Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Britain: Dunlop, Heinke, Siebe-Gorman etc

[John C. Ratliff]

David, I went out and looked, and got photos of my two flexible snorkels. The silicone one does not have a manufacturer molded into it like the neoprene Dacor one. But I am pretty sure it also is a Dacor. I have used both for years.

The whitewater kayak helmet is one I have had for many years, and actually led to my and my buddy's rescue in 1974. We were caught off the Oregon Coast in December by waves which changed while we were out from 4-6 feet to 15-20 feet. Our girl friends called the U.S. Coast Guard, and they went out in one of their lifeboats, caught sight of the white stripes on my helmet, and picked us up. They were as happy as were we, as we were their first like pickups in quite some time, apparently. Upon their recommendation, I put fluorescent tape on that helmet, which is still there today. The photos below show the helmet with the fluorescent take, under strobe light and natural light, and photos of our December 8, 1974 dive before the wave rolled us, and after, and the conditions we were under (photos by Kim Yada, my girl friend at the time). The helmet is a great place to keep the snorkel too.

John

 

[Sam Miller III]

John.
no thanks
I will sick to Kalifornia diving

Especially with the current Kalifornia divers whos motto is
" We don't dive in water we can't wade in '

Both of you keep up the good work

Sam

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, guys, for your contributions, which make a very fitting conclusion to this thread. Those are spectacular pictures, John, much appreciated. However, like Sam, if I'm ever States-side, I'll stick to California snorkelling, as I did more than two decades ago when I was fortunate enough to visit La Jolla Cove during a trip to San Diego and to enjoy my favourite pastime in the company of dozens of fellow-snorkellers, something I've never been able to duplicate elsewhere. This said, I also have happy memories of my one trip to Oregon with my naturalised American brother, when we visited a friend Portland during a road trip taking in Seattle, Mount St Helens and other great spots in the Pacific Northwest. I upstaged my brother when I was the one who spotted a giant slug on a tree trunk as we traversed a Washington State forest.