Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Spain: Nemrod

[Popgun Pete]

The duckbill valves were probably not that long lived once the rubber degraded and cracks appeared where they flexed. Although the mouthpieces were probably made of the same stuff they tended to only crack due to tension caused by the stretching of the material where it gripped the slightly larger diameter snorkel tubing.

 

[dmaziuk]

Note the replacement of the mask attachment strap with a head band and bracket of the type used in modern frontal snorkels used by competitive finswimmers

I wonder what the point of a bracket on a side-mounted snorkel would be. Probably to create some space for the mask buckle?

With the swimming snorkel, you have to be careful with it pulling sideways. The bracket is hard, it's there to keep the tube from wobbling on the straights and from pulling sideways in the turns (even with the bracket you still need to be careful with your turns).

 

[lowwall]

I wonder what the point of a bracket on a side-mounted snorkel would be. Probably to create some space for the mask buckle?

With the swimming snorkel, you have to be careful with it pulling sideways. The bracket is hard, it's there to keep the tube from wobbling on the straights and from pulling sideways in the turns (even with the bracket you still need to be careful with your turns).

Maybe some folks used them with swimming goggles instead of a mask. Goggles are more convenient for surface distance swimming and at least acceptable for shallow spearfishing.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, jale, JMBL and Luis. And for the posts, Pete, dmaziuk, Iowwall and Luis.

Now for the Nemrod PS/2045 snorkel. Here it is in 1955:

Spanish: "PS 2045. Respirador plástico infantil para niños de 4 a 9 años".
Rough translation: "PS 2045. Child's plastic snorkel for children from 4 to 9 years old".

So a snorkel with head bracket and band, drain valve at the bottom and cap valve at the top, all designed for young people in their first decade of life. I am presuming that the cap valve operates in the same way as the following Typhoon breathing tube made in England:

The "splash cap" is a "wave deflector" in modern parlance and is the key component of a "semi-dry snorkel" that keeps water from entering while the swimmer is at the surface in choppy seas. It works by have air inlets inside a rubber housing fixed to the top of the barrel and fitting loosely at the bottom to admit air from outside. Water will enter when the swimmer's snorkel is completely submerged.

Here is the Nemrod model in 1962:

Spanish: "PS/2045. - PLÁSTICO INFANTIL CON BOYA. - Especial para niños de 4 a 9 años. Con turbante-brida y boya especial".
Rough translation: "PS/2045. - CHILD'S PLASTIC WITH VALVE. - Special for children from 4 to 9 years of age. With head bracket/band and special valve".

 

[David Wilson]

Next we have the Nemrod PS/2083 snorkel, which was also known as the "Costa Brava". It is named after the Costa Brava (above), which means "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast" in Spanish and is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, stretching from the town of Blanes, 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Barcelona, to the French border. Here is the breathing tube in 1959:

So a classic J-shaped snorkel without valves.

1960

1961

Spanish: "PS/2083.- COSTA BRAVA SIN BOYA. - Tubo largo de plástico. Utilizado preferentemente por los profesionales de la inmersión con escafandra".
Rough translation: "PS/2083.- COSTA BRAVA VALVELESS. - Long plastic tube. Preferably used by scuba diving professionals".

The different colours reveal a multiplicity of joints. A long red plastic barrel is connected to a dark-coloured joint, which is connected to a yellow plastic U-bend, which is connected to a straight red lugged rubber mouthpiece. The device is targeted at trained scuba divers who do not require float or drain valves.

That's my lot for today. Next time, at the weekend, we shall take a look at Nemrod Ibiza PS/2089 and PS/2092 snorkels. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Those snorkel cap valves also functioned as a diving bell if the cap was slightly longer and you did not go down too far. I had one as a kid in green with the rubber parts more of a lime colour and it basically provided an annular air intake facing downwards. Out of curiosity I pulled the top cap off to check how it worked. The snorkel matched my green Turnbull Sea Raider mask and green Dolphin flippers with heel straps which most kids used as full foot flippers were only in adult sizes and very hard to find. The Dolphins were replaced by black Torpedo V (some number) open heel fins with yellow-green heel straps a few years later.

 

[David Wilson]

Those snorkel cap valves also functioned as a diving bell if the cap was slightly longer and you did not go down too far. I had one as a kid in green with the rubber parts more of a lime colour and it basically provided an annular air intake facing downwards. Out of curiosity I pulled the top cap off to check how it worked. The snorkel matched my green Turnbull Sea Raider mask and green Dolphin flippers with heel straps which most kids used as full foot flippers were only in adult sizes and very hard to find. The Dolphins were replaced by black Torpedo V (some number) open heel fins with yellow-green heel straps a few years later.

Some imagery:

Triangular green Turnbull Sea Raider mask (I had an imported one as a boy):

Dolphin flippers:

Torpedo V5 flippers:

Turnbull S2 snorkel:

Undersee Vent-Cap Snorkels:

All made in Australia. Amazing detail about the cap valve snorkel, Pete. The Turnbull S2 and the Undersee S201 and S202 were the only Australian cap valve models I could find images of.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Although the black Torpedo fins were as flat as a board they moved you through the water very quickly and people down at the local bayside beach having not seen flippers before were surprised at my progress. Seems another world now where if people knew anything about diving it was via “Sea Hunt” on TV and diving gear was "masks, snorkel and flippers", the term swim fin was not used here for many years. These items seemed more prevalent being used by kids rather than adults, although not going near ocean beaches as a kid I would be then unaware of the adult activities in diving. Scuba divers appearing on a local beach would have been seen as visitors from another planet.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, JMBL, lowwall, Jale and Luis. And for the posts, Pete.

Today we look at the Nemrod Ibiza PS/2089 and PS/2092 snorkels. Both are named "Ibiza" after the Spanish island (above) in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain.

Here is the Ibiza PS/2089 in 1960:

So "con boya", meaning "valved" in Spanish. An "S"-shaped snorkel topped with a shut-off float valve, connected by a straight varrel to a U-bend ending in a lugged mouthpiece.

1961

Spanish: "PS/2089. IBIZA CON BOYA. - De tubo de plástico. Es el respirador ideal pata señoritas y cadetes".
Rough translation: "PS/2089. IBIZA VALVED. - Plastic tube. It is the ideal snorkel for ladies and young people".

Here is a translated comment on the snorkel from the owner of Facebook's Nemrod Museum: "This is certainly one of the most curious tubes manufactured by Nemrod. With an articulated float valve system that when submerged, rotates and the rubber piece blocks the top end of the tube to prevent water from entering. It is another one of those inventions that were certainly more effective at the design table than in practice. Several dive brands marketed the same system at the time".

And here is a picture of the snorkel from the same site:

 

[David Wilson]

The Ibiza PS/2092 also came "sin boya", without its shut-off valve. Here it is in 1960:

So a J-shaped breathing tube with the same straight barrel and U-bend ending in a lugged mouthpiece.

1961

Spanish: "PS 2092. — IBIZA SIN BOYA. — De tubo de plástico. Goza de gran popularidad por su ligereza y resistencia".
Rough translation: "PS 2092. — IBIZA VALVELESS. — Plastic pipe. It enjoys great popularity for its lightness and resilience".

From Facebook's Nemrod Museum:

A typical J-shaped snorkel, therefore, indicating that some breathing tube designs were becoming simpler as time went by.

That's plenty for today. Next time, midweek, we shall review the Nemrod PS/2093 and PS/2112 snorkels. Until them, keep safe and stay well.