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A little reminiscences --Harry Vetter
HARRY VETTER
Harry who? Vetter?
A friend for 60 years, diving buddy for many of those years.
Let me tell you about Harry Vetter....
Pioneer LA county Underwater Instructor ( ever wonder why LA Co types are referred to as "Underwater Instructors" rather than SCUBA instructors? The term SCUBA was not in common usage in 1954 when LA Co was established)
Harry also has the dubious distinction of being the last of the original instructors who taught the very first NAUI Instructor's course at Houston in August 1960, all the rest are now diving on the big reef in the sky; Dr. Al Tillman, NAUI #1 Al Jones #2, Dr. Andy Rechnitzer #3 are gone- all gone. Only Harry Vetter NAUI #4 remains.
During his recent two day visit from his home in Oregon Harry indicated he had contacted NAUI HQ and chatted with a clerk about a replacement card. The clerk could not comprehend that his instructor number was 4 and could not locate his records, after all, almost a half a century had passed since 1960.
A few days after his departure I contacted Cathy Cush at NAUI. She was unaware that Harry had contacted them or that he was still alive. She was very grateful for the historical link to the past. A fast review of NAUI records indicated Harry was the "Oldest Living NAUI instructor" and I as NAUI instructor #27 was "one of the oldest living instructors." A few days ago Harry and I received a very special one of a kind NAUI instructor card in the mail. According to a note it was the first two to be issued
Lets place Harry's distinction of NAUI Instructor #4 in proper prospective...1960 was 48 years ago, most of you were not alive or if you were you were probably too young to be interested in recreational diving.
The former dive shop owner and frequent Scuba board poster Ken Kurtis who proudly and rightfully so, identifies himself as NAUI Instructor #5936. Once again placing this in proper prospective after Harry was "certified" as number NAUI 4, Ken was certified in 1980 as NAUI Instructor # 5936 , over 20 years after the establishment of NAUI and that very first ITC at Houston a total of 5,931 were certified as NAUI instructors prior to Ken.
Harry's visit produced a non stop 24X7 conversation of days, events and people of the past.
The many dives, summer and winter prior to the wet suit with only long underwear and GI sweaters for thermal protection, Churchill fins for propulsion, home made snorkels fashioned from a WW 11 gas mask hose and a piece of aquarium hose, the home made masks fashioned from a piece of fire hose ( see www portagequarry.com ; Legends of diving "The Mask")
The many trips deep into Baja for clear water teaming with game; the many fish and huge lobsters....
The time we came around a corner on the "old road" near what is known now as "La Mission" and were stopped by a huge bond fire in the middle of the road by what we thought were well armed Mexican bandits, but lucky for us they were military searching for escapees from the Ensenada jail.
The LA county and later NAUI classes we taught and the laughs we had...the 38 foot diving charter boat "Say when" (Say when are we getting there?, Say when will it stop rocking? Say when will we get back to San Pedro?)... the student who fastened his wet suit beaver tail over the railing and did a back entry and was suspended up side down....The arrogant self impressed gymnast who rather doing a "giant stride entry" attempted a hand stand entry in full gear, but for what ever reason did not let go and came crashing down on the side of the boat. Certainly got the attention of all on board and gave us cause for alarm.
The many locations we were the first to dive up and down the Baja and California coast, and the famous Farnsworth banks.
I was the President of the Sea Sabres dive club in 1959-60. The previous President Bob Ruethford, who had founded the Aquatic Center in Newport Beach, had seen hunks of purple coral (allopura California) brought in by commercial abalone divers. Over a few drinks Bob discovered they found it at a place called Farnsworth banks. Selected member of the Sea Sabres and the scientific community at Kirkoff marine institute in Corona Del Mar consequently made a number of trips to the banks on the private boat called the "Aqua Duck."
Bob, a true diving pioneer who is famous for many first in diving (see www.legendsof diving: Sea sabres signaling system) who relished publicity,published an article in Skin Diver magazine in June 1960 "California divers discover Rare purple coral' which was fine but his topside pictures clearly showed Ben Weston Point in the background. That same month Jake Jacobs the then head diver at Marine Land of the Pacific published "Marine land diver" (--Dodd, Meade & company NYC, LCC 60-9655 --I have an inscribed copy) in which Jake also discusses the purple coral of Farnsworth -- So the secret of Farnsworth was out.
As the president of the then undisputed most active dive club in all of SoCal and possibly the US I made the decision to dive " Farnsworth banks". I contacted the dive boat captains at that time, all refused to charter to Farnsworth as if it was some foreign or strange exotic place. Finally Dick Peters, who owned the newest dive charter boat of the fleet, the 42 foot "Out Rider " agreed to a charter at $7.00 per person but with the stipulation "only in the winter when there is no boats fishing there and the water will be calm" (FYI the Outrider sunk about 1967 when returning from a trip to Catalina)
In early December 1960 we loaded the boat. It had no compressor - as many as three- four or even five tanks per person was stashed all over the boat. The water was like glass and the trip over and back was like riding on silk.
Using Ben Weston Point as a reference and relying on the recently developed depth finder Captain Peters made numerous runs in all directions across the banks trying to locate a pinnacle.
Finally a suitable pinnacle was located and the anchor was dropped--right in the middle of a school of welcoming sharks. "The are only blues, lets dive! " some one shouted. With only a nano second of hesitation on that bright sunny day in December 1960, Ed Mossbrooke (who now lives in Fountain Valley) became the first recreational diver to dive the Banks from a charter boat, immediately followed by the rest of the divers.
I was using the then very popular "Orange County twin 44s." Harry was using surplus USN single aluminum 90s, the others were using every thing from a single 70 to twin 72s. All breathed from a variety of double hose regulators, most used the recently introduced wet suits which were home made, although the SPG had been introduced it was considered unreliable and was seldom used, and of course floatation devices were still fifteen years in the future. At that time we were diving with the state of the art equipment but today we would be considered "antique, retro or old school."
It was a different world at that time with no thought for the future or the conservation of the precious natural resources. We came for hunks of the famous purple coral of Farnsworth banks and we harvested hunks of purple coral. In addition most harvested a limit of ten scallops, and the then limit of ten bugs, with Harry getting the largest at 13+ pounds. I some how in my four dives that day managed also to spear a rather large fish, which because we were not equipped for large fish took some doing to horse it on the boat.
All too soon it was all over, the divers began returning to the Outrider, storing their equipment, game and hunks of purple coral. All that is but, Norma lee Smith who decided to decompress on the bow line and attracted every curious and hopefully not hungry shark from miles around investigate this morsel. Norma's only defense was to exhale copious amount of rapidly diminishing supply of air. She slowly with great caution made her way to the stern of the boat where she rapidly ascended thrust out her hands and was unceremoniously but also rapidly pulled over the gunnel onto the deck of the Outrider...So ended the first recreational dive trip to Farnsworth.
So many stories...
but then who is concerned about the way we were?
or how we got to where we are?
HARRY VETTER
Harry who? Vetter?
A friend for 60 years, diving buddy for many of those years.
Let me tell you about Harry Vetter....
Pioneer LA county Underwater Instructor ( ever wonder why LA Co types are referred to as "Underwater Instructors" rather than SCUBA instructors? The term SCUBA was not in common usage in 1954 when LA Co was established)
Harry also has the dubious distinction of being the last of the original instructors who taught the very first NAUI Instructor's course at Houston in August 1960, all the rest are now diving on the big reef in the sky; Dr. Al Tillman, NAUI #1 Al Jones #2, Dr. Andy Rechnitzer #3 are gone- all gone. Only Harry Vetter NAUI #4 remains.
During his recent two day visit from his home in Oregon Harry indicated he had contacted NAUI HQ and chatted with a clerk about a replacement card. The clerk could not comprehend that his instructor number was 4 and could not locate his records, after all, almost a half a century had passed since 1960.
A few days after his departure I contacted Cathy Cush at NAUI. She was unaware that Harry had contacted them or that he was still alive. She was very grateful for the historical link to the past. A fast review of NAUI records indicated Harry was the "Oldest Living NAUI instructor" and I as NAUI instructor #27 was "one of the oldest living instructors." A few days ago Harry and I received a very special one of a kind NAUI instructor card in the mail. According to a note it was the first two to be issued
Lets place Harry's distinction of NAUI Instructor #4 in proper prospective...1960 was 48 years ago, most of you were not alive or if you were you were probably too young to be interested in recreational diving.
The former dive shop owner and frequent Scuba board poster Ken Kurtis who proudly and rightfully so, identifies himself as NAUI Instructor #5936. Once again placing this in proper prospective after Harry was "certified" as number NAUI 4, Ken was certified in 1980 as NAUI Instructor # 5936 , over 20 years after the establishment of NAUI and that very first ITC at Houston a total of 5,931 were certified as NAUI instructors prior to Ken.
Harry's visit produced a non stop 24X7 conversation of days, events and people of the past.
The many dives, summer and winter prior to the wet suit with only long underwear and GI sweaters for thermal protection, Churchill fins for propulsion, home made snorkels fashioned from a WW 11 gas mask hose and a piece of aquarium hose, the home made masks fashioned from a piece of fire hose ( see www portagequarry.com ; Legends of diving "The Mask")
The many trips deep into Baja for clear water teaming with game; the many fish and huge lobsters....
The time we came around a corner on the "old road" near what is known now as "La Mission" and were stopped by a huge bond fire in the middle of the road by what we thought were well armed Mexican bandits, but lucky for us they were military searching for escapees from the Ensenada jail.
The LA county and later NAUI classes we taught and the laughs we had...the 38 foot diving charter boat "Say when" (Say when are we getting there?, Say when will it stop rocking? Say when will we get back to San Pedro?)... the student who fastened his wet suit beaver tail over the railing and did a back entry and was suspended up side down....The arrogant self impressed gymnast who rather doing a "giant stride entry" attempted a hand stand entry in full gear, but for what ever reason did not let go and came crashing down on the side of the boat. Certainly got the attention of all on board and gave us cause for alarm.
The many locations we were the first to dive up and down the Baja and California coast, and the famous Farnsworth banks.
I was the President of the Sea Sabres dive club in 1959-60. The previous President Bob Ruethford, who had founded the Aquatic Center in Newport Beach, had seen hunks of purple coral (allopura California) brought in by commercial abalone divers. Over a few drinks Bob discovered they found it at a place called Farnsworth banks. Selected member of the Sea Sabres and the scientific community at Kirkoff marine institute in Corona Del Mar consequently made a number of trips to the banks on the private boat called the "Aqua Duck."
Bob, a true diving pioneer who is famous for many first in diving (see www.legendsof diving: Sea sabres signaling system) who relished publicity,published an article in Skin Diver magazine in June 1960 "California divers discover Rare purple coral' which was fine but his topside pictures clearly showed Ben Weston Point in the background. That same month Jake Jacobs the then head diver at Marine Land of the Pacific published "Marine land diver" (--Dodd, Meade & company NYC, LCC 60-9655 --I have an inscribed copy) in which Jake also discusses the purple coral of Farnsworth -- So the secret of Farnsworth was out.
As the president of the then undisputed most active dive club in all of SoCal and possibly the US I made the decision to dive " Farnsworth banks". I contacted the dive boat captains at that time, all refused to charter to Farnsworth as if it was some foreign or strange exotic place. Finally Dick Peters, who owned the newest dive charter boat of the fleet, the 42 foot "Out Rider " agreed to a charter at $7.00 per person but with the stipulation "only in the winter when there is no boats fishing there and the water will be calm" (FYI the Outrider sunk about 1967 when returning from a trip to Catalina)
In early December 1960 we loaded the boat. It had no compressor - as many as three- four or even five tanks per person was stashed all over the boat. The water was like glass and the trip over and back was like riding on silk.
Using Ben Weston Point as a reference and relying on the recently developed depth finder Captain Peters made numerous runs in all directions across the banks trying to locate a pinnacle.
Finally a suitable pinnacle was located and the anchor was dropped--right in the middle of a school of welcoming sharks. "The are only blues, lets dive! " some one shouted. With only a nano second of hesitation on that bright sunny day in December 1960, Ed Mossbrooke (who now lives in Fountain Valley) became the first recreational diver to dive the Banks from a charter boat, immediately followed by the rest of the divers.
I was using the then very popular "Orange County twin 44s." Harry was using surplus USN single aluminum 90s, the others were using every thing from a single 70 to twin 72s. All breathed from a variety of double hose regulators, most used the recently introduced wet suits which were home made, although the SPG had been introduced it was considered unreliable and was seldom used, and of course floatation devices were still fifteen years in the future. At that time we were diving with the state of the art equipment but today we would be considered "antique, retro or old school."
It was a different world at that time with no thought for the future or the conservation of the precious natural resources. We came for hunks of the famous purple coral of Farnsworth banks and we harvested hunks of purple coral. In addition most harvested a limit of ten scallops, and the then limit of ten bugs, with Harry getting the largest at 13+ pounds. I some how in my four dives that day managed also to spear a rather large fish, which because we were not equipped for large fish took some doing to horse it on the boat.
All too soon it was all over, the divers began returning to the Outrider, storing their equipment, game and hunks of purple coral. All that is but, Norma lee Smith who decided to decompress on the bow line and attracted every curious and hopefully not hungry shark from miles around investigate this morsel. Norma's only defense was to exhale copious amount of rapidly diminishing supply of air. She slowly with great caution made her way to the stern of the boat where she rapidly ascended thrust out her hands and was unceremoniously but also rapidly pulled over the gunnel onto the deck of the Outrider...So ended the first recreational dive trip to Farnsworth.
So many stories...
but then who is concerned about the way we were?
or how we got to where we are?
