Pt. Sur...via the Way Back Machine!

[UWPhotoKeith]

If your interested in some local diving history read on. Otherwise the quality of the video and photos will not impress you and otherwise might be a bit boring. I know some of you have had the privilege to dive Schmieder Bank and know first hand what an amazing place it is. I hope to get back there one of these days!

I finally got around to scanning my slides and a video from our 1988 Cordell Expeditions trip to Pt. Sur. At the time we were the first divers to dive the remote seamount following a NOAA survey the year before. The video was produced by the late Harry Sherman (diver/photographer) from Cordell Expeditions. The video and some of my photos capture the culture of our group, work hard, have fun. We accomplished a lot of serious science work but also had a good time doing it and did not take ourselves overly serious which made these trips a lot fun on top of the exhilaration of diving where few have been!

Both my photos and the video are extremely rough by todays standards but thinking back to what we accomplished, it was pretty amazing! Most of us dove to 120-200 feet, 3 miles off shore, in wetsuits with double 72 CF tanks with a single manifold and mixed our own nitrox using the NOAA Diving Manual as our reference. We did all the calculations by hand on yellow pad of paper using our pressure gauges. My camera at the time was a Nikonos V and a gigantic Ikellite strobe with just 36 frames of film to shoot on each dive with no chimping! If I only knew then what I know now….

Blog Entry: http://keithflood.com/?page_id=1596
Still Photos: 1988 Pt. Sur Expedition - Keith Flood
Harry Sherman Video:

 

[Sam Miller III]

Interesting !
Good documentary of a past event
Great UW & topside photographs
Enjoyed the trip down memory lane

Why the dive flag with reversed colors ? ie stripe red and background white? In a court of law it would have not been valid

Note you live in Santa Rosa California -
evidently your escaped the fire ?
( my daughter was in property management there- all her property was damaged or destroyed )

Did you know the great UW painter John Steele who retired and passed away in Santa Rosa ?

Sam Miller, 111

 

[UWPhotoKeith]

Thanks Sam, That flag was the flag of Cordell Expeditions and not a dive flag. Yes, we were missed by the fires thankfully and I am sorry to hear about your daughters property. The positive thing is how much the community came together both the night of the fires and in the aftermath. The death toll would have been much greater without the community's help.

I did not know John Steele but will have to look his work up!

 

[Sam Miller III]

John was a pioneer diver and a Underwater Artist ,
Prior to the development of effective UW Cameras and UW photo techniques John painted the covers of Skin Dicer magazine; a magazine for skin dicers and spearfishermen (aka SDM). He also did private paintings such as the one of me which appeared in the golden anniversary issued of SDM.

It wasn't to around 1953 when the Floridian Jerry Greenberg had the first photograph as a cover of SDM- possibly difficult to comprehend that 65 years ago photography was not a component of recreational diving.'

It was in 1957, 61 years ago, that the LA based Underwater Photographic Society aka UPS) was formed, followed by San Diego Underwater Photographic Society and finally Orange County Underwater Photographic Society (aka O CUPS) At that junction of diving cameras were homemade or very expensive and all used film.

sdm

 

[UWPhotoKeith]

Very cool history, when I bought a used Nikonos II in 1987 I thought that was historical :-/

 

[Fish&beer]

Thx Keith for posting this bit of local history. As a proud member of Cordell Expeditions, I have fond memories of our dives at Cordell Bank & Pt. Sur. Not only was the diving spectacular, the group camaraderie was unsurpassed. I loved the serious attention we gave it to make the expeditions successful. But I also loved the fun times we had & the hijinks that went along behind the scenes. When I saw myself in the group photos, wow! has time passed, HAHA! It was also nice seeing Harry Sherman"s video again, may he RIP!
Thx Again,
Jerry

 

[UWPhotoKeith]

Thx Keith for posting this bit of local history. As a proud member of Cordell Expeditions, I have fond memories of our dives at Cordell Bank & Pt. Sur. Not only was the diving spectacular, the group camaraderie was unsurpassed. I loved the serious attention we gave it to make the expeditions successful. But I also loved the fun times we had & the hijinks that went along behind the scenes. When I saw myself in the group photos, wow! has time passed, HAHA! It was also nice seeing Harry Sherman"s video again, may he RIP!
Thx Again,
Jerry

Very nice to hear Jerry!!!! Hopefully we will all get back together this fall at Bob's house for a reunion!