Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century France

[Sam Miller III]

@Akinmbo stated
For our readers outside the US: 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC pipe (the most common) has an inside diameter of 0.824"/21mm.
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Darn kids with college education !

Sam miller, 111

 

[Akimbo]

Darn kids with college education !

Not really, I just have a lot of European friends who can't comprehend the idiosyncrecies of "US standards". As I understand it, the name for pipe sizes were loosely based on lead pipe which had thicker walls -- when 3/4" pipe really did have and ID of 3/4". Of course all that happened when our grandfathers were kids.

 

[Popgun Pete]

The big bore snorkel only came into its own when it was teamed with a purge valve in the base of the snorkel that actually worked for a long time, not just when it was new. Although the displacement method of clearing by blowing them out just before you rolled over at the surface was an effective clearing method as the exhaled air displaced the water as it expanded, many could not master it and the “whale blow” surface clearing method taxed their lung power, or the lack thereof, with a big bore snorkel. Snorkels had purge valves a long way back in corrugated hose flexible lower end snorkels, but what changed things was the silicone mushroom valves in plastic mouthpiece frames which in turn carried a soft mouthpiece, much like a scuba regulator mouthpiece.

 

[Akimbo]

This might be a good time to point out that the current safest "best practice" for freedivers is to spit the snorkel out of the diver's mouth immediately after leaving the surface. The reason is that divers who experience shallow water blackout tend to keep their mouths sealed. Sealing their lips around a snorkel creates an open pipeline into an unconscious diver's lungs. Divers should rest on their backs (face up) on the surface for several respiratory cycles since they can still pass out from hypoxia until their blood Oxygen is replenished.

This technique largely eliminates the need to blow the water out of the snorkel.

 

[Popgun Pete]

For many spearfishermen going up and down in shallower depths the mastery of clearing the snorkel is important as often you have your hands full and on reaching the surface you don't have a hand free to replace your snorkel mouthpiece if you have spat it out. After 40 years plus of spearfishing snorkel clearing has become second nature and at times I have been diving in choppy conditions where I needed the snorkel clear as waves slapped on my head and shoulders once I hit the surface.

 

[Sam Miller III]

In SoCal there were four fishes sought after by TRUE spear fishermen
Giant Sea Bass (GSB) aka Black Sea Bass (BSB) *(protected since 1972)
White Sea Bass
Yellow tail
Halibut

The BSB , Yellow tail and Halibut were all shallow fish and hunted with snorkel in place and in use

The WSB was a relatively deep fish which was difficult to approach and spear. The recommended and universal accepted procedures was to spit out the snorlet prior to making the dive for fear of the very few residual bubbles would spook the fish.

It was John Resick at both ICUE and in his book "Scuba Safe and simple" who introduced the world to the "displacement method" of snorkel clearing. The recommended method of surfacing at that time was to look up for kelp and debris .

John suggested that the head be tilted at a very acute angle, so only a slight puff would clear the snorkel of water

Now back to the exciting and very educational
Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century France

Sam Miller, 111

@Marie13 CE

 

[Akimbo]

John suggested that the head be tilted at a very acute angle, so only a slight puff would clear the snorkel of water

That's the technique I used for decades, even before the large bore snorkels swept the market, until taking the Performance Freediving Course.

Sam, you would really enjoy sitting on on their intermediate freedivers course, even if you can't do the inwater work. I can't believe how much I learned... and that I didn't kill myself many times over.

 

[Popgun Pete]

In SoCal there were four fishes sought after by TRUE spear fishermen
Giant Sea Bass (GSB) aka Black Sea Bass (BSB) *(protected since 1972)
White Sea Bass
Yellow tail
Halibut

The BSB , Yellow tail and Halibut were all shallow fish and hunted with snorkel in place and in use

The WSB was a relatively deep fish which was difficult to approach and spear. The recommended and universal accepted procedures was to spit out the snorlet prior to making the dive for fear of the very few residual bubbles would spook the fish.

It was John Resick at both ICUE and in his book "Scuba Safe and simple" who introduced the world to the "displacement method" of snorkel clearing. The recommended method of surfacing at that time was to look up for kelp and debris .

John suggested that the head be tilted at a very acute angle, so only a slight puff would clear the snorkel of water

Now back to the exciting and very educational
Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century France

Sam Miller, 111

@Marie13 CE

That would be John Reseck "Scuba: Safe and Simple", but we discovered this technique for ourselves when blowing our long barrel snorkels clear too soon just before we hit the surface as we slightly misjudged our arrival as we pedalled back up on a deep dive. The snorkels were long PVC tube types which had a downward curved top with a caged ping ball valve. Once purchased the ball valve and its plastic cage were thrown away and the snorkels dipped in boiling water and straightened out to create a long barrel "J" snorkel which kept water out when punching through surface swells and chop. I used mine for years replacing the rubber mouthpiece each year as the rubber tended to crack at where the plastic tube ended inside the rubber mouthpiece pipe section.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the interventions, guys! Having covered the first two fins above, we're now in the final straight so far as Sommap fins are concerned. On now to the third fin in the image.

Sommap Alcyon fin

On the Sommap website, the Alcyon is described as "Professional open heel fin for underwater works and military. NATO agreement. To used with diving boots. 2 EU Sizes : 39/42 - 43/48. Long.blade 35cm." On Amazon, the description is:

• Military and Professional Rubber fins UK 10/14
• Traditional rubber fin long 35 cms
• To used with diving boots
• Metal buckles and rubber straps
• The material of the fin withstands extreme conditions, temperatures and scuffs.

Several "military" fins have emerged in France over the years. Besides the Sommap Alcyon, the Godel GERS Propuls of the 1950s and the Champion Navy of the 1960s come to mind:

 

[David Wilson]

And finally, for Sommap fins and for the Sommap range of underwater swimming equipment, we have the Sommap Flipper, which is no longer in production and may have even been the precursor of the Sommap Esterel (above). Be aware that the word "Flipper" in French normally denotes a pinball machine and not a swimming fin.

Sommap Flipper

I'm afraid no further information is forthcoming about this fin model.

So0 that's it for Sommap. We'll move on in several days to another French diving equipment manufacturer. We're down to the last few now, with fins hogging the limelight.