Art Pinder - Spearfishing Legend - King of Sling

[Chad Carney]

My friend Sheri Daye sent a text this morning saying our ol' buddy Art Pinder just passed away. Art was 84 years young and he will be greatly missed!


Thanks Art for everything you shared with us!

Chad


Here's some places where you can see more about Art Pinder

Florida Skin Diver - Art Pinder
The Blue Wild Ocean Adventure Expo - Past Expos
The Blue Wild Ocean Adventure Expo

 

[Sam Miller III]

Thanks Chad for posting and the pictorial tribute--very sad news...I turned on my computer yesterday and the news of Art's passing had already spread throughout the vintage SoCal Spearfishing community .

Art was certainly "One of a Kind" who lived life on his own terms

Art and his brothers and his father were tributes and instrumental in the development of spearfishing in Florida, the US and the world.

I recall when I received the February 1954 issue of Skin Diver Magazine and there was a picture of Art standing next to his world record sail fish speared with a an Hawaiian sling! Is this real can it be done? a sail fish speared with a "Sling!" was discussed in great detail during the SoCal club meetings- Art did it so it did happen. He then became the "King of sling."

I only met Art two times.

About 35 or more years ago after my wife and I began traveling to tropical locations we had a lay over in Miami and just happened to have a spare copy of the February 1954 issue of Skin Diver Magazine so Art and I had a short gathering and he inscribed the SDM to me. It has been copied, framed and in a place of honor in my library

The second time was at the monumental "Fathers of free diving and spearfishing meet in SoCal. I was one of the three "Fathers" who was honored from Orange County in SoCal. Even though Art was continually surrounded by the recent spearfishing converts we did manage to have a short catch up conversation.

Sheri Daye was kind enough to send mea comp copy of her book about Art, personally inscribed to me by both Sheri and Art. A special literary treasure for my dive library which consists of over 2000 volumes and about 15 library bound historical periodicals-- It is in a special place in the spearfishing section.

FYI the picture on the cover of Shari's book was the black and white picture that was the cover of the February 1954 issue of Skin Diver Magazine...

Yes Art was "One of a kind" that left huge fin prints in the diving world that will never be filled.

SDM

 

[Chad Carney]

Thanks for your post Sam! I bet you have a copy of Last of the Blue Water Hunters too, by Carlos Eyles?
That's the book that got me wondering about Art Pinder's disappearance from the limelight for about 20 years. I looked for news about him in the dive stores I visited as a rep in FL. He finally turned up and I dove with him and wrote an article on him in Spearfishing Magazine in 2003. I invited my friend Sheri along and Art taught her to shoot a sling while I took pictures & video. She started The Blue Wild soon after and went on to expertly pen Art's bio.
It's funny when I first met Art, he didn't have any of the magazines that he had been on the covers. I gave him the 1955 SI cover, and by then he had found another Skindiver Magazine he gave to me. I've never found a copy of the Sailfish cover.
I'd love to meet you! Have you not made it to any of the Blue Wild's yet?

Chad

 

[Chad Carney]

Here's the article from the Sun-Sentinel:

Spearfishing pioneer Art Pinder dies at 84


Growing up in Miami, he made history with his underwater achievements


January 7, 2014|By Steve Waters, Sun Sentinel


Legendary spearfisherman Art Pinder made history with his underwater achievements.

But Pinder, who died Tuesday morning at his home in Palm Bay at 84, never had that as his goal. Growing up in Miami, spearfishing was a way to provide food for his family.

Along with older brothers Don and Fred, Pinder was a spearfishing pioneer. Despite using what is now considered primitive equipment, Pinder shot a 7-foot sailfish by Fowey Light and also speared a 10-foot tiger shark and a 587-pound goliath grouper while freediving.

"He lived quite an interesting life," said Sheri Daye, who wrote the 2009 biography "Art Pinder: King of Sling," a nickname referring to the gear Pinder used, which consisted of a short tube with a band, or sling, that shoots a free spear.

"There'll never be another Art Pinder, that's for sure. He was very respected in the spearfishing community."

Pinder and his brothers won the 1954 National Underwater Spearfishing Championship and in 1955 he and Fred appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At 54, Pinder and Don Delmonico won the 1983 U.S. National Spearfishing Championship.

He also modeled swimsuits for Jantzen and appeared in television commercials, which led to his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. He was also a pilot, an island resort owner, a TV show host and a professional boat captain, even though he often got seasick.

Pinder is survived by his wife, Alice, and his daughters, sisters, nieces and nephews. Funeral arrangements were pending. In lieu of flowers, Pinder requested that donations be made to Twin Palms Center for the Disabled in Boca Raton.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Sorry Chad for the late response. I have been busy with another project.

I am surprised at the lack of response from the expert verbose posters to this board and embarrassed as I suspect you are at the total lack of response and acknowledgement by members from your fine state of Florida. The Penders WERE THE FATHERS OF DIVING IN FLORIDA!

In response to your questions:

I know Carlos Eyles very well. We were members of the Long Beach Neptunes (LBN). At the time of publication I was an inactive LBN and teaching as a Adjunct Instructor of Advanced Diving at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. A short time after publication I invited Carlos to visit my class to introduce and sell his book. I suspect it was his first or one of the first time he made a public appearance to promote his book The last of the Blue water hunters

Recall the first chapter? the account of Harry Ingram being attacked by a GWS and riding on it's back? Harry was a former student of mine at OCC and also a member of LBN.

Carlos and I grew weary of SoCal and we moved to the central coast of California settling just a few miles apart. One day he unexpectedly moved back to Hawaii where he presently resides.

So yes I know Carlos and have all of his books inscribed to me (I think?)
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I understand about Art hiding in plain sight. In 1993 "The Academy of Marine Sciences and Underwater Research" published the first and only edition of "Who's Who in SCUBA Diving." only a very few short sentences in this 21 year old book was devoted to Art and his brothers.

Art surfaced for the 2000 Fathers of Free Diving and Spear fishing were we had our last conversation, Art, Jack Prodonovich, of the Bottom Scratcher club, Chuck Blakeslee,of Skin Diver Magazine and Wally Gibbons the grand old man of Australia were given front row seats at the presentations and made available for all to meet. With Art's passing they are all now spear fishing on that big reef in the sky.

This was the last great hurrah for of all of us who were there at the genesis of free diving and spear fishing. One by one we are insidiously disappearing into a foot note of diving history. Soon all to soon It will be I think, I heard, I suppose, I was told and all the short and almost unrecorded history of recreational diving will be lost
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I have had periodic contact with Sheri, She has asked If I could or world attend the Wild Blue and make a presentation, but this thing called AGE has a way of interfering with my travel. Maybe some day son Sam IV who is an ER & Scrips trained hyperbaric doctor as well as a Pro 5000 and a NAUI (Life) and PADI instructor will find time for us to attend and if requested can make a presentation or two. Hopefully we can meet then
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However-If you ever visit Kalifornia I live on a hill overlooking the blue Pacific - I suspect there will be a spare room with your name on the door.

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Just in case we never meet ---A little about me from "The SCUBA Show" 2013 program when I received the annual "California SCUBA Service Award"

"Dr. Sam MILLER,111

A diver's diver;
a diver from the past,
a diver for present
a diver of the future...


Dr. Sam Miller,111's diving career began by chance in the 1940s. He contracted a serious eye infection while swimming in the local YMCA and his parents purchased a crude pair of swim goggles to protect his eyes so he could continue to participate in aquatic activities . After WW11 he obtained a Sea Net mask and few years later acquired a pair of Churchill fins. He became involved in an activity for which there were no full line manufactures, no dive shops, no training manuals, no organizations, no magazines, few books, no approved name and very few participants. Sam became a very active pioneer goggler!

At a very early age he discovered that recreational diving activities were all consuming. Since his college football days he has never taken up another hobby or participated in another sport. At his current age, it is suspected he's not going to change and begin to drown worms or chase little balls around a pasture.

After service as a USAF officer during the Korean war he returned to his beloved California and resumed his diving activities. By then the wet suit had been introduced and divers were beginning to populate the beaches. Sam migrated into the world of diving instruction via the first and only program available at that time, the very prestigious and demanding LA County UW Instructor's program. A few years later he became a NAUI instructor followed by NASDS, SCIP, CMAS, PADI and a few others in the UW instructors alphabet soup.

Sam was honored for his involvement in recreational diving receiving the following honors; Outstanding Contributions to Underwater Instruction, 1963,(LA Co), Outstanding Underwater Instructor of the year, 1969,(LA Co), Over the Hill Gang, 1984, (NAUI), Diving Dinosaurs, 1986, (NAUI), Platinum Pro 5000 Diver 1993, (SSI), Who's Who of SCUBA Diving, 1993, (Academy of Marine Science and Undersea Research), Father of Free Diving and Spear Fishing, 2000, (Free Dive List) , West Coast Leader and Legend, 2005, (Dive Chronicles) Dive Legend, 2007 (Legends of Diving.)

Sam is proud of his involvement in the pioneering era of recreational diving . He developed a number of the early SCUBA training exercises, many of which are still being utilized today, he was involved in creating the world's first Advanced Diving Program, the LA Co ADP, and he was responsible for creation of the diver classification system which has been universally accepted by most certifying agencies.

His experience and diving knowledge led to him to consult for many of the early diving manufacturers. He evaluated prototype equipment for diving performance, maintainability and marketability. Some of the equipment was rejected and other items found their way into the mainstream of diving.

In his over six decades of diving he has been a member or an officer in a number of diving organizations. Notable among them were the Southern California Skin Divers, Long Beach Neptunes, Sea Sabres, LA Underwater Photographic Society, Orange County Underwater Photographic Society, Historical Diving Society and the California Classic Equipment Divers. As a member of the US Historical Diving Society he served on the founding board of directors and was HDS's first and only Director of Sport Diving, and in 2007 he co-founded of the Ohio based "Legends of diving."

Sam is a product of a past era when diving skill was judged by game taken. His personal best are; Lobster 17Lbs 4 Oz, Halibut 38 Lbs, Yellow Tail 27 Lbs, White Sea Bass 49Lbs, Black Sea Bass 345 Lbs.

As a life long bibliophile, Sam has the indisputable largest and most complete recreational diving library in the US and possibly the world. Consisting of over 2000 historical and modern volumes, as well as the majority of American diving periodicals beginning with the very rare Skin Diver magazine, volume 1, December 1951, as well as most diving catalogs from 1951 to 2000.

During his life time he has published numerous articles, has had four dedicated diving columns in local and national publications, and authored the first US weekly newspaper dive column. He was selected by Skin Diver Magazine as the first "guest" editor. He also appeared on a cover and published numerous articles for that publication, the only author to be so honored

As a recognized recreational diving professional he has appeared in a court of law numerous times as an expert witness for diving related litigation . His most notable appearance was the 1964 Toso Vs Burns trial which established the rights of a diver displaying the then new red and white diver's flag.

Now retired to a beach community in central California where he stays actively involved in the diving community by writing occasional articles, doing historical research, occasional manufactures product consulting and is a regular presenter at the annual San Luis Obispo Search and Recovery Professional Diving Conference.

He is married to Betty, a college president and a vintage diver. They have a combined family of five children, who are also long term divers, and four grand children who are eagerly looking forward to being introduced to the sport
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Recent local articles:
You might enjoy reading these articles

~~~~ http://scubashow.com/attendees/california-scuba-service-award/~~~~~


Honor as reported by local papers

~ Central Coast diving legend Sam Miller receives a big honor | Cover Story | Santa Maria Sun, CA

Note The picture of the lobster is not 17 pounds more like 8-10 pounds caught in US VI

~ 81-year-old Pismo Beach diver recounts his life under water | Living | SanLuisObispo.com ~
Some what sharky but sells newspapers

Currently there is an article by Marty Synderman in October issue of Dive Training about me and Base ball ???

CHEERS FROM A VERY HOT CALIFORNIA!

SDM,111

 

[Sheri Daye]

Sam, that is a very nice write up on you (learned a few new things about you) -- congrats on the award.

Here is Art's obituary.

Arthur W. Pinder
Palm Bay, FL

Arthur W. Pinder, 84, of Palm Bay, Florida, passed away peacefully at this home surrounded by those who loved him on January 7, 2014.

He was born in Miami, Florida, on February 8, 1929. Art was an all-round athlete who played football at Andrew Jackson High School and was a State of Florida archery champion. After graduation, working as a lifeguard in Miami Beach, he saved many lives. In 1951 he enlisted in the Coast Guard, and also helped save passengers of a sinking boat. Art and his brothers, Don and Fred, were pioneers and champions in the sport of spearfishing, using diving equipment made by their father.

In 1955, Art and his brother, Fred, became the only spearfishermen to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At 25, he modeled swimsuits for Jantzen, and went on to television commercials, an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, and several talk shows. He was also a pilot, an island resort owner, a TV show host, and a professional boat captain.

Art is survived by Alice, his loving wife of 36 years, daughter Patty and husband Eric Pederson of Wisconsin, step-daughters, Deborah and Bob Durbin of Maggie Valley, NC, Debra Tyler of Miami, FL, and Zoraida Diaz of Miami, FL, along with his sister Helen and Joe Garrett of Inverness, FL, sister Betty and Ted Schempp of Tamarac, FL, sister-in-law Jean Pinder of the Florida Keys, and many nieces and nephews. Art was preceded in death by his parents Irene and Earl Pinder, brothers and best friends, Donald Pinder and Fred Pinder, and Shirley Pinder.

He is also survived by Alice's family including her brother Joe and Anita Fadden, brother Bill and Linda Fadden, brother Paul and Pat Fadden, and her sisters Googie Sanchez, Ruth and Jack Waters, and Dorothy Hinkle.

Art was known for his love of family, his sense of humor, warm personality, and mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and his many spearfishing fans.

 

[danvolker]

It's unfortunate that the History of diving gets so little press.....and that most manufacturers are so interested in their own "Revisionist Histories" where they pretend to have been important--that the divers who really pioneered the sport, that really gave us the greatest tools, are pretty much invisible to the last few generations of divers.

Even as a diver certified in 1972, I had limited exposure to Art Pinder and his brothers....but fortunately I did get to at least hear about these guys in the 80's...from another largely unknown diving pioneer from Palm beach...this being from Frank Hammett. Back in the 80's I had asked Frank questions about various guns and techniques for spearfishing, and this was where he told me about Art Pinder...

A collection of the old photos and videos from the Pinders in the 50's and 60's would be HOT to see!!! From a time when the ocean still really was a WILDERNESS. Frank actually has a collection of old shots and some old video--originally shot on a 16 mm Bolex....but unfortunately converted to VHS, so the quality today is not very high...still cool to see though.

Maybe Sheri can get some kind of a tribute and History going for the early pioneers like the Pinders...and those in their 80's or 90's and still alive like Frank Hammett ...or Sam Miller

 

[Sam Miller III]

Sheri,
Thank you so much for the obituary of Art- It will be paced in your book "King of Sling" so when the grandchildren are looking through my library they will be introduced to Art and his interesting life.

As an old diving buddy who is now diving on that big reef in the sky always said after a good day of diving (spearing)-- "ain't it a darn shame!" ....(that we have so much fun)

Now this old (real OLD) diver repeats with modification "ain't it a darn shame!" ....that so many, especially the Florida Modern Late Model Tube Sucking Bubble Blowers* have not paid tribute to Art

Art, and his brothers who were taught by their father were the absolute pioneers of Florida diving--ALL Florida divers owe so much to the Penders yet now completely ignored by Florida Modern Late Model Tube Sucking Bubble Blowers.

I am reminded of Abalonio Castillio the great pioneer diver of Mexico . That country thought so much of him that they erected a full size standing statue of Abalonio in Acapulco clad in a bathing suit wistfully looking out to sea grasping his trusty spring gun in one hand and his Churchill's in the other hand. It might be appropriate that you and yours investigate the possibility of erecting a statue of Art. You certainly have the audience to begin a grass roots effort at the Wild Blue.

RE Bio....many years ago I was in Deep submergence working for the great late Dr. Andy Rechnitzer, who encouraged me to develops a resume (CV) using his as a guide. I did and my resume now encompasses 18 pages- The verbiage in the show bio is a much abridged version.

Re attendance at Wild Blue-- didn't you Floridians get enough of Californians with the great Del Wren? I known Del for what seems like forever. I will always recall a spear fishing meets so many years ago when Dell struggled to the waters edge tossed his crutches put on a huge duck foot on his only leg and entered the surf. At one meet lady was watching Del struggle on one leg and commented to Jonny Carroll "That poor feller struggling with only one leg" To which Jonny replied "If Del continues to win all the spear fishing meets we are going to chop off his other leg!!!"

Are you sure you want other Kalifornians to attend?

I chatted with son Sam IV who is an ER and Scrips trained Hyperbaric Doctor about the possibility of attending next year. Sam IV and I have a number of power point presentations - mine on dive history and as we discussed some time ago "Creating a diving library." Sam IV has been doing a number of lectures for both professional and diving amateurs on dive medicine . So If we attend you get two for one.

Re * "Modern Late Model Tube Sucking Bubble Blowers"-- Sheri I will PM my definition -- For your eyes only!

All is well on a hill overlooking the blue pacific in a wet CenCal--Good Luck with the Wild Blue

SDM,111

 

[dead dog]

Thanks Chad for posting and the pictorial tribute--very sad news...I turned on my computer yesterday and the news of Art's passing had already spread throughout the vintage SoCal Spearfishing community .

Art was certainly "One of a Kind" who lived life on his own terms

Art and his brothers and his father were tributes and instrumental in the development of spearfishing in Florida, the US and the world.

I recall when I received the February 1954 issue of Skin Diver Magazine and there was a picture of Art standing next to his world record sail fish speared with a an Hawaiian sling! Is this real can it be done? a sail fish speared with a "Sling!" was discussed in great detail during the SoCal club meetings- Art did it so it did happen. He then became the "King of sling."

I only met Art two times.

About 35 or more years ago after my wife and I began traveling to tropical locations we had a lay over in Miami and just happened to have a spare copy of the February 1954 issue of Skin Diver Magazine so Art and I had a short gathering and he inscribed the SDM to me. It has been copied, framed and in a place of honor in my library

The second time was at the monumental "Fathers of free diving and spearfishing meet in SoCal. I was one of the three "Fathers" who was honored from Orange County in SoCal. Even though Art was continually surrounded by the recent spearfishing converts we did manage to have a short catch up conversation.

Sheri Daye was kind enough to send mea comp copy of her book about Art, personally inscribed to me by both Sheri and Art. A special literary treasure for my dive library which consists of over 2000 volumes and about 15 library bound historical periodicals-- It is in a special place in the spearfishing section.

FYI the picture on the cover of Shari's book was the black and white picture that was the cover of the February 1954 issue of Skin Diver Magazine...

Yes Art was "One of a kind" that left huge fin prints in the diving world that will never be filled.

SDM

Sam, go here: King Venom - Aimrite Spearfishing and here, Aimrite King Venom Carbon Fiber Speargun 110 Cm | eBay

Bill
dead dog