Tag Archive
New World Record!
I was in the Bahama Islands in the late 1960’s. I had just awakened my mania for Scuba and decided that Going Diving was I wanted to do with my life. I was glowing with the excitement of self-discovery when I was confronted with the shocking news that two local divers had died trying to break the World Depth Record for Scuba Diving on Air. I seem to remember they were diving out of Small Hope Bay on Andros Island. The team of three had successfully completed previous practice dives to record depths and were ready for the officially sanctioned Record Dive to make them the World Record holders. Just hearing of the attempt got me thinking weird thoughts. I had just been studying partial pressures of gasses, and learned that their medical effect changed as the partial pressures increased. Nitrogen became narcotic and produced “Rapture of the Deep” – Nitrogen Narcosis. Oxygen at a high enough partial pressure became toxic and could produce out-of-control muscular spasms. The gases in air become poisonous with increasing depth. It seemed to me that what these divers were actually doing was equivalent to seeing how much Arsenic they could take before they would die. Pretty stupid, I thought, what is the point? And more than that, what organisation could possibly sanction such a record. Would it qualify for the Guinness Book of Records? But these divers claimed they had developed special techniques that prevented them from getting poisoned, something to do with ice packs and... More »
Room with a View
[caption id="attachment_1056" align="alignleft" width="303" caption="Layne Salvador appreciates the view from main window port"][/caption] Nearly forty years ago I had the chance to spend some time in an ambitious underwater habitat project known as La Chalupa placed on the sea bottom off Puerto Rico. My host was Mike Kilbride (son of the BVI's infamous Bert Kilbride) who had hired on as a project diver after finishing up a commercial underwater blasting job we had both worked on for Hess Oil Co. in the Virgin Islands in 1972. "You've really got to see this operation to appreciate it," he said over the phone. "There's some real bright guys running this thing that are veterans from the Tektite saturation program. You'll get a kick out of what they're up to. And you have to meet my boss, Ian Koblick." So I was off to San Juan on the next plane from St. Croix. Arriving at the remote site, Mike was quick to fill me in. "We're set up to handle five divers in saturation for a month at depths up to 106 feet. But what really makes this different is that La Chalupa can operate up to 10 miles from shore with a minimum of surface support. That's never been done before and we've added a few other twists that are pretty innovative." Koblick, an aquanaut and engineer for both Tektite I and II, had designed the habitat and provided joint sponsorship from his Marine Resources Development Foundation (MRDF) with the Puerto Rican government. He wanted a habitat that would offer more mobility, more independence from topside infrastructure, longer and deeper mission durations, and flexible contingency plans to handle decompression and life support emergencies. While most other habitats of this era were fairly conventional looking using various designs of spherical compartments linked to shore or ship-based umbilicals,... More »
WRECK DIVING: A Diver’s Adventure
Most people have a romantic image of the sunken treasure ship sitting upright on her keel with tattered sails still creaking in the current and brass bound chests straining with booty. Well, reality is a bit less dramatic. The classic 16th and 17th century vessels sailing to the New World laden with riches were, of course, of wooden construction. Once sunk they quickly deteriorated due to wave action and other natural elements such as destructive marine teredo worms which fed on the primary wood structure. Those who have been successful in locating and salvaging these vessels have usually spent years researching logs and voyage records to determine the wreck location. Since the wrecks themselves were long buried under sand or coral there was typically no evidence to the divers' naked eye of a lost vessel. Tedious excavation of tons of sand, sediment, and debris was necessary before any cargo could be accessed. As diving wrecks, these older ships offered little in the way of interest unless one was a committed treasure hunter with a considerable war chest of funding. Even then your odds of success were better in the state lottery. [caption id="attachment_971" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="WWII wreck in Solomon Islands after seven decades at depth "][/caption] Although some modern wooden ships are remarkably well preserved in fresh water environments such as the Great Lakes, as a general rule steel vessels have provided divers with the most intriguing wreck diving sites. These ships are better able to withstand the ravages of time and in many cases can survive over a hundred years of entombment while remaining virtually intact. A classic example is the wreck of the Royal Mail Steamer RHONE sunk in 1867 off Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands. Although her stern section sank in 15 to 45 feet of water... More »
Dick Bonin: Founder of Scubapro
I'm privileged to profile one of diving's most innovative leaders and pioneers in manufacturing. Dick Bonin, the co-founder of Scubapro, was been responsible for some of the most technically advanced equipment lines the industry has ever seen. For those who started diving in the late 1960s or early 1970s, the Scubapro line was revered as the Rolls-Royce of scuba diving. Virtually all other manufacturers were viewed as "also rans" who played second fiddle to the stuff that was stamped with the memorable "S" logo and marked a person as a serious, committed diver. [caption id="attachment_951" align="alignright" width="202" caption="Dick Bonin, President of Scubapro 1974 "][/caption] The list of diving notables who swore by the Scubapro brand included Stan Waterman, Paul Tzimoulis, Dick Anderson, Jack McKenney, Dr. George Benjamin, Tom Mount, Ann Kristovitch, Sheck Exley, Jim Bowden, Wes Skiles, Hal Watts, Rob Palmer, Howard & Michele Hall, Marty Snyderman, Bob Talbot, Jimmy Stewart, Chuck Nicklin, Dr. Sylia Earle, myself and just about every Caribbean and Pacific divemaster who knew that the gear from Dick Bonin would endure just about every abuse and still bring them back alive. It was a brand built from the outset on the reputations of Bonin and his staff who promised high performance and reliability without compromise. Bonin also took the unprecedented step of offering a lifetime guarantee on his equipment including parts! In addition to earning the respect of hundreds of thousands of divers who bought his gear, Bonin became a mentor and father figure to his loyal retailers who showcased his line and his philosophy of diving excellence. Bonin was the first to offer business counseling and focused marketing programs to help the dive stores of long ago... More »
BVI: Tranquil Virgins
Back in 1971 I cruised into the British Virgin Islands and dropped anchor at Norman Island just off the famous caves that inspired Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island. I never dreamed at the time that these islands would become a second home for me over the next two decades in the charter and dive industry. My initial foray into diving exploration at the nearby pinnacles known as "The Indians", left me profoundly impressed at the diversity of marine life and radiant water. There was also an unequaled serenity to this island chain of mostly uninhabited islets, cays, and spectacular beaches that was at once breathtaking and tranquil. Sort of a mixed high that left you exhausted from the singular pleasure of doing nothing but soaking in the scenery of a time long past elsewhere in the eastern Caribbean while chafing to see what splendors lurked just beyond the next harbor. For me, the next harbor turned about to be a tiny four-acre resort island called Marina Cay. In those days the hotel consisted of scattered A-frame cottages, each with its own deck and a devastatingly beautiful vista. The generator shut down right after dinner and it was strictly candles and oil lamps for the late night crowd. The resident manager, Joe Giacinto, and I had met at a dive instructor program and we forged an enduring friendship that had me returning time and again. For many, the British Virgins were an enigma. Hard to get to in those days by any conventional transportation and not a high rise hotel resort to be found when you finally did. Air service was spotty and something of an adventure in itself. I remember The Last Resort owner Tony Schnell once commenting that the local airline had recently acquired some new aircraft. He then clarified that the... More »
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