Dr. Samuel Miller, III

[Kensei]

I honestly need that information about L.A. lifeguard training evolution for something I'm working on, and Google cannot deliver. The only other person I know who might be able to help me is Chris Brewster at USLA. The best way to describe Sam just hit me this morning.

Sam was like the Herodotus of diving.

Reach out to Dave Bunch. He very well may be able to help you. He's on LinkedIn. He's around 90 and was certified in LA back in the 60's.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bunch-75910719/

 

[Bob DBF]

I wonder what percentage of our members have ever seen a California spiny lobster this big let alone bagged one?

I've caught bugs, but nothing like that, I've seen some big bugs, but nothing like that.

I've also had the pleasure of being corrected by Sam, I'll miss it, as well as chats about my early experiences diving on the east coast, he was always learning.

 

[beldridg]

The first time I got a DM from Sam Miller III here on ScubaBoard was about 18 months ago after I had posted a story on the "Sub Tower" off Catalina Island. I hadn't really bothered filling out my "profile" on ScubaBoard at that point and Sam, well, he had a few things to say about that.

We went on to have quite a few DM conversations about my "finds" in SoCal and I had hoped to visit him since I went to Cal Poly, SLO and and usually get back there a couple times a year. I regret that I never made that happen. I'm sure it would have been an interesting visit.

Below is a screen capture of that first "conversation." I think it captures his "style" of communication:

RIP, Sam.

- brett

 

[Akimbo]

I've also had the pleasure of being corrected by Sam,...

Same here. His corrections were often a little harsh, but deserved. Believe it or not, he also came to ScubaBoard more to learn than to share his knowledge. He is the only eyewitness to the Hannes Keller's 1,000' dive I have ever met.

Hannes Keller's 1,000' Dive

Hannes Keller's 1,000' Dive Excerpted from The History of Oilfield Diving: An Industrial Adventure by Christopher Swann (Oceanaut Press) On December 3, 1962 a Swiss mathematician named Hannes Keller reached the astonishing depth of 1,000'/305M in the open ocean off Catalina Island in...

scubaboard.com

 

[Bob DBF]

Believe it or not, he also came to ScubaBoard more to learn than to share his knowledge.

I can believe it, he was interested in the regional differences in SCUBA back before the training and industry became a national phenomenon.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Kinda blurry but that is Sam in the foreground with his famous tiny steel doubles with the cross-bar.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

L-->R Tom, me and Sam giving a lecture.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

A few more...

In Sam's 18 Week NAUI Advanced Diver Class we would write our name on a golf ball, Sam would hit it out to sea from Little Corona Beach, and we would have to all go out and find our specific golf ball in an underwater navigation exercise. We all agreed to just grab whose-ever golf ball we came across and trade it back to the original owner post-dive.

Sam doing a long drive:

Us playing fetch:

 

[Laurie S.]

How sad. He was so kind after my husband passed four years ago.

 

[Pressurehead]

Sam wrote me a long DM on the history of NAUI , and was the first to congratulate me on receiving my 30 year pin from NAUI last year.

What a legend

I've also had the pleasure of being corrected by Sam

Same here, a little thing, but well spotted.