Weirdest Thing You Ever Took Underwater

[Trace Malinowski]

A 250 ft measuring tape to make a map of the blue hole in Santa Rosa.

When I was a new diver I rigged up a Camelback bladder to drink fresh water while diving. Worked ok but was kind of a pain. I just learned to deal with the dry mouth.

I know what you mean. I did underwater mapping of a quarry with my TDI instructor. He wanted to build an accurate model of Dutch Springs as a gift for the owner. We used a huge measuring tape as well. Even though tape is a common tool in underwater research, it seems like one of the weirdest things to use underwater.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

A 6ft tall inflatable Star Wars Stormtrooper.

It was even more surreal because the vis' was particularly poor on the day we put it in the water. You came around the corner of the cliff at 20m towards one of the 'exit' roots and there was this luminous stormtrooper standing there.
We put it in at the start of the first dive, and recovered it after the second dive, so it was only there for around 4 hours.

Was that at Stoney Cove by chance?

 

[Trace Malinowski]

My kilt (see profile picture )

I know an army lt. colonel who wears a kilt. I taught him tech diving. I think he needs one of those for diving.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I brought my phone underwater and noticed it when I got my DSMB at the end of the dive.

I got weird looks at the phone shop when I asked if they could do something about it. It was making slushing noise when you shook it.

Wayne at Amigos Dive Center and I had phones that cold go 10 feet underwater back in the day. We'd toss them in the fill water and I'd surf with mine tucked into my wetsuit. They were flip phones. Never took it diving though.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

My car keys. Discovered after 15 mins at 35m dangling from chest D-ring. No point in ending the dive as they were bound to be knackered.

Staggeringly, when returned back to the car thinking of the utter grief I'll be getting... Pressed the button and the car unlocked.

+1 for Subaru; keys waterproof for an hour at 35m/120ft.

-1 for the idiot diver clipping keys to rebreather chest D-ring after locking car.

I took a Ford Ranger key FOB on a trimix dive myself. Survived.

 

[Sam Miller III]

CHRISTMAS TREE
for an Underwater Christmas party

I did not personally take the tree underwater but I was part of the group that did.

The very first Underwater Christmas party

The year was about 1958 maybe 1959, i don't have an accuate recall of the exact year. It was Bob Rutherford, who was a profuse innovator of the pioneering era of diving organized the event . In Bob 1954 had previously developed the Underwater Signaling aka The "Sea Sabre Underwater Signaling System" which was adapted by by The Los Angeles County UIA , after some research by the USN , 5 years later by NAUI and ten years later by PADI and all agencies that followed He also established a a large dive shop in Orange County California , the Aquatic Center, (which is now under new ownership,)

Bob was the first from Orange County to be Certified as a LA County UIA (instructor ) & a charter member of LA County Underwater Photographic Society (UPS) ( was also LA Co number 4 in Orange County and also a Charter member of UPS)

Bob decided an Underwater Christmas s party would be unique fun event like no other ever heald Bob decided it was appropriate and fitting that members of LA Co UIA & UPS join forces for the event

We arrived on the dock with a small present and a weighted Christmas ornament
Bob was last to arrive with a tree tied to his car and boxes of tree trimmings stacked in side

Off we went for a new adventure at Catalina Island-- it was in December so a very smooth crossing the boat was anchored in a very calm cove, (possibly Emerald Bay ???) Bob and his helpers un ceremoniously tossed the tree over board and soon followed it in to the drink .

After what seemed like an eternity while setting on the deck in a hot west suit, but soon the signal was given to sluff your Christmas present , ornaments and a hand full of silver metal Christmas tinsel in your goodie bag an Giant Stride into the water and join up at the tree.

As the UPS members camera shutters clicked and movie cameras whirled we indivually and collectively swam up and down and around the tree tossing silver tinsel on the tree preparing it for our ornaments which followed, and placed our gifts at the tree base We all gathered around the tree as a diver un expectedly approached from the surface in a Santa Suit.

Santa swam swam up & down the tree and around the tree , then to each participant as if on a military SMI. He then began distributing the presents--- alto soon the first annual Underwater Christmas tree party was history...

But wait ! There's more !

A week later John Cameron Swayze, the premier news caster of that era closed his national news program with a snippet about "California divers celebrate Christmas Underwater"... and there we were on national TV decorating the tree, opening presents
having a grand time underwater.

That was the first organized event followed by many more Underwater Christmas Parties as well as underwater Easter Egg hunts and Jack O lantern carving, but none ever matched the very first one -- a fitting tribute to Bob Rutherford

And that's the way it wuzzz -- in the genesis of recreational diving



sdm

 

[texastechdiver]

Rebreather?

No was just getting used to compressed air way back when.

 

[Gene]

It's been years Trace!
Reading Sam's Christmas tree story above and thinking about Bruce Mozert's wonderful Silver Springs shots, I remembered something I photographed years ago at north Florida's 40 Fathom Grotto. An underwater NASE scuba class with desks, chairs, laptops, etc. Not sure about the wi-fi connection though...

 

[archman]

An engagement ring. I was so afraid of losing it, that the ring was tied to a string, which itself was tied off to a little baggie that the ring was inside, which the baggie in turn was stuffed into the top of my beanie hood.

It took a couple minutes just to unravel all that mess to pop the big question.

 

[stretchthepenn]

A rubber chicken.

The quarry which I used to patronize a lot has several wrecked cars down deep, and one of them is a Ford Falcon station wagon. Some wag tied a five-inch-long rubber chicken to it in years past, but the chicken got lost/buried in silt, so I decided to replace it with a bigger one that wouldn't get lost.

Accordingly, I went online and ordered a good-sized rubber chicken, about fourteen inches long. She was a handsome beastie.

I then took my rubber chicken to the quarry and, on a surface interval, commenced to rigging the chicken for her final dive. There were no good tie-off points, so I decided to run cave line through the manufacturing hole in the chicken's belly, run the line up through the chicken's mouth, tie the line into a loop, and then cut off enough line to tie the entire assembly onto the Falcon's buoy line.

Stuffing a whole bunch of cave line up into the manufacturing hole was pretty easy...but getting the loose end to drop through the chicken's mouth? Not so much. Cave line is lightweight and floppy, and that chicken had a narrow throat.

I fished around with a screwdriver for about ten minutes, getting nowhere, before I decided to ask the dive shack staff if they had any long, pointy tools that I could use. They didn't, but the cute teenage girl working the desk said, "I have small girl fingers. Let me try," and sure enough, she stuck her finger down the chicken's throat, poked around for a bit, and came up with the string.

So anyway, that's how I got a teenage girl to choke my chicken.