Vane Ivanovic - spear fisherman - books

[Sam Miller III]

Vane Ivanovic--His spearfishing books & life

I have been reviewing the vintage diving books in my library related to spear fishing and the contributions
specifically made by California Spear fishermen & women, which were and are
monumental. Well known divers like the Bottom Scratchers, Wally Potts and
Jack Prodanovich and lesser known and long disbanded Southern California
Skin Diving club diver like Charlie Sturgill and Frank Rodecker were
mentioned in Vane's books

California specifically Southern California was and still is the fountain
head of recreational diving not only in the United States but for the world

Yesterday I was reviewing all the spear fishing books published in the US and great Britain by the late great Ivan S. Ivanovic aka Vane Ivanovic.
They are as follows;
Sub-marine spearfishing by I.S Ivanovic, Nicolas Kaye, London, 1950;
Spearfishing (same book) A.S. Barnes, NYC, 1951
(These two books are Very Rare, therefore very expensive to purchase IF they can be located)

Mr.. Ivanovic then changed his name to "Vane Ivanovic"

Modern Spearfishing, was published by A.S. Barnes, NYC, 1955:
Modern Spear fishing, was his last and totally revised book. It was
published by two companies;
Kaye-Ward, London, 1974
Henry Regnery &Co, NYC 1975.

LX; Memories of a Jugoslav was the last book authored by Vane Ivanovic,
which was published in the US in 1977 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ). A
435 page autobiographical account of an amazing life of adventure which
included at least three chapters related to diving; Spearfishing; page 329,
Sharks; page 333, British Virgins Islands; page 349.

Vane who was born in Yugoslavia in 1913 passed to the big reef in the sky
in 1998 in his adapted country of England.
Interesting side bar, Reg Valentine, the British diving author certified
Vane as a diver several years before his death - seems he didn't have a "C"
card and rules are rules especially in jolly old England.

It should be noted that Vane Ivanovic and Bill Jovanovich both Yugoslavs
and were known to be well acquainted.

In the 1970s under the leadership of Jovanovich as president of HBJ
continued its diversification and acquired a number of interesting
properties, including Sea World in San Diego and short time later
Marineland of the Pacific, at Portuguese bend near San Pedro.
( @MaxBottomtime -- note )

There was much controversy about the take over of Marineland which was
aging-- it had been in existence since 1954 and was then 33 years old. The
officials of HBJ assured the concerned populace all would remain the same.

With in days after acquiring title to the property the marine life was
being shipped south to Sea World and six weeks later in 1987 -31 years ago -the Marineland
as so many knew it and enjoyed was closed forever.

I always had a soft spot in my heart for Marineland. I was an early and frequent visitor

Many of the early LA County instructors were employed there from the very
top management to the medial entry level positions. I have had several
personally conducted behind the scenes tours have dove in the huge fish
tank numerous occasions as part of the LA Co UW instructor courses which I was
a component.

The biggest personal thrill associated with Marineland was when my two young
daughters Roni and Randi were "chosen" from the crowd to feed the captive
killer Whale "Bubbles" ( later renamed "Shamu" when transferred to Sea
World.) Roni's classic comment was "That fish has bad breathe" and Randi's
was "Daddy that is a big fish!

I also had a obtuse honor some what associated with Marineland. I was
contacted by Dave Hanna, the son of one of the partners in Hana Barbera
productions and owners at that time of Marineland, to privately teach him
to dive at the families' home on the beach in Laguna Beach. He was a great
gracious student and became a very good diver.

Sam Miller 111

 

[MaxBottomtime]

One particular Marineland memory was taking my niece and nephews there during the Hanna-Barbera ownership. My niece screamed when Huckleberry Hound shook her hand. She cried for ten minutes.
I began free diving there shortly after they closed. The public access to the beach was still open but it seemed that other divers didn't know that. For seven or eight years I had the place to myself. The only sign that others knew about the place was the graffiti and vandalism. Twice, the copper wiring was stolen from the Sky Tower until it finally had to be taken down. In 2006, a local club called DiveVets began making Sunday morning dives at Marineland. A newly certified diver named Merry Passage showed up there and my friend Jeff Shaw physically pushed me toward her. I was too shy to introduce myself, but she already knew who I was from my dive reports. Nearly thirteen years later we're still together diving as much as we can. Our friend Don Robarge got us an invitation to dive during a closed morning as part of the KTLA Morning News after Terranea Resort opened.