Yooperlite spheres

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Diverdon

Contributor
Messages
415
Reaction score
366
Location
Marquette,MI
# of dives
1000 - 2499
I had spheres created out of two of my favorite Yooperlites. Who wants to come up north this summer to look for these in Lake Superior?
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0056.JPG
    DSC_0056.JPG
    71.4 KB · Views: 249
@Diverdon
You, your most interesting dives and now your glow in the dark rocks never cease to amaze !
Keep up the good work ! Keep sharing ! It is appreciated !

After WW11 for about ten years to about 1955 we would search the shore line at the coves at Catalina and certain areas of the mainland for what we called Catalina Jewelry which was the glass from colored bottles which had been broken and gently tumbled in the almost nonexistent surf of the front side of the island, Before the advent of cans the beer bottles produced brown jewels, coca cola a light green as did 7 up - but the really choice pieces was the dark blue jewels from medicine bottles.

We collected these jewels, and made necklaces and bracelets for our loved ones. with the passage of time and the advent of caned drinks Catalina jewelry has faded into the Catalina lore

Now it is called Sea Glass and has become a big business. Last week end we had the annual S&R Dive con as well as a local Sea Glass festival.

My wife and son Sam IV wife and daughters attend both events . They attend for the first lecture which is mine, zoom off to the Sea Glass festival and return in time to hear Sam IV."s lecture

FYI the lecture subjects were as follows.

Dr. Sam Miller III -- Dive Historian -- Published UW Photographer and Author
“Early Development of Recreational Training Manuals”

Dr. Sam Miller IV -- Hyperbaric & Undersea Medicine - Emergency Medicine Director - Marion Medical Center Emergency Medicine
“Random Thoughts on Dive Medicine”

The point - the moot point is there may also may be Sea glass in your area -- take a walk along your shore line

Cheers from CenCal-- bright sunny and warm

Sam III
cc @ drbill
 
Thank you, Sam. Have you published your memoirs? You have the most interesting posts and I really enjoy your stories.

I will produce a video soon about how these spheres were made. I hope that one is as well received.

DD
 
We collected these jewels, and made necklaces and bracelets for our loved ones. with the passage of time and the advent of caned drinks Catalina jewelry has faded into the Catalina lore

Although at the Napa River, there is a place called Glass Beach, where sea glass is as numerous as pebbles are on other beaches
 
Diver Don
A little about Jade diving so many years ago in California
sdm

In the early 1960s The NAA Under Seas Project office was established under the direction of Dr. Andy Rechnitzer, to design and develop a Deep diving submarine (DDS.) Andy had just completed an assignment as the project manager on the FRNS 111 "Trieste " bathysphere dive to 35000 plus feet in the Challenger deep of the Marianas Trench the deepest known unexplored spot in the ocean. Andy was also the co instructor who along with Connie Limbaugh who taught Al Tilman, Bev Morgan and Ramsey Parks the principles of SCUBA instruction which in July 1954 became the famed never equaled often copied LA County Underwater Instruction Association to teach the world to dive via the Underwater Instructors Certification Course, the UICC -which is still going strong after 65 years

I signed on as the Dive Safety Officer (DSO) and Chief Diving Officer (CDO) even at that tine we had no product or diving activity but an abundance of administrative duties

The Under Seas Project office was composed of some very interesting people with very interesting backgrounds. A few examples;

Jens Jensen had been the UW photographic officer on the Trieste. He had a wealth of information on UW photography. I was a charter member of the worlds first recently formed UW Photographic Society, aka UPS and struggling to create a leak proof camera case and attempting get an image on film-- I never made a camera case I couldn't or didn't flood.

The first DDS pilot hired was Ralph White. right out of the USMC - For some time I thought the on two phases Ralph knew was "Yes Sir and No Sir." Ralph went into the international market as a DDS pilot and had more time on the deck of the Titanic that any of the passengers.

One of the "summer hires" was a young college student Bobbie Ballard who later while working out of Woods Hole became internationally famous as Dr. Robert Ballard, the discoverer of the Titanic

Second in command of the Underseas Projects Office was Dr. Richard Terry, a noted geologist who had just completed his doctoral dissertation on the migration of California kelp beds - While employed he also wrote the book, "The case for the submersible" which some one walked off with my copy.

He also did considerable exploration of the Challenger Deep and discovered a seamount which was named in his honor Mt Terry -- the only American to have a geological formation named in ther honor in the Challenger Deep

Talk about interesting coffee break conversations!

As a geologist he was of course interested in rocks, all sorts of rock from all over the world.
Dicks home on Cave? or Cove ? Avenue in Anaheim had the entrance wall covered with a variety of rocks from all over the world he had collected or some one had presented to him. He knew the history of every rock - where it was from. how it was formed and who gave it to him

At that time I was actively diving and exploring the then unexplored Jade Cove. Jade Cove is located on the rugged Big Sur coast of central California over 250 miles north. just the right distance for a week end jaunt and some diving for jade.
Over the course of a number of years I had amassed a presentable selection of lovely green jade boulders. So many that I had lined my drive way with them, Slowly they began disappearing - I gifted them to neighbors and relatives. but I did manage to retain a 120 bound boulder which my children and now grand children affectionately call Grand Pa's green rock and several generations of my pet dogs have lifted their legs on.

One day Dick Terry hinted he didn't have a sample of California Jade on his rock wall.
I piled a selection of various shapes and sizes in to in my van and drove over to Dicks and gave him a his choice. He chose a huge wonderful green Jade Rock which he immediately got busy and cemented it to his wall of rocks.

Dick has been gone some years now... I have often wondered about that wall of rocks and the new owners of the home on Cove ? or Cave? Avenue in Anaheim California

Sam Miller, !!!

CC
@Diverdon
@Akimbo
 
What the hell is yooperlite?!
 
I had spheres created out of two of my favorite Yooperlites. Who wants to come up north this summer to look for these in Lake Superior?

Me! but after the lake had a chance to warm up a bit
 
I never made a camera case I couldn't or didn't flood.

Affectionately call Grand Pa's green rock and several generations of my pet dogs have lifted their legs on.

[/USER]

That was an excellent read, Sam! I'm sure I could read or listen to your stories about the greats in diving history for hours at end. What fortunate grand children you have. I hope they learn to appreciate all that you've contributed to this sport we all enjoy!
It sounds like you've come to know personally, all of the pioneers that we can only hope to read about.
I cut out those two quotes above because the humor kind of caught me off guard. Thanks for taking a few minutes to let us in on these stories.
I do enjoy diving for just about anything, including rocks. Some day I'd like to have a sphere of jade as well.
It's really interesting to me that you were diving these places before they were well known.
I'm not sure YLs will ever approach the value of jade, but with the use of UV lights, they sure are unique. To think these were underfoot for as long as we've been here and we are just now realizing it.
The state of Michigan allows collecting on public land up to 25lbs of rocks, so there will be plenty for years to come. That is if folks abide by these numbers. Last year a gentleman harvested a 90+lb Petosky stone and posted it on social media. The DNR came by a little while later to collect it so they do enforce these rules. Perhaps for the better.

Thanks again Sam!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom