Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Spain: Nemrod

[Popgun Pete]

The "Salou" and the "Irun” both had that flattened inner side that pointed towards your head, the contoured bend rubber tube was not D-shaped as such in cross-section, but it was not perfectly round either. The big bore rubber snorkels like the “Irun” were best blown out just before you hit the surface as they could hold a reasonable amount of water otherwise.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Bigbella and Luis. And for the post, Pete.

Today we review the Nemrod Cadaques and Vigo con boya snorkels. Cadaqués (above) is a town in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean. Here is the breathing tube of that name in 1973:

French: "I-CADAQUES. (Nouveauté 1973) Modèle classique de plusieurs applications avec embout articulé".
English: "I-CADAQUES. (New product 1973) Classic multipurpose model with articulated mouthpiece".

1974

Italian: "I-CADAQUES. Modello classico dai molti usi, con tubo graduabile ed articolato".
Rough translation: "I-CADAQUES. Classic multi-use model with adjusyable articulated tube".

1975

I-CADAQUES. Classic polyvalent model with articulated mouthpiece

1976

Spanish: "I-CADAQUES. Modelo clásico polivalente, con boquilla graduable y articulada".
Rough translation: "I-CADAQUES. Classic versatile model, with adjustable and articulated mouthpiece".

The 1977 catalogue provides the same picture and caption. The Cadaques is a traditional straight-barrelled L-shaped snorkel, whose morphology claims to minimise residual water in the lower bend. The mouthpiece can be adjusted for mouth comfort. Note the continued presence of the lanyard eyelet to prevent snorkel loss.

Another undated Cadaques image:

 

[David Wilson]

Now for the Vigo con boya, named after the city and municipality of Vigo (above) in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ria de Vigo, the southernmost of the Rías Baixas. As the name suggests, the Vigo con boya comes with a float (valve), here in 1978:

1979

1980

"Mit Ventil" is German for "with a valve"

So a straight-barrelled snorkel with a keeper at the centre, a ball valve with U-bend at the upper end and a combination mouthpiece and U-bend at the lower end. The ball valve changes its shape between 1978 and 1979.

Another undated Vigo con boya image with a third type of ball valve:

I shall be back at the weekend with the Nemrod Playa, Cala and Bahia breathing tubes, which will be the last Nemrod snorkels to be reviewed. We shall then move on to the Nemrod snorkel-masks. Keep safe, well and warm.

​

 

[JMBL]

Thanks again for sharing all the info with us. Btw, we could add :

- Cadaques was/is famous for red coral hunting,
- Vigo bay is supposed to be a resting places for several ships of the "invincible armada", laden with gold (of course). Several people tried to get to that gold, from Captain Nemo to Robert Sténuit.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes and for the post, JMBL.

Today we look at the Nemrod Playa, Cala and Bahia breathing tubes. "Playa" is Spanish for "beach". As for the snorkel of that name in 1978:

1979

1980

So what we have here is an L-shaped snorkel with a straight barrel and an offset mouthpiece with an extended stem. L-shaped snorkels claim to hold less residual water than J-shaped snorkels, which have a U-bend that can be a water trap.

 

[David Wilson]

Now for the Nemrod Cala breathing tube. "Cala" is Spanish for "creek", "cove" or "inlet". The Cala snorkel in 1978:

1979

Spanish: "CALA. Nuevo modelo de perfecta ventilación".
Rough translation: "CALA. New perfect airflow model".

1980

German: "Cala. Neues Modell. Sehr leichtes Ausblasen. Weiches Gummi-Mundstück und Schnorchelrohr".
English: "Cala. New model. Very easy to clear. Soft rubber mouthpiece and snorkel tube".

Another L-shaped snorkel, then, with a 90-degree bend at the lower end of the barrel. The offset mouthpiece appears to be adjustable.

Further imagery:

 

[David Wilson]

Finally for today, the Nemrod Bahia breathing tube. "Bahía" is Spanish for "bay". The Bahia snorkel in 1979:

1980

So a more contoured snorkel with an offset mouthpiece at the lower end. Facebook's Nemrod Museum describes the model thus: "One of the most successful models of the brand. Very short and with a large internal diameter, they made it an almost perfect snorkel for spearfishermen. If instead of being made of rigid pvc, it had been made entirely of rubber, we would have the IRÚN model, another sales success."

More imagery:

Enough for today and I shall retyrn some time midweek to start a review of Nemrod's dozen snorkel-masks. Until then, keep safe, well anmd warm. And Happy Holidays to all.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Luis and JMBL.

Today we move on to Nemrod snorkel-masks. There were about a dozen different models and we shall be looking at the Capri and the Java snorkel-masks first. Capri (above) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.Here is the Nemrod Capri snorkel-mask in 1955:

Spanish: "PS/2059. Lentes Asteria modelo “Capri” con aro metálico, respirador de boya acoplado de respiración simultánea por nariz y boca. Es la careta más perfecta para turismo submarino".
Rough translation: "PS / 2059. Asteria model "Capri" with metal rim, attached float breathing tube for simultaneous breathing through the nose and mouth. It is the most perfect mask for underwater tourism".

1956

This snorkel-mask was quite an elaborate affair compared to later models. Facebook's Nemrod Museum explains the workings better than I can: "Within the Asteria series, Nemrod brought out the Capri model, a complete facial mask that at the time was considered the most advanced and professional of the entire range. For recreational use it incorporated a huge snorkel that entered at least two different points of the mask via a trachea to facilitate indistinguishable breathing by nose and / or mouth. It was also possible to configure its use to connect it to a hook-type semi-autonomous respiration system or as a mask for surface equipment. It was a quite expensive mask for his time (578 pts in 1955)." The model was available between 1955 and 1960.

 

[David Wilson]

On to the Nemrod Java snorkel-mask. Java (above) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Indonesian population. Like the Capri, the Nemrod Java made its début in the mid-1950s:

Spanish: "Mod. 2070. — Lentes ASTERIA modelo JAVA, con aro metálico de seguridad, respirador acoplado y sistema de doble boya, de respiración por nariz y aspiración por la boca o viceversa indistintamente".
Rough translation: "Model 2070. — ASTERIA JAVA model diving mask, with metal security band, attached breathing tube and double valve system for nose and/or mouth breathing".

1955

Spanish: "PS-2070 Lentes Asteria modelo Java, sistema de aspiración por la naríz y respiración por la boca. Boya con doble válvula que impide penetre agua en su interior.
Rough translation: "PS-2070 Asteria Java model diving mask. Nose and mouth breathing system. Double valve devices prevent water ingress".

1959

Spanish: "1959. Lentes «Nemrod» con respirador modelo JAVA".
Rough translation: "'Nemrod' Java model diving mask fitted with breathing tube".

1961

Spanish: "PS/2070. — JAVA — Con aro metálico de seguridad, respirador acoplado y sistema de dobla boya, de respiración por nariz y aspiración por la boco o viceversa indistintamente. Provisto de membrane expulsora de agua".
Rough translation: "PS/2070. — JAVA. — Fitted with metal security band, attached breathing tube and double valve system for nose and/or mouth breathing. Equipped with a water-expelling membrane".

So a snorkel-mask retained on the head by a harness. One breathing tube emerging via a flexible hose from the mask centre top. A ball valve admits and shuts off the air supply. The model lasted until 1964.

This design bore a passing resemblance to the contemporaneous French-made Hurricane Automatic:

Next time, at the weekend, we shall take a look at the Nemrod Tarzán and Haiti snorkel-masks. Keep well, safe and warm until then.

 

[JMBL]

Coming from that thread. There's some family ressemblance.