What do you really need to dive? JYC shows the way

[CT-Rich]

I was toodling on Youtube the other day and came across one of the reasons I became interested in diving. It was a 1971 episode of The Undersea World of JYC. They are exploring Truk Lagoon before it became a diving mecca.

I thought new divers might find it interesting to see what the tricked out diver was using in 1971. JYC is seen going into the water with a single tank, no watch, no gauges, no bcd, and no pony. I was looking at the shells they were using over their twin tanks. My guess is they had battery packs for their helmet lights. But when you are listening to all the advise about things you need to get started, take a moment to set some priorities.

A lot of the stuff they do on the wrecks would be considered no-no's today, but they were making up the rules as they went.

[video=youtube;vYo-j3fpkLo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYo-j3fpkLo[/video]

 

[ScubaGypsy]

Thanx for sharing!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I enjoyed that.
Yeah, a lot of the stuff done back then was considered a no no by today's standards. touching stuff, turning stuff over, moving stuff. But back then they were the pioneers and some of the first there. They were explorers and the outlook was different, just like hacking their way through the jungle.
I also noticed the diving styles of that day. Jacques is seen diving stripped down, typical of the day, and I saw some hand swimming to maneuver, also typical of the day. I also saw a lot of pulling and gliding, and inline body positioning...again, typical of the day. Besides he was Jacques Cousteau, he was the man. Who would have been there to tell the guy who started it all any different?
One thing I thought about regarding Jacques and his gear. He seemed to have pretty good buoyancy control considering the lack of "essential gear" as is commonly mandated these days. I've seen modern divers with all the fancy gear that were a mess compared.

A group of tech divers now on those wrecks would look entirely different.

 

[Searcaigh]

Really enjoyed that thanks CT, been a while since I watched a Cousteau episode and could not help thinking about the satiric version done by Bill Murray aka Steve Zissou. In fact the commentary on Cousteau's films is rather corny to be honest

It must have been amazing to dive these wrecks back then in the 70s though, but I would rather do that on trimix and having the safety of stage tanks for deco than only having air to breath.

 

[CT-Rich]

My favorite part was when then were hauling up trophy dishes and calling them "artifacts for further research..." I thought that was pretty funny.

The diving deep air was pretty hairy. I loved how "he has a watch on one wrist and a depth gauge on the other...." and they were reading the navy tables. Compare that to what your average wreck diver would be dragging along. but they were having to drag along power cables for a camera light and a 35 mm movie camera.

JYC was pretty famous for his hyperbolic narration, but that was a freaking dangerous dive. Imaging being inside a wreck on air and narc'd out of your gourd and coming across that bone yard. But that was pretty much the set up for those types of dives for years to come.

 

[Searcaigh]

and "at 240ft we discover the effects of nitrogen narcosis, or raptures of the deep as it is known"

 

[Storker]

and "at 240ft we discover the effects of nitrogen narcosis, or raptures of the deep as it is known"

"We discover". At 240'. Well... :amazed:

I am a great fan of JYC. When I was in my early teens I devoured his books, and I'm pretty convinced that he bears a lot of the responsibility for me being infatuated with diving and finally getting around to taking my scuba cert in middle age. However, even then some of their practices scared the crap out of me. I don't remember the name of the guy, but one of his closest coworkers perished during an experiment with progressively deeper dives - on air, of course - and the last sign they had of him was a completely illegible scrawl on one of the slates they had put on the line going down in the deep. Even today I can remember looking at the picture of that slate and thinking abut how disabled a grown man had to be to even be unable to write his own name. I also remember the story of how one in his team had to spend the afternoon in the small portable chamber they had aboard Calypso while the rest of the gang were indulging in the lobsters the poor guy had brought up. Plus, of course, wine. And just as naturally, they did that in plain view of the poor sucker who could only stare longingly out of the small windows in the chamber. A type of humor I'm a bit partial to myself, I have to admit...

On the one hand, he was one of the inventors of the modern scuba regulator, and he did groundbreaking work creating interest in the underwater world and marine conservation. He was a pioneer and a PR genius. On the other hand, he was a child of his time and didn't think twice about dynamiting reefs to gain access with Calypso, "harvesting" fish with explosives or going on a killing spree when they didn't approve of the natural hunting behavior of sharks. He was an extremely important person for our sport, a monolith, but quite a few of his practices were... not quite the same as we would condone today.

I'm still fascinated abut the term "rapture of the deep" (l'ivresse des grandes profondeurs), though. It's a great line. It's so much more descriptive than the rather clinical "nitrogen narcosis". It shuld have been translated as "rapture of the great deeps", which is even more poetic and AFAIU a more precise translation.

 

[markmud]

Hi CT-Rich,

You wrote, in part: "I thought new divers might find it interesting to see what the tricked out diver was using in 1971. JYC is seen going into the water with a single tank, no watch, no gauges, no bcd, and no pony."

I did focus on the gear as you suggested. I also noticed their technique. They were dealing with buoyancy issues. I am glad I have a BCD. They were/are good divers. Much better than I. To dive like that with the gear that they used would be difficult. They had to be in excellent physical condition and have great lung capacity.

thanks,

markm

 

[Rich Keller]

The diving deep air was pretty hairy. I loved how "he has a watch on one wrist and a depth gauge on the other...." and they were reading the navy tables. Compare that to what your average wreck diver would be dragging along. but they were having to drag along power cables for a camera light and a 35 mm movie camera.

They were not just reading the Navy tables, they were memorizing them for that dive. Computers and even waterproof tables had not been invented at the time. Along with much of the equipment that you think you can't dive without today. The biggest difference between now and then though was the training. We were trained to be self reliant vs today you are trained to be equipment reliant. Thats fine as long as the equipment keeps working but if there is a problem most have no clue what to do next. You shouldn't be in a position where if your battery dies then you die shortly after because you are too dependent on the equipment and have no idea what to do when it fails. The usual response to this scenario today is to buy more equipment to back up the other equipment but you are just doubling down on a bad hand.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The other thing I noticed, is how slender and fit those guys were.
I know they're French, and Europeans tends to be slimmer and fitter than Americans. But it seems that's changing around the world including having affects in other countries now, it's not just a US problem anymore.
These days on any charter boat you'd see a deck filled with fat out of shape pigs compared to those days.
I wonder what the difference could have been besides excessive glutony and processed foods?
Go sit in any mall in the US for a while and note how many grossly overweight people you see, it's absolutely disgusting.