Butch Medeiros, from
Honolulu, traveled the
furthest distance, with
Tracy Howard from
Chicago as runner up.
Also, joining in on the
activities were two
members of the MOAV
group from Houston, Russ
Potocki and Bill Gronvold.
September proved to be a busy month with the dive demonstration and display at the L.A. Maritime Museum and two rallies - College of Oceaneering on September 16 and a combined rally with the Central Coast Working Equipment Group in Santa Barbara on September 30 and October 1.
The 2nd Annual Dive Demonstration and Displaywas held on Sept. 2nd at the L.A. Maritime Museum in San Pedro where members dove from the Museum's tugboat, Angel's Gate. This year's event was to pay tribute to the divers who helped in building the Port of Los Angeles with special recognition of Al Hanson and E. R. Cross who passed away earlier this year.
Butch Medeiros, from
Honolulu, traveled the
furthest distance, with
Tracy Howard from
Chicago as runner up.
Also, joining in on the
activities were two
members of the MOAV
group from Houston, Russ
Potocki and Bill Gronvold.
First man in the water was Dale Eriksen followed by Mark Howell, Tracy Howard, Larry Howe, Bill Gronvold, Rick Eriksen, Jocko Robinson and Eva Trusty. Eva recently joined our group and is the only female member who is qualified to dive the standard gear, including the Mk V!
Others who dove included Dr. Pete Lee, Gregg Mac Ellven, Dr. Bruce Hector, and Pete Jensen, who is an old friend of Torrance Parker's. Marifrances Trivelli, L.A. Maritime Museum Curator, also dove using Charlie Orr's new Desco helmet and Torrance Parker's KME dress.
The motor in the old "jitter bug" air compressor has been replaced with a new 8 HP gas engine. Changes were made to the compressor volume tank per Ed Clark and Tracy Howard who came up with a better arrangement for the discharge piping where the HP bottles tie in. Also, new gauges were installed. Two 3500 psi air bottles were set up as a precautionary measure, but the compressor worked like a champ all day. CCED members' Ed Clark, Duke Drake, Jim Pride and Larry Howe did a great job of operating the compressor.
A large display was set up on the observation deck consisting of a wide variety of helmets, a collection of divers' knifes, underwater flashlights and other memorabilia. Due to the recent tragedy of the Russian submarine, one section of the display featured a Russian helmet, a Mk V Helium developed for submarine rescues in the 1940's, and a Momsen Lung.
Also on the observation deck, a dry dress-in station was set up to give guests a chance to observe the gear and the techniques required to dress-in a diver -- not an easy task. The diver's life often depends on the skill and expertise of the tender.
All in all, the day went very well. This can only be attributed to all the planning and hard work done during the summer. A special note of thanks to Dr. Pete Lee, Torrance Parker, and Leslie Jacobs for all their time and effort; to Charles Orr, Rick Eriksen, Duke Drake, and Torrance Parker for use of the dive gear and equipment; and to Rhonda Drake, Mom Orr, Dorothy Barstad, Eva Trusty and Leslie Jacobs for overseeing the display tables, taking pictures, and running errands.
The College of Oceaneering Rally was held on September 16. We had a great day diving in their tanks which gives us a safe environment to learn and practice. Jim Pride made his first standard gear dive using the TOA and Charles Orr dove his new Desco Kirby hat which he says works perfectly.
Other divers using the standard gear included: Eva Trusty, Chris Popojohn, Pat Scott, Erick Simmel, and Harold Nething (79 year old ex-Navy diver). COO student, Cameron Landry, won the raffle and dove the Mk V. Mark Howell and Jocko Robinson took turns using a Desco mask in addition to their classic scuba gear. Rick Eriksen spent the day working as a tender, loading gear and in general helping out even through he was recovering from pneumonia and wasn't able to dive.
We had a nice, relaxed day and everyone had a good time. Even managed for everyone to eat lunch for a change. There was a minor problem late in the day with the Mk V when one of the studs came loose causing the helmet to leak. We have been invited back to the COO in January 2001. The exact date will be announced as soon as it is available.
Many thanks to Jim Sparks at the College of Oceaneering for all his support, use of the dive tanks, furnishing the air and the great barbequed hamburgers for lunch.
HDSUSA Rally 2000 was held on September 30 and October 1 in Santa Barbara. This was a combined rally with the Central Coast Working Equipment Group and the CCED.
On Saturday activities were held at the Santa Barbara City College and featured presentations by Dr. Hugh Greer (Combustion, Convulsions and Commandos), Skip Dunham (The Development of the Full Face Mask), John Broadwater (Diving on the Monitor), and Dr. Phil Nuytten (The History and Future of Deep Diving). At noon, everyone moved to the Marine Tech Dept. for lunch, followed by demonstrations of the diving bell, recompression chamber and underwater task performed by the SBCC students.
CCED members and the Central Coast WEG met early on Sunday at the new Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and dove a Japanese abalone helmet owned by Bob Kirby. Air was furnished by muscle, sweat and Bob's hand cranked air pump. Divers harvested Bob's "phoney" abalone from the rocks to the delight of the crowd who gathered to watch.
CCWEG members who participated in the days activities were Bob Kirby, Scrap Lundy, Skip Dunham, Shane Anderson, Bob Christiansen and Graham Weir. CCED members included Jocko Robinson, Mark Howell, Brad Speer, Jim Pride, Eva Trusty, Duke Drake, Charlie Orr, Rhonda Drake, Mom Orr and Dorothy Barstad.
This was almost an ideal place to dive in a safe, open area with only 12 ft. of water, a sandy bottom and rocky shoreline. The only drawback was poor visibility which is a common problem in open water. After the days diving, most of our group met at Brophy's Clam Bar for a delicious supper and all agreed it had been a very enjoyable, fun filled weekend.
Mark was born in Los Angeles on Christmas Day - long, long ago. He started free diving with his dad at the age of eight and became certified in 1962. His dad, Bob Howell, was a free diver who started diving before WWII and continued to dive most of his life -- even building his own twin hose scuba regulator in the early 50's.
Mark has been collecting antique diving equipment for many years and not only does he collect the classic scuba equipment, but also restores and dives it. Mark has dove in places such as the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Caribbean, Micronesia, South America and Hawaii. Now, along with scuba diving, he has added standard gear to his list and is in the process of putting together his own hard hat outfit.
Like his dad, Mark is a fireman. He has worked 31 years with the L.A. City Fire Department and is currently a Fireboat Engineer. He lives in Lake Forrest, California with his wife, Laurie. Mark has been a member of the CCED from the very beginning (member #4) and has been a solid supporter and participant at all the rallies and events
Issue 8 of The Com Line featured Jocko Robinson in the Diver's Profile column. As you may remember, Jocko's interests involve not only Scuba diving, but other extreme sports such as base-jumping and sky diving. It is our understanding that he is planning to take up the newest fad, cordless bungee jumping.
Don't forgetThe 5th Annual Dive into History on October
21 at Carmel. Call (831) 624-8413 for reservations.
Heavy Gear Diving Workshop - SB City College Marine
Tech Dept. is offering a weekend workshop on Nov. 3-5.
Limit 16 students. Cost $375. Call Don Barthelmes at (805)
965-0581 ext. 2427 for more information.
Compressor - Sue Stearns of Compressed Air Specialties in
Anaheim has been super with replacing the compressor motor
with the new 8 HP gas engine; and Shawn Townsend did an
excellent job in converting it from a direct drive, to a double
v-belt drive. These people are topnotch in my book! ~ C. Orr
Historical Diver Magazine - Leslie Jacobs recently became
a columnist for the HDM. Her first article was published in
the Summer 2000 Issue. Also in the Historical Times
(HDSUK) she has a great article on Al and Norma Hanson.
Harold Nething - retired Navy diver who dove with us at the
COO Rally has now joined the CCED!!
National Rally - the possibility of holding a National Rally
in Florida may become a reality next year. Richard Lowe of
MOAV is working on this. More as details become available.
A brief, unscheduled meeting was held on August 25 at the L.A. Maritime Museum to discuss work stations and go over preparations for the Sept. 2 dive. Ten members and Dr. Pete Lee were present.
The regularly scheduled meeting for Sept. 15 was canceled because of the COO Rally being held on the following day. The next meeting will be held on November 17. A reminder will be mailed out to all CCED members within a reasonable driving distance. Everyone is encouraged to participate whenever possible as this has been a good opportunity to get better acquainted, discuss future plans and the problems that are cropping up from time to time. Hope to see you there!
The Yuma Crossing on the Colorado River has a rich history dating back in time from the prehistoric Patayan culture to the days of Spanish exploration, the California gold rush, steamboats and railroads, dams and irrigation projects, and the great migration of farm workers from the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.
The Yuma Crossing State Historic Park tells the history of the Crossing from those prehistoric times to the present and is a salute to historic modes of transportation. On display are stagecoaches, a 1907 locomotive engine, and a 1909 Model T which stands on a section of the old plank road that crossed the sand dunes to the west of Yuma. There is even an antique pair of Native American sandals.
The Park is located on 20 acres along the Colorado River at the site of the Yuma Quartermaster Depot. The Depot was used by the U.S. Army in the 1800's to distribute supplies for all the military posts in Arizona, as well as others located in Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas. Supplies were brought from California by ocean vessels traveling around the Baja Peninsula to Port Isabel. There, cargos were transferred to river steamers and brought upstream to Yuma. In 1877, with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Ft. Yuma and the Quartermaster Depot became part of the history of The Crossing.
Several structures from the bygone era of the Quartermaster Depot still stand and have been used over the years by The Signal Corps, U.S. Customs, The Bureau of Reclamation, the Boundary Commission, the Yuma County Water Users Association and the Assistance League of Yuma. The buildings are currently used to house the artifacts on display at the Park.
If you happen to be traveling through Yuma, stop and take some time to visit this unique, historic park. The old Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park is also located only a mile or so away and both parks are well worth your time.
Al Christie & The Colorado River Siphon
The Colorado River Irrigation Project in the early 1900's was considered to be the leading story of the 20th Century in the Yuma area. Citizens still marvel over what was considered one of the greatest events in Yuma's history and one of the greatest achievements in engineering at the time. This piece of engineering, the Colorado River Siphon, still exists and has been instrumental in making agriculture the leading industry in Yuma County today.
In 1902, the Yuma area was chosen as the best location for the first dam to be built on the Colorado River. The Laguna Dam was to be built about 12 miles north of Yuma and the irrigation water diverted into the Yuma Main Canal to furnish water to Yuma and the Yuma Valley. The problem was how to accomplish this feat since the water had to cross either the Gila River or the Colorado River. After much debate it was decided to build an inverted siphon and divert the water under the Colorado just down river from Indian Hill (CA) and Prison Hill (AZ).
Work began on the Siphon in November 1909 with the project directed by Francis Sellew, projects engineer of the Reclamation Service's Yuma Project.
At first a bull wheel was used to hoist buckets of dirt out of the site, filled by five Indian shovelmen. With the machinery sufficiently tested, more shovelmen were added to keep the dirt flying. An open caisson method was used to sink the shafts. The caisson, containing a circular steel "cutting edge" at its bottom (looking like a giant biscuit cutter), was put into the ground. A concrete retaining wall was built on top of the caisson and the cutting edge. The weight of the concrete pushed the cutting edge ever deeper into the ground with additional sections of concrete poured as the caisson continued to sink. Soon a considerable amount of water in the hole necessitated rigging up pumps and by April workers struck bedrock with the shaft at 90 feet and containing about 30 to 40 feet of water.
was at this point that two divers, Al Christie and Louis Hammel from California, were hired. They entered the water in the shafts on April 9, 1910. Al Christie used a Morse Commercial helmet with a canvas dress, lead boots and a 150 lb. lead belt. Communications consisted of nothing more than pull signals on the life line.
Quite a crowd had gathered to watch the divers on this long ago April 9. One onlooker asked, "What are the feelings of a diver down by himself in all that water?"
"Lonesome as hell," replied Hammel.
With Christie and Hammel diving in alternate shifts, they would place several dynamite charges in the hard pan below the cutting edge of the big concrete retaining wall. This loosened the bottom hardpan and the retaining wall would again sink a few more feet. At night, Reclamation workers used a big clam shell hoist to remove the loosened earth and gravel.
Work continued for several months, with a number of delays and problems caused by quicksand, large boulders, cave-ins and flooding. But, by the end of year, Reclamation began to prepare both shafts to start boring the tunnel under the river. However, they were soon faced with another long delay to bring in compressed air machinery and a crew of "sand hogs" - experienced tunnel workers capable of working under high air pressure. At least one of these men died a short while after work began on the tunnel from a severe case of the bends.
On June 8, 1912, the first drill broke through into the California shaft and the tunnel was at last open from end to end - 955 feet! Reclamation invited the public to visit the great siphon and to walk under the river. Many of the citizens of Yuma took advantage of this invitation even though at times they had to wade in water and mud.
The gates on the Main Canal's California side were opened for the first time on July 4. People from all over the Southwest gathered to watch as water rushed into the siphon shaft in California and 35 minutes later bubbled up through the shaft in Arizona, flowing into the Yuma Main Canal to irrigate the Yuma Valley farm land.
Arizona Governor, George Hunt, concluded his dedication speech on November 20, 1912, with these words - "We hail this great engineering feat and congratulate the country upon the citizenship that will soon make the Yuma Valley blossom as the rose."
(Isaiah 35:1 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose)
During the last two weeks of November, in cooperation with the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park, an educational display will be set up to honor Al Christie and the work done on the Colorado River Siphon. We are also planning to spend one day doing dry dress-in demonstrations for the public with one of the park rangers as the "diver."
The Yuma Crossing State Historic Park is currently working to set up a permanent display about the Colorado River Siphon and the men who made this engineering feat a reality. Several small items have been donated for the display including a dress belonging to Oliver Shannon who was also a diver in the early 1900's. The Park has been able to obtain a number of old pictures of the Colorado River Irrigation Project from the Yuma County Historical Society and has done a very nice job in having them reproduced and framed.
The Park is in need of any dive gear dating back to the early 1900's that would be appropriate for such a display. Donations would tax deductible. If you have something you would like to donate or if you want more information on this project, contact Jerry Emert, Park Manager (520) 329-0471 or Charlie Orr (310) 834-7051.
CCED T-shirts can be ordered at anytime. They are grey with the "diver" graphic and the group name on the back - a small "diver" and your name printed on the front with CCED under it. Printing is all in black.
Cost for the shirts mailed will be $16 for a large or x-large, $17 for xx-large, $1.00 for each additional x. Send a check with your name, address, size and the name you want on the front to: Dorothy Barstad, 13119 47th Ln., Yuma, AZ 85367.
A big "thank you" to Gary and Valerie Burdick of Sea Hawk Trading Co. for a $200 check to help with the cost of printing and mailing The Com Line. And, also "thanks" to several CCED members who also handed me cash at the Acapulco Restaurant on September 2. ~Dor
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