- Messages
- 5,141
- Reaction score
- 4,147
- # of dives
- 5000 - ∞
Farnsworth --revisited
an E mail from Mossbrook--the first recreational diver to dive the Banks.
You forgot about my excitement about being the first to dive on the Banks.
As you recall I was the only one who had the newly introduced oil filled navy depth gauge, most of the rest were using capillary or bordan tube or no gauges and I was also the only one diving twin 72s. Therefore I was "volunteered" or was it "selected?" to be the first to dive and check out the diving location called Farnsworth.
I was standing on the swim step of the Outrider I was just about to enter the water when Norma Smith asked if I planned to put on my fins! In my excitement I had failed to put on my ducks. (ed note a fin==Duck Feet) It would have been a total disaster since we were all diving with out flotation and I would have sunk right to the bottom.
I entered the water and was well into my first dive and had leveled off at 180 feet when I noticed the strong current was suddenly caring me upwards right and into the peak of the pinnacle around 100 feet. Low and behold had a metal box with small railroad wheels and short cable which had a ball with spikes sticking out of it. Another derelict WW11 mine! But different than the others we had seen at Scotsmans cove and Catalina. At that moment I did an explosive decompression ascent (all most) and yelled to "Dick There is a mine on the peak of the reef!" Dick Petter replied "Not to worry as the local notice to mariners had a notice about the instrumented mine that was placed there to monitor currents and sea temperatures." The Sea Sabers on board had a hell of a laugh about this. The event would not have been as funny if he told me before I entered the water.
What about your over sized lift bag to bring up a vast amount of purple coral? (WW11 surplus of course as most of our equipment was at that time). Recall we filled a big box with coral and you filled the lift bag with mouth piece air. It immediately began its journey to the surface to picking up speed as the air filled the body of the lift bag When the box hit the surface it sort of launched like a Polaris missile fired from a sub. I can still remember the raining down of Purple coral to the bottom and I only had enough air left to grab 1 of purple coral and start my assent.
Or Sheila Platt who was diving with Harry Vetter asked Harry before beginning their descent "How deep are we gong? replied Harry replied "To the bottom." And they did reach the bottom. Down the dove. 90, 100, 120 140, Sheila's depth gauge was only rated to 140, but ever deeper they sunk until the sand was reached at an estimated 200 feet. Between dives Sheila displayed her new Borden tube depth gauge, suck at 140 feet and full of water.
Or when you were followed to the boat by a rather substantial hammerhead. You were totally oblivious to it's presence. You just slowly took your time snorkeling back unaware that a large shark was interested in you as lunch. That is until you reached the swim-step and noticed that Dick Petter had his rifle pointed at you all the divers were congregated at the swim step with hands outstretched to yank you into the boat.
It was Sheila who later broke the tension when she said "Sam I was watching you play tag with that shark when I was eating a chicken for lunch --bones and all"
What adventures we had on every dive --
Ed Mosbrook
editorial note;
All the dives were made using "double hose regulators" duck feet or churchill fins and very crude often homemade equipment; masks, wet suits, lift bags, etc and devoid of modern instrumentation, few effective depth gauges, no SPGs, no thermometers!
Most of the divers on that first dive on Farnsworth in December 1960 are now diving in the big reef in the sky. Only a few remain and we remain in occasional contact
Sheila Platt, was the Office manager of Skin Diver magazine, always had a way with words. She had the honor of the first woman to dive to the bottom of Farnsworth on air, but also was the first to reach that big reef in the sky about 2 years later from cancer
The days of our dives...
sdm
an E mail from Mossbrook--the first recreational diver to dive the Banks.
You forgot about my excitement about being the first to dive on the Banks.
As you recall I was the only one who had the newly introduced oil filled navy depth gauge, most of the rest were using capillary or bordan tube or no gauges and I was also the only one diving twin 72s. Therefore I was "volunteered" or was it "selected?" to be the first to dive and check out the diving location called Farnsworth.
I was standing on the swim step of the Outrider I was just about to enter the water when Norma Smith asked if I planned to put on my fins! In my excitement I had failed to put on my ducks. (ed note a fin==Duck Feet) It would have been a total disaster since we were all diving with out flotation and I would have sunk right to the bottom.
I entered the water and was well into my first dive and had leveled off at 180 feet when I noticed the strong current was suddenly caring me upwards right and into the peak of the pinnacle around 100 feet. Low and behold had a metal box with small railroad wheels and short cable which had a ball with spikes sticking out of it. Another derelict WW11 mine! But different than the others we had seen at Scotsmans cove and Catalina. At that moment I did an explosive decompression ascent (all most) and yelled to "Dick There is a mine on the peak of the reef!" Dick Petter replied "Not to worry as the local notice to mariners had a notice about the instrumented mine that was placed there to monitor currents and sea temperatures." The Sea Sabers on board had a hell of a laugh about this. The event would not have been as funny if he told me before I entered the water.
What about your over sized lift bag to bring up a vast amount of purple coral? (WW11 surplus of course as most of our equipment was at that time). Recall we filled a big box with coral and you filled the lift bag with mouth piece air. It immediately began its journey to the surface to picking up speed as the air filled the body of the lift bag When the box hit the surface it sort of launched like a Polaris missile fired from a sub. I can still remember the raining down of Purple coral to the bottom and I only had enough air left to grab 1 of purple coral and start my assent.
Or Sheila Platt who was diving with Harry Vetter asked Harry before beginning their descent "How deep are we gong? replied Harry replied "To the bottom." And they did reach the bottom. Down the dove. 90, 100, 120 140, Sheila's depth gauge was only rated to 140, but ever deeper they sunk until the sand was reached at an estimated 200 feet. Between dives Sheila displayed her new Borden tube depth gauge, suck at 140 feet and full of water.
Or when you were followed to the boat by a rather substantial hammerhead. You were totally oblivious to it's presence. You just slowly took your time snorkeling back unaware that a large shark was interested in you as lunch. That is until you reached the swim-step and noticed that Dick Petter had his rifle pointed at you all the divers were congregated at the swim step with hands outstretched to yank you into the boat.
It was Sheila who later broke the tension when she said "Sam I was watching you play tag with that shark when I was eating a chicken for lunch --bones and all"
What adventures we had on every dive --
Ed Mosbrook
editorial note;
All the dives were made using "double hose regulators" duck feet or churchill fins and very crude often homemade equipment; masks, wet suits, lift bags, etc and devoid of modern instrumentation, few effective depth gauges, no SPGs, no thermometers!
Most of the divers on that first dive on Farnsworth in December 1960 are now diving in the big reef in the sky. Only a few remain and we remain in occasional contact
Sheila Platt, was the Office manager of Skin Diver magazine, always had a way with words. She had the honor of the first woman to dive to the bottom of Farnsworth on air, but also was the first to reach that big reef in the sky about 2 years later from cancer
The days of our dives...
sdm
