. Heavy equipment afficionados formed an assembly line of dressing, undressing, assembling and disassembling, starting at 8:00 in the morning and finishing well after dark. Everyone seemed to get a kind of indescribable charge from fastening down the helmet and feeling the air whoosh around. Even more fun was the buoyancy dance - inflated "Michelin Men" rising, falling, chasing a toy lobster. Among the assortment of gear that was tested that day were Charlie's Schrader WWII MkV and Japanese TOA 12-Bolt, Rick's Desco MkV and Chinese 12-Bolt, plus original WWII MkV dresses.
The core team coordinating the event consisted of Charles Orr, Duke Drake, Rick and Dale Eriksen. Two new members assisted - Ron Schaeffer came all the way from Half Moon Bay with his son Jason, and Ed Marill flew in from San Jose for the express purpose of diving the MkV and spending close to an hour enjoying the rare gear in the College's 11 ft. tank. Jocko Robinson from the Redondo Beach Dive n Surf, Mark Howell, Al Pilkington and Al Perez came to experiment with antique scuba - "Sea Hunt" style double-hose regulators. By mid-morning the tank looked like a giant aquarium full of relics from another era.
The thermoclinically challenged - that is, those of us too faint- hearted
to jump in and join the fun - took pictures. Your writer/photographer got
into the suit and helmet but, due to her lack of size and strength, was
unable to take the few steps into the tank!
Leslie Jacobs has her picture taken in the classical "hero pose" prior to (but not quite) taking the plunge, under the dutiful eye of her tender, "Reek" Eriksen
After the dive, members and friends met at the Carson Baptist Church for an excellent chili supper with cherry cheesecake for desert prepared by Dorothy Barstad, Dollie Orr and Rhonda Drake. Then the lights went down and the VCR went on with classic dive videos - a TV show from the ‘50s about E.R. Cross's Sparling School of Diving located in Wilmington (hosted by one of those big- voiced announcers from the bygone days of broadcasting - Rick Eriksen wondered, "Where's Groucho and the duck?"), and another film about Navy Frogmen.
Special thanks to the College of Oceaneering, Alex Haidos, Stephanie Radzyminski and Mr. Ug for all their help, Carson Baptist Church for use of the fellowship hall, and all the members for attending and helping move equipment. The next CaCED event will be held at the end of May at the College of Oceaneering - details to follow. ~Leslie Jacobs
Dive into History - Pt. Lobo Whalers Cove - Oct. 17, 1998
Several members were able to attend the "Dive into History" which was sponsored by Bob Kirby, Scrap Lundy and the HDS. It turned out to be a near perfect day with plenty of sunshine, a light breeze off the ocean, a terrific barbeque lunch and several entertaining speakers for the afternoon.
Guest of honor was Roy Hattori who represented the Japanese abalone divers in California who made their living diving for abalone in the 1920's and 30's. . The equipment used was a Jap helmet modified by Bob Kirby, a Yokohama dress and a Siebe Gorman hand operated pump. The divers were Scrap Lundy, Gene Webb, Charlie Orr and Shane Anderson. Norm Thomas also dove using a Miller-Dunn shallow water helmet.
Speakers for the afternoon were Don Wobber, who gave us some insight into the early days and current restrictions of diving for jade off the coast, and Dick Anderson who showed a video of his early experiences in diving for treasure. His hilarious commentary on those experiences and stories of his adventures was an entertaining end to a perfect day!
We understand that a "Dive into History for ‘99" is already in the works. Keep it in mind!
The Historical Diving Society
The Historical Diving Society (HDS) was formed in 1990 in the United Kingdom by a group of enthusiasts whose aim is to preserve and protect the diving heritage. Since then, the society has grown into an international organization with affiliated national societies around the world, including the HDS USA Chapter headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.
Membership started small for the HDS USA Chapter, with only about one hundred members. Founded in 1992, the membership has grown steadily with about eight hundred enthusiasts joining the organization form all over the United States. The knowledge base ranges from the seasoned diving professional, to individuals who had never been in a wet suit or donned a hard hat before.
Among the Society's members are archivists, archaeologists, authors, artists, collectors, dealers, engineers, oceanologists, photographers, re- searchers and scientists. All of whom have one common goal - preservation of our diving heritage.
Past HDS USA sanctioned activities have included the Point Lobo's "Dive Into History" where ex- abalone diver (1939), Roy Hattori "tendered" a hard hat diver and shared his long-ago diving experiences, the Santa Barbara City College "Dive Into History" where Jean-Michel Cousteau dove the one hundred and thirty year old Rouqualrol Denayrouze diving apparatus and the exposition of the Deane Siebe helmet at the Santa Barbara Red Lyon Resort. ~ Duke Drake
If you would like more information regarding membership in the Historical Diving Society, contact Charles Orr at (310) 834-7051 or William "Duke" Drake at (805) 481-4463.
Communications Help
For questions concerning communications in the Chinese hats or other helmets contact Duke Drake (805) 481-4463. He may be able to give you some advise or help.
Rick Eriksen was checking out his MkV gear for the rally. He did a reverse flow check on the "one way valve" and it leaked through. He took it apart and found the seal washer dried out and chipped. We went on to check the three valves in our gear box and two out of the three were bad. They can easily be repaired with a new washer. Definitely put this on your check list before your next dive.
Our Website is beginning to look like something other than an amateurish test pattern. It now contains the Home Page, Issue 1 of The Com Line, (Issue 2 will be added in the next week or so), pictures taken at the 1st Rally, and pictures taken at the "Dive into History." More pages will be added featuring the groups' activities as time goes on. Also the Home Page will be redone in the near future, moving the membership information to add yet another page.
Any and all suggestions, help, ideas, etc. are welcomed and appreciated since this was started from ground "zero" with three books borrowed from the library. You can reach Dorothy by e-mail at: dbarstad@ag.arizona.edu, or by snail mail: 13119 47th Ln., Yuma, AZ 85367.
Swap & Sell: With this issue, we have started a swap & sell section. Ads should be for dive related items for sale, trade or items wanted. There is no charge.
His interest in diving started many years ago and he has been scuba certified since the early 80's. His interest in hard hat diving was sparked by "hanging out" with Duke Drake and Charlie Orr, who convinced him to join the HDS. Rick now owns and dives a 1944 Desco MkV and a Chinese 12-Bolt. He was a big help with our first rally and has been one of our best supporters.
Also a MkV Helmet Chest in excellent condition. Has original tag. $100.00 obo. Charlie Orr (310) 834-7051
Items must be dive related and ads restricted to CaCED members only. Items will be run one time, but can be resubmitted until sold. Send to Dorothy at: dbarstad@ag.arizona.edu or 13119 47th Ln., Yuma, AZ 85367
Issue #1 - January 16, 1999
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