Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Spain: Nemrod

[David Wilson]

Second Nemrod snorkel of the day is the PS/2185 Oporto, named after the second-largest city in Portugal (above), the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. The Oporto snorkel in 1964:

So an acute-angle bend at the lower end with a concertina-style mouthpiece. Several other European models had that feature, e.g. the West German Barakuda 307, 308 and 309 also launched in 1964:

The British 1018 Sous Marine Silent V snorkel:

"Silent V" is an English translation of the French "V Silencieux", which was the name of Beuchat's flagship snorkel of the time:

Both the sharp "V"-shape bend and the accordeon-style mouthpiece of the Marseilles company's original design are present in the Sous Marine offering. Beuchat's version is reviewed in Ley Kenyon and Werner de Haas' Aqualung Diving: A Complete and Practical Guide to the Underwater World (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1970): "Tarzan V (Silencieux). A snorkel with a slightly bent rubber tube below, linked to the mouthpiece by a V-shaped angled piece made of plastic. Water collects in the insertion so that the gurgling noise accompanying breathing is largely eliminated." Beuchat's breathing tube received mixed reviews in a Which? Consumer Report of 1965:

To finish off, one more image of the Nemrod Oporto:

That's my lot for today. This weekend's Nemrod snorkels will be the Tossa and the Malaga. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo.

Today we look at the Nemrod Tossa and Malaga snorkels. The Nemrod Tossa breathing tube takes its name from Tossa de Mar (above), a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, located on the coastal Costa Brava, about 103 kilometres north of Barcelona and 100 kilometres south of the French border. This product name was also used for a Nemrod diving mask. The name is unfortunately reminiscent of a term of insult in the UK and Australia. Here is the snorkel, marketed between 1965 and 1979:

Facebook's Nemrod Museum describes the model thus (my translation): "An inexpensive and simple model that was sold in the USA for many years. Apart from the colour, it is practically identical to the MENORCA model". So a basic J-shaped snorkel comprising a straight open-ended barrel with a keeper at one extremity and a combined lugged mouthpiece with U-bend at the other.

Here it is in a 1966 Seamless catalogue for the American market:

 

[David Wilson]

Now for the Nemrod Malaga snorkel, named after the municipality of Spain (above), capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most populous in Spain. Here is the Malaga snorkel in 1968:

So an L-shaped snorkel. This design claims to increase breathing ease, cutting the water drag and eliminating the "water trap" associated with J-shaped models. As a bonus, the mouthpiece swivels to adjust to any wearing angle, and can be cemented in any position to suit the individual diver. In the case of the Nemrod Malaga, the mouthpiece neck incorporates a concertina stem that adds to mouth comfort. It is more clearly visible in the image below:

Here is a 1969 image of the Malaga along with a Menorca snorkel in an Australian magazine:

​

And that's it for the weekend. Back some time midweek with the Nemrod Blanes snorkels. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, АлександрД, Luis, Pete and JMBL.

Today's Nemrod snorkels are the Blanes models. Blanes (above) is a town and municipality in in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is known as the "Gateway to the Costa Brava". Its coast is part of the Costa Brava, which stretches from Blanes to the French border. Here is the Blanes breathing tube in 1969:

The device follows the contours of the face at the lower end, which is fitted with an offset mouthpiece. Contoured snorkels came into vogue during the late 1960s and the 1970s. Note the eyelet on the mouthpiece stem through which a lanyard would have been threaded to be worn around the neck to prevent loss in choppy waters.

1970

And finally in 1971 in the Seamless catalogue targeting Nemrod customers in the USA.

The caption mentions the safety orange band around the top of the breathing tube designed to alert other water users to the snorkeller's presence. A West German national snorkel standard of the time required this safety feature.

 

[David Wilson]

On to the "Blanes con boya", the Blanes snorkel fitted with a shut-off float (valve) at the supply end.

As you can see, the "float" (boya) consists of a ball in a cage valve. This was a proprietary Nemrod shut-off valve that the company patented (drawings below) in 1973:

Here is the key to the figures in the original Spanish and in my very rough translation:
Spanish: 3 — cuerpo prismático de seis caras; 4 — ventosa rectangular; 5 — canalización cilíndrica; 6 — extremo superior del tubo respirador; 7 — tabique transversal; 8 — bordes; 9 — orificio; 10 — cámara de paso; 11 — tabique intermedio; 12 — compartimento; 13 — reborde de pestaña; 14 — boya; 15 — cara o tabique superior maciza; 16 — ligerísimo acodado convergente.
English: 3 — six-sided prismatic body; 4 — rectangular suction pad; 5 — cylindrical channel; 6 — upper end of breathing tube; 7 — transverse partition; 8 — edges; 9 — orifice; 10 — passage chamber; 11 — intermediate partition; 12 — compartment; 13 — flange edge; 14 — float; 15 — solid upper face or partition; 16 — very slight convergent bend.

And finally, a few auction images from the Web:

That's plenty for today. Next time, at the weekend, I shall take a closer look at the Salou and Almeria snorkels. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Luis and JMBL.

Today's Nemrod breathing tubes are the Salou and the Alemria. Salou (above) is a municipality in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from Tarragona and Reus on the Costa Daurada and 112 km from Barcelona. Founded by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C., the coastal town was a notable commercial port during medieval and modern ages. Throughout the 20th century, Salou became an important European tourist attraction. Aside from its string of beaches interrupted by rocky coves, and its landscaped promenade, one of its main attractions is the PortAventura World resort. Here is the Nemrod snorkel named after Salou:

So a contoured model of the type introduced towards the end of the 1960s to complement the traditional J-shape, the water residue reducing L-shape and the drop-away flex-hose varieties. The contoured type was named thus because it follows the contours of the face and the head. Note the snorkel keeper midway on the barrel and the safety orange band at the top, which were both becoming standard featyures. Also the eyelets on the neck of the mouthpiece where a lanyard could be threaded to be attached around the wearer's neck to avoid loss in choppy waters.

 

[David Wilson]

Our second Nemrod snorkel today is the Almeria. Almería (above) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city grew wealthy during the Islamic era, becoming a world city throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. It enjoyed an active port that traded silk, oil and raisins. A couple of images of the snorkel of that name:

The picture is from Larry Clinton Jr's The Complete Outfitting & Source Book for Sport Diving, which is an excellent source of information about 1970s-vintage basic equipment. So a product exported from Spain to the USA, another contoured model with keeper and lanyard eyelet.

1972

Next time, midweek, our Nemrod snorkels forl review will be the Almeria con boya, i.e. the model above fitted with a float (valve), and the Calella. Keep safe and well until then.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, АлександрД and Luis.

First Nemrod snorkel today is the Calella. The latter is named after the municipality (above) in the Maresme region of Spain, located 50 km from Barcelona, 50 km from Girona and 6 km from the Montnegre-Corredor Natural Park. It is known as the tourist capital of the Costa del Maresme and is characterised by being a cosmopolitan city with a typical Mediterranean climate. As for the breathing tube:

The image is from the June 1970 issue of Skin Diver magazine. So a telescopic device, barrel height adjustable.. Perhaps somewhat overengineered, but apparently in demand by those looking for "greater diving flexibility".

More imagery:

Over the years, the Calella came with a variety of mouthpiece extensions:

The last example has a flexible hose fitted with a drain valve.

 

[David Wilson]

The Almeria con boya is, as you would expect, the standard Almeria fitted with a float (valve). Over the years, this float changed in structure, but remained a ball in a cage design:

The lanyard eyelet feature also seems to have been a permanent fixture on the mouthpiece stem.

At the weekend, we shall take a look at the Canarias con boya and Menorca Flex snorkels. Keep safe and well. There's a frost here in the UK.

 

[Luis H]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, АлександрД and Luis.

First Nemrod snorkel today is the Calella. The latter is named after the municipality (above) in the Maresme region of Spain, located 50 km from Barcelona, 50 km from Girona and 6 km from the Montnegre-Corredor Natural Park. It is known as the tourist capital of the Costa del Maresme and is characterised by being a cosmopolitan city with a typical Mediterranean climate. As for the breathing tube:

View attachment 757370​

The image is from the June 1970 issue of Skin Diver magazine. So a telescopic device, barrel height adjustable.. Perhaps somewhat overengineered, but apparently in demand by those looking for "greater diving flexibility".

More imagery:

View attachment 757371

View attachment 757372
View attachment 757373​

Over the years, the Calella came with a variety of mouthpiece extensions:

View attachment 757374
View attachment 757375​

The last example has a flexible hose fitted with a drain valve.

I had one of those adjustable/ collapsible snorkels. At the time it seemed like a good idea to make easier to stow it away when not using it while scuba diving. At the end, the collapsible feature didn't really helped much, I still needed a place to stow and pockets in wet-suits were not really popular back in the 70's.

I still thought it a was an interesting idea.

I remember seen the eyelet in the mouthpiece, but never occurred to me to put a lanyard through it. I still don't think that is a good idea.