That gear was more intended as toys for kids in pools. Real life snorkeling was out of the scope of those snorkels and masks.
Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Argentina
- Thread starter David Wilson
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OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Thanks for the posts, Guille G, John and emoreira. And for the likes, John.
Plaf ear cups.
Spanish: OREJERA “PLAF” ideal amparo para los oídos ya que elimina la presión del agua.
English: “PLAF” EAR CUPS ideal for ear protection as they eliminate water pressure.
Ear cups were designed for shallow-water use only. Here they are in a British 1955 Typhoon catalogue:
Plaf ear cups.
English: “PLAF” EAR CUPS ideal for ear protection as they eliminate water pressure.
Ear cups were designed for shallow-water use only. Here they are in a British 1955 Typhoon catalogue:
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Plaf open-heel swimming fins:
Spanish: ALETAS “PLAF” de goma vulcanizada de calidad incomparable y superlivinias. Las hay para medidas del 38 al 44 (mayores) y del 31 al 37 (niños).
English: “PLAF” FINS made of vulcanised rubber of incomparable quality and super lightness. They are available in sizes from 38 to 44 (adults) and from 31 to 37 (children).
Non-adjustable open-heel fins available in a range of adult and children's sizes. The construction is reminiscent of the fins designed by the Austrian underwater explorer Hans Hass and manufactured in Vienna, London and Hamburg. In many European countries in the 1950s, such fins were the first to be introduced on the market after World War II.
Austrian-made Hans Hass fins being showcased by Hans and Lotte Hass:
Midweek we shall take a look at Plaf full-foot fins and swim gloves.
English: “PLAF” FINS made of vulcanised rubber of incomparable quality and super lightness. They are available in sizes from 38 to 44 (adults) and from 31 to 37 (children).
Non-adjustable open-heel fins available in a range of adult and children's sizes. The construction is reminiscent of the fins designed by the Austrian underwater explorer Hans Hass and manufactured in Vienna, London and Hamburg. In many European countries in the 1950s, such fins were the first to be introduced on the market after World War II.
Austrian-made Hans Hass fins being showcased by Hans and Lotte Hass:
Midweek we shall take a look at Plaf full-foot fins and swim gloves.
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Plaf Standard Starwater swimming fins.
Closed-heel open-toe fins with side rails, smooth blades and anti-skid heel treads.
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Plaf webbed gloves.
Spanish: MANOPLAS “PLAF” de diseño técnico moderno y de cómoda adopción a la mano, lo que permite amplia libertad de movimiento (Tamaños para mayores y niños).
English: “PLAF” WEBBED GLOVES with a modern technical design and comfortable fit on the hand, allowing wide freedom of movement (Sizes for adults and children).
Hand fins used for manoeuvrability by some spearfishers.
At the weekend we shall proceed to a third but short-lived 1950s Argentinian diving equipment manufacturer: Rossi.
English: “PLAF” WEBBED GLOVES with a modern technical design and comfortable fit on the hand, allowing wide freedom of movement (Sizes for adults and children).
Hand fins used for manoeuvrability by some spearfishers.
At the weekend we shall proceed to a third but short-lived 1950s Argentinian diving equipment manufacturer: Rossi.
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
JULES ROSSI
Jules Rossi was born on June 8, 1913 in Marseille, France, and since 1952 he lived in Argentina with his wife Teresa Losa Petray and his little daughter Nicole. He had set up a factory in the Barrio de la Boca for articles for underwater hunting and exploration, giving the name "frog legs" to the fins and giving the name "Nicole" to the first diving masks manufactured in the country. He was a double champion in France (1946 and 1947) and a personal friend of the members of Jacques Cousteau's team.
Traveling around the country to find the right place to practice underwater hunting, he discovered the ideal place in our area, where the waters are clear and the varieties of fish abound. On his return to the Federal Capital he met with a group of friends to whom he announced the great news: on the coasts of Puerto Madryn and Península Valdés, there were the best places for underwater activities. They formed the Association for Underwater Hunting and Exploration there, which organized the 1st Argentine Underwater Hunting Championship on January 26 and 27, 1957, in Punta Pardelas, where he won first place, followed by Luis María Álvarez Flores, Nino Violi, and Nelson Dames and Nedo Sereni tied for fourth place.
Drawn to the place, he organized a new exploration trip around the Valdes Peninsula and expressed his desire to settle in Puerto Madryn with his wife and daughter, where he also planned to set up his diving accessories factory. So he returned in early March and on the 9th, while diving near the Nautical Club to extract some shellfish, together with his friends Osvaldo Larreburu and Antonio Torrejón, he died of a heart attack.
During his brief but intense time in our area, he was the selfless teacher of the novice fans of underwater sports, instilling in them an enthusiasm for the activity that never stopped, and generating the first tourist attraction in our area, starting with the underwater hunting tournaments that were held for many years with exceptional success.
Translated from the Spanish at:
The Underwater Capital of Argentina
Back in the late 1950s
Puerto Madryn is unquestionably the Underwater Capital of Argentina. Its calm and transparent waters, its varied fauna, and its ample places for diving are well worth the title. The history of diving in Puerto Madryn dates back to 1956, with the arrival of Jules Rossi. Considered one of the pioneers of underwater sports in the international field, an experienced frogman with risky performances during the Second World War under the orders of Jacques Yves Cousteau, of the French Navy, he moved to Buenos Aires with his wife and son and established a relationship with those who would soon become his diving students. He later set up a factory in the La Boca neighborhood where the first Argentine-made fins, masks, snorkels, rifles and rubber suits were discovered.
It was 1956 when Jules Rossi. Intuition that our country had coasts similar to his native Marseille, suitable for diving, he set out to explore the Atlantic coast to the south, arriving at the Golfo Nuevo and San José. In his diving attire he appeared to the eyes of the people of Madryn as a being from another planet. In 1957, the arrival in Madryn of the Argentine Navy ship "Murature" was a key factor in the development of underwater activities. The passengers on board arrived at Golfo Nuevo to practice the new sport, diving, whose diffusion reached the whole world. Tactical divers from the Navy, the famous architect Germán Frers, were part of the group, together with Chiche Speroni, Boby Helguera, and the commander of the ship, Captain Porretti. Young people from Madryn joined the underwater adventures: Cachi Meani, Moro Patané, Catín Pérez, Cacho Comes, Negro Giménez, Malevo Medina. In 1958, the first institution dedicated to diving was born, called Club de Buceo Puerto Madryn. The mechanic Juan Meisen Ebene copied the Pirelli autonomous circuit equipment and began to dive with homemade equipment. Meisen Ebene also made the rubber band rifles, with which underwater hunting tournaments began.
It was at that same time that Bruno Nicoletti was caught by the diving fever. He imported the first neoprene suits from Europe, which, given the low temperatures of our waters, revolutionized diving in Madryn and throughout the country. He would later install the first factory of diving supplies, which is still operating today. www.pinosub.com
In 1963 another milestone marks the history of diving in Madryn: six buses that belonged to the urban passenger service in Buenos Aires were anchored at a depth of more than 30 meters. Thus the first artificial underwater park in the country was born, a great pride at that time for all Madrynenses. The vast marine fauna of the place found the ideal refuge in the passages of the Buenos Aires buses. Today only a few remains of the chassis originally deposited remain.
Translated from the Spanish at: Historia del Buceo en Puerto Madryn - Peninsula Valdes - Patagonia Argentina
Jules Rossi was born on June 8, 1913 in Marseille, France, and since 1952 he lived in Argentina with his wife Teresa Losa Petray and his little daughter Nicole. He had set up a factory in the Barrio de la Boca for articles for underwater hunting and exploration, giving the name "frog legs" to the fins and giving the name "Nicole" to the first diving masks manufactured in the country. He was a double champion in France (1946 and 1947) and a personal friend of the members of Jacques Cousteau's team.
Traveling around the country to find the right place to practice underwater hunting, he discovered the ideal place in our area, where the waters are clear and the varieties of fish abound. On his return to the Federal Capital he met with a group of friends to whom he announced the great news: on the coasts of Puerto Madryn and Península Valdés, there were the best places for underwater activities. They formed the Association for Underwater Hunting and Exploration there, which organized the 1st Argentine Underwater Hunting Championship on January 26 and 27, 1957, in Punta Pardelas, where he won first place, followed by Luis María Álvarez Flores, Nino Violi, and Nelson Dames and Nedo Sereni tied for fourth place.
Drawn to the place, he organized a new exploration trip around the Valdes Peninsula and expressed his desire to settle in Puerto Madryn with his wife and daughter, where he also planned to set up his diving accessories factory. So he returned in early March and on the 9th, while diving near the Nautical Club to extract some shellfish, together with his friends Osvaldo Larreburu and Antonio Torrejón, he died of a heart attack.
During his brief but intense time in our area, he was the selfless teacher of the novice fans of underwater sports, instilling in them an enthusiasm for the activity that never stopped, and generating the first tourist attraction in our area, starting with the underwater hunting tournaments that were held for many years with exceptional success.
Translated from the Spanish at:
The Underwater Capital of Argentina
Back in the late 1950s
Puerto Madryn is unquestionably the Underwater Capital of Argentina. Its calm and transparent waters, its varied fauna, and its ample places for diving are well worth the title. The history of diving in Puerto Madryn dates back to 1956, with the arrival of Jules Rossi. Considered one of the pioneers of underwater sports in the international field, an experienced frogman with risky performances during the Second World War under the orders of Jacques Yves Cousteau, of the French Navy, he moved to Buenos Aires with his wife and son and established a relationship with those who would soon become his diving students. He later set up a factory in the La Boca neighborhood where the first Argentine-made fins, masks, snorkels, rifles and rubber suits were discovered.
It was 1956 when Jules Rossi. Intuition that our country had coasts similar to his native Marseille, suitable for diving, he set out to explore the Atlantic coast to the south, arriving at the Golfo Nuevo and San José. In his diving attire he appeared to the eyes of the people of Madryn as a being from another planet. In 1957, the arrival in Madryn of the Argentine Navy ship "Murature" was a key factor in the development of underwater activities. The passengers on board arrived at Golfo Nuevo to practice the new sport, diving, whose diffusion reached the whole world. Tactical divers from the Navy, the famous architect Germán Frers, were part of the group, together with Chiche Speroni, Boby Helguera, and the commander of the ship, Captain Porretti. Young people from Madryn joined the underwater adventures: Cachi Meani, Moro Patané, Catín Pérez, Cacho Comes, Negro Giménez, Malevo Medina. In 1958, the first institution dedicated to diving was born, called Club de Buceo Puerto Madryn. The mechanic Juan Meisen Ebene copied the Pirelli autonomous circuit equipment and began to dive with homemade equipment. Meisen Ebene also made the rubber band rifles, with which underwater hunting tournaments began.
It was at that same time that Bruno Nicoletti was caught by the diving fever. He imported the first neoprene suits from Europe, which, given the low temperatures of our waters, revolutionized diving in Madryn and throughout the country. He would later install the first factory of diving supplies, which is still operating today. www.pinosub.com
In 1963 another milestone marks the history of diving in Madryn: six buses that belonged to the urban passenger service in Buenos Aires were anchored at a depth of more than 30 meters. Thus the first artificial underwater park in the country was born, a great pride at that time for all Madrynenses. The vast marine fauna of the place found the ideal refuge in the passages of the Buenos Aires buses. Today only a few remains of the chassis originally deposited remain.
Translated from the Spanish at: Historia del Buceo en Puerto Madryn - Peninsula Valdes - Patagonia Argentina
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Jules Rossi's timeline.
1913. Born on 8 June 1913 in Marseille, France.
1946-1947. Underwater hunting champion two years running and personal friend of members of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's team.
1952. Emigrated to Argentina with his wife Teresa Losa Petray and small daughter Nicole, establishing a factory to manufacture underwater hunting and exploration equipment in the Barrio de la Boca district of Buenos Aires. Here he produced the first swimming fins, diving masks, breathing tubes, spearguns and rubber suits to be made in Argentina, calling the fins "patas de rana" (frog feet) and naming the mask "Nicole" after his daughter.
1957. Jules Rossi won the first Argentine Underwater Hunting Championship, which was held on 26-27 January 1957 in Punta Pardelas. Attracted to the locality, he organised a new exploratory trip around the Valdes Peninsula and expressed a desire to resettle in Puerto Madryn with his wife and daughter, where he also planned to re-establish his diving accessories factory. While diving for shellfish near the Nautical Club on 9 March 1957, he died of a heart attack.
A short video showing Jules Rossi and other underwater swimmers wearing the diving suits, masks and fins he designed and manufactured in the 1950s before his untimely death:
A new thread midweek, probably one dedicated to mid-20c diving equipment in Brazil.
1913. Born on 8 June 1913 in Marseille, France.
1946-1947. Underwater hunting champion two years running and personal friend of members of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's team.
1952. Emigrated to Argentina with his wife Teresa Losa Petray and small daughter Nicole, establishing a factory to manufacture underwater hunting and exploration equipment in the Barrio de la Boca district of Buenos Aires. Here he produced the first swimming fins, diving masks, breathing tubes, spearguns and rubber suits to be made in Argentina, calling the fins "patas de rana" (frog feet) and naming the mask "Nicole" after his daughter.
1957. Jules Rossi won the first Argentine Underwater Hunting Championship, which was held on 26-27 January 1957 in Punta Pardelas. Attracted to the locality, he organised a new exploratory trip around the Valdes Peninsula and expressed a desire to resettle in Puerto Madryn with his wife and daughter, where he also planned to re-establish his diving accessories factory. While diving for shellfish near the Nautical Club on 9 March 1957, he died of a heart attack.
A short video showing Jules Rossi and other underwater swimmers wearing the diving suits, masks and fins he designed and manufactured in the 1950s before his untimely death:
Further imagery.
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