A SO CAL dive history question?

[Sam Miller III]

"Recreational scuba diving was born in Southern California and the Underwater Sports Shop was one of the first dive shops in the country. Originally located at 5914 Second Street, Long Beach, it graced the cover of Skin Diver magazine’s February 1956 issue. In 1957
proprietor Bill Hogan moved his store to the foot of the then newly-rebuilt Belmont Shore Pier where our shop remains to this day.

Bill Hogan sold the shop to a man named Sam Lecocq - a former colleague of diving pioneer Jacques Cousteau. Sam held many early SCUBA patents, among them the aluminum scuba cylinder and the “WaterLung” – the first single-hose regulator. During this period (circa 1962), the father of one of the current owners was certified in this shop’s very same pool.

Tom Murray, the next owner, changed the name to Pacific Sporting Goods and owned the shop for the next 31 years. Tom made his mark in the freediving and hunting community and became known as one of the most knowledgeable repair technicians around.

Now know as Deep Blue Scuba and Swim Center, in the Aquatic Captial of the world, Long Beach California

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I do not know where you gleaned this information BUT there are many inaccuracies in your post.

SDM

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

1. Mako ( I can't remember what it was called prior to that and this is just a semi-educated guess)

2. SD

3. Wally Potts??


On a side note I love all of Sam's history posts and am glad to have him here as he has been a wealth of information as I learn more about diving.

 

[muzikbiz22]

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I do not know where you gleaned this information BUT there are many inaccuracies in your post.

SDM

 

[Sam Miller III]

I do not know how the SDM picture answers the question...where did you obtain your information which for the most part is inaccurate .

FYI Ron Church one of the all time great Photographers - Underwater Photographers took the picture when he was just beginning his career and sold it to SDM. Ron and I were friends - I was active in UW photography. I was a charter member of LA Co UW Photographic society and was a founder of "O CUPS" in 1960s . Sadly Ron's life was cut short, he passed away of a brain tumor about 45 years ago. Ron's wife Shirley and I remain in touch by infrequent e mails.

Fast forward 30 years -- Tom had purchased the store.

We were both members of the Long Beach Neptune's Spear fishing club ( spear fishing ? Oh the horror of it all !) At one meeting we were chatting and I mentioned I had a mint SDM that Ron photographed of the original store front , if he would like it I would bring it to the next meeting and give it to him, which I did. I would suggest that you may want to contact Tom for verification-- I would also suggest that the owner protect the almost 60 year old SDM .. they are becoming increasingly rare and therefore valuable.

<< FYI I was also on cover of SDM, published articles and was given the honor of being the very first Guest editor of SDM I wrote about a dive accident involving a diver displaying the Red and white divers flag which I had defended in a court of law which established the rights and privileges of a diver displaying a divers flag ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PERSONAL LIBARAY...
The listing that follows is a partial from my personal collection which is recognized by the world's serious diving bibliophiles as one of the most complete private recreational collection of diving books and periodicals in the world. Perhaps it will provide some insight as to what is-or was available
A complete bound set of "Skin Diver" magazine (1951 to it's demise) including every diving equipment catalog published to 1990 and all the International Underwater Film Festival programs. This is the only set of its kind in existence any where in the world.

A collection of Skin diver magazine covers inscribed to me by Art Pender, (1954) Ron Merker (1955) Bev Morgan (1961) Jack Prodanovich (1953)Wally Potts (1957) and numerous others. Also movie stars Lloyd Bridges and Tony Francioso, Singer ,John GaryAll of artist John Steel SDM covers have been inscribed to me (I also own several of his paintings and a number of his prints)

Complete bound sets of “Dive”, “NDA News”, American Scuba Diver”, Aquarius”, "Water World", "Underwater", "Fathom", "Sport Diving”, "Underwater Photographer",” California Diver,” “ Pacific Diver”, “SCUBA PRO Diving and Snorkeling”, “Diving and Snorkeling Quarterly” “Ocean Realm”, all of which are no longer published. Maintain and bind current sets of “Dive Training”, “Sport Diver”, Historical Diver” (USA), “Historical Diving Times” (UK), and “HDS Notizie” (Italy).The only known complete set of “Pacific and Atlantic Underwater News”, published from 1966 to 1971. It was the first newspaper devoted entirely to the underwater world. Appeared in numerous issues of this publication.

The largest and most complete set of civilian dive training manuals beginning with the Spaco manual of 1949 to about 1990.All the USN diving manuals beginning with the original 1905 "Manual for Divers" to the conversion to electronic format

I have published approximately two hundred articles on sport diving in the NAUI News, Los Angeles County Underwater News, Skin Diver, Dive, Discover Diving, Aqua Corps, Historical Diver, Arizona Diving News, Southwest Diver Magazines, Historical Diving Times (UK), Free Diving and Spear Fishing News (Australia).From June 1999 to August 2002 I wrote a twice-monthly column “Dive Bubbles” for the five cities Times Press Recorder newspaper. It is reported that this column was the first and only regularly scheduled diving newspaper column in California and possibly the United States

August 1960 appeared on the front cover of Skin Diver Magazine February 1966, selected, featured and honored as the first guest editor of Skin Diver magazine.

Fall, 1988 issue I was featured as a Celebrity Seafood Chef Scuba Pro Diving and Snorkeling.

I have collected and maintain an extensive 2000 plus volume diving library, the majority of which are rare out of print books. Many have been personally inscribed by the authors who were also friends and diving companions,in addition to being noted diving authorities; Bill Royal, John Reseck Jr., James Dugan, Clint Degn, John D. Craig, (2) Dick Schroeder, two (2) Eugenie Clark, two (2) by Bill Barada & Lloyd Bridges, two (2) by Dr. Terry Mass, two (2) by Francis "Doug" Fane and (4) F. M. Roberts, (4) Dr.Bruce Halstead,(6) six by Sir Arthur Clarke, six (six) by Dr. Hans Hass, five (5) by Lotte Hass, seven (7) by Clive Cussler and seven (7) by J.Y. Cousteau, and many more long forgotten diving authors.

I also maintain a number of extensive historic files.
The dive flag; it's history, development, subsequent litigations and finally world wide acceptance
The American retailer, Sears, Penny's and Wards early involvement in the diving industry

Guy Gilpatric, his books and his life and death.

In May 1996 I organized and hosted the very first US diving bibliophile meeting. It was attended by diving bibliophiles from the western US and via telephone from throughout the US.

Upon my demise the entire collection with be inherited by my son Dr. Sam IV, who is an inactive member of the Long Beach Neptunes, a NAUI (life) & PADI instructor, Pro 5000 and an ER & Hyperbaric doctor.
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sdm

 

[Sam Miller III]

1. Mako ( I can't remember what it was called prior to that and this is just a semi-educated guess)

2. SD

3. Wally Potts??


On a side note I love all of Sam's history posts and am glad to have him here as he has been a wealth of information as I learn more about diving.

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Thank you for your kind comments -- So many think they had to wait for God to fill up the oceans before they could dive!

1) Mako was products produced by the great Jordan Klien in Florida -- he was late in the game -- He gained fame for his unique vehicles that appeared in the James Bond movies . We have not exchanged e mails for several years

2) SD had the very first Spear fishing club - formed in 1932, called the Bottom Scratchers which was limited to about 20 members total . Only one of the remains and he is in a convalescent home in OC.

SD can be considered the birth place of diving in the US. In Europe there was a tribe led by the great American author Guy Gilpatric who wrote the classic book "The Compleat Goggler" in 1939

3) The late great Wally Potts was known for being a very active member of the Bottom Scratchers and designing and developing and selling his 1939 gun known as the Bottom Scratcher or Potts Gun or in the far north The Hoss/Potts , the Potts/Hoss or the Hoss gun

fyi



I didn't build it ...but it was a DIY garage built gun..
My all time favorite spear gun is a "Bottom Scratcher." It was designed/developed in 1939 by Wally Potts and perfected by the Bottom Scratcher spear fishing club of San Diego, California. It is the original California long gun, constructed of by the joining of a simple tube SS handle containing a one piece trigger to a 1&1/4 inch dowel barrel, and a long balance bar that was either made of wood or SS.

In the very early days if spear fishing around 1950 Wally sold a Bottom Scratcher gun to Paul Hoss a member of the Dolphins spear fishing club which had won the very first spear fishing meet in Laguna Beach in the Summer of 1950. When he sold it to Paul who lived in a suburb of LA, Jack Prodanovich is reported to have said to Wally that "Selling a gun up north was like selling guns to the Yankees." And he was correct.

Paul disassembled the gun did some modifications that improved the trigger pull and began producing a very close copy affectionately became known as the "Hoss gun" by the "Yankees" of Los Angeles and Orange County. The Hoss copy was cosmetically and functionally identical in every respect except for the Sturgil muzzle which was the muzzle of choice for all guns used by serious Yankee spear fishermen.

The guns which were made by Wally and Paul were all custom made therefore no two were exactly identical. It was reported substantially less than 100 were made in a 30 plus year period by Wally and some where between 20 and 30 by Paul in about a 10 year period. Needless to say they were difficult to obtain and are now scarce and highly prised by those who own them, or collectors of diving memorabilia.

Known through out the spear fishing fraternity as the "California long gun" and on occasion the "Long Tom," they were made for long shots at big fish in then the clear unpolluted waters of SoCal.
I was fortunate to have ended up with two. My own personal custom gun and a friend's who after being chased out of the water by a shark decided that spear fishing was not for him, so he sold it to me a half what a bare unrigged new one costs -$20.00.

My guns measure 7 foot 9 inches plus the point which can have many configurations and lengths adding as much as a foot if the Prodanovich point impact aka power head was used. It has a sling pull of 4 foot 8 inches and the 5/16 diameter SS arrow rides on the first rails to be installed on a spear gun. It has a balance bar that extends approximately 15 inches behind the trigger mechanism.

It was made during the era of the kettle cured rubber. I can't recall when surgical rubber for spear gun slings became popular but I think in the mid 1950s. I used 28 or less inches of surgical tubing for power when it became popular and readily available. I do vividly recall the first time I test fired it at Ships Rock off Catalina using the then new surgical slings...the arabelete type slide ring exploded totally disintegrated ! The arrow went flying in to the blue water never to be seen again by man--or at least me...so slide rings from aerospace material was custom made. A number of years later Joe La Monica who developed the Voit/ Mares/JBL gun began producing a very strong SS slide ring which I modified and converted my guns to use
.
My first and my favorite gun has a custom (aka home made) "San Diego" style "dump pack" constructed from a piece of SS sheet, a SS Piano hinge, several lengths of WW 11 webbing and a SS rod as the release pin. The dump pack contained 200 feet of yellow 1/8 Polypropylene line fan folded into small bunches secured by two pieces of a bicycle inner tube (they won't rot) terminating with a small WW11 water purification bag modified into an automatic Co2 inflation float. It has a 15 inch SS balance bar

Gun number two is equipped with a huge six inch "Riffes Reel," produced and marketed about 40 years ago by a now defunct San Diego company by the name of Aquacraft. The reel holds about a jillione miles of hard lay tuna trolling nylon line. I can not recall how much it holds and I have never been reeled there fore cannot accurately state with any reasonable amount of certainty the amount of line on the Riffe's reel but it is a lot! It originally came equipped with a 15 inch balance bar, which the former owner trimmed to eight inches. I found this too short and extended it to it's original length of 15 inches by the addition of a piece of 1 &1/4 wood dowel.

Do I still use the guns? Heck no, especially when one Bottom Scratcher/Hoss gun sold on E bay several years ago for $2500.00 plus dollars.
I do have several custom wood guns I made about 30 or more years ago that I currently use, but another story for another time.
But-- I still have wonderful memories of the Bottom Scratcher and years gone by.
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I feel like Marie13 in reverse-- rather than asking I am replying

I suspect it is needed and an eye opener for many

SDM

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

@sam miller I knew I wasn't right but I had to at least give it a shot because I have been a huge fan of your posts on here way back when I was a mere lurker.

I feel like I was just in presence of royalty so thank you for entertaining me and please keep up the very informative posts about the history of diving with a focus on SoCal diving.

I am looking forward to seeing if anyone gets this right and what the correct answers are for these questions.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Thank you again for your kind and encouraging comments

I would suspect since all the hard hitters have posted that the question will go unanswered. They are now off to new threads expounding their expertise for the masses.
However stay tuned ..I may need to reply to muzikbiz22 and provide the facts for his revisionist post'

Fyi -- I was the 2- 3 or4th LA Co UW instructor in OC---way before NAUI and 20 or more years prior to the PADI tribe. I had began my diving via googles, finally Churchill's and eventually a Barada a snorkel.. Charlie Sturgil made me a supper Mask out of a fire hose - I recall posting that somewhere - I believe on Marie13 unending search for a mask that didn't leak. Apparently divers no longer know how to clear their masks.

May I suggest if you enjoy history that you visit www.portagequarry.com legendsofdiving . the site contains a number of bios and hopefully for you some interesting historical articles.

One that maybe of particular interest is "OC did you know" ( I recall that is the tile ) by yours truly about OC being the very ground center of recreational diving .

You might also be interested in googling my name plus diver or plus SCUBA . Some tell me it is interesting reading

Good luck and thanks again for you continuing interest
SDM

By the way Captain Pat Smith will be speaking tonight at the LB Aquarium --Now there is a true marine historian !

 

[muzikbiz22]

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I do not know where you gleaned this information BUT there are many inaccuracies in your post.

SDM

Most of the info was pulled of the website of the shop. I mistakenly referred to Long Beach as the Aquatic Capital of the World, and should have been "of the US". All in all, it's just my attempt at Sam Miller Scuba Jeopardy here I appreciate all the details you provide !

 

[Sam Miller III]

Hombre,
( you are in Kalifornia now not Dayton Ohio)
I located "The Mask" article . This was first printed in my dedicated column "The way it was" in the now defunct national dive magazine Discover diving about 25 or so years ago. It was indeed the way it was ...if a tool didn't exist we made it .: if it cost over a dollar we made it...the genesis of diving ...the days of injunity

For your dive reading-- and a little "the way it was..."

'The Mask,
One of the great pioneer divers of all times was the late Charlie Sturgil. "The Old Walrus," as he was affectionately known, started his diving career in 1929 in the frigid waters off Northern California where he hunted for abalone by a method he described as "feeling for abalone." He would dive on a reef, feel until he found an abalone and pry it off, without the use of mask, fins, snorkel or thermal protection.
Charlie began diving with a mask using a Japanese mask in the late 1930s which was loaned to him by his good friend Bill O'Conner. A few years later after the end of WW 11, Charlie, a master tool and die maker and an inventor of sorts, developed the necessary tooling to produce masks on a semi-custom basis for himself and a few close friends. I consider myself very fortunate to have been included in the latter category.
In early years during the genesis of recreational diving the masks were either too large, too small, too stiff or after a few dives, would rapidly deteriorate into a gummy, sticky mess. This did not make for comfortable diving! After using a number of the masks of that era,the Japanese imports, and the American made Sea Net, I decided it was time to contact Charlie to ask him if he could make one of his custom masks for me.
After checking my meager finances, found I could possibly afford one of Charlie's masks, so I gave him a call. "Sure, Sammy, I'd be happy to make a mask for you, come on over", Charlie replied to my request. Within moments I was off to the temple of Southern California diving, Charlie Sturgil's garage.
I was met by this jovial hunk of a man with his infectious, ever-present smile. "Hey ya, Sammy" was always his cordial greeting. Alter a few moments of catching up on the diving scene it, was time to get to work. "Sammy, I'm now making two masks; the original for $6.00 and a new oval model for $8.00", Charlie explained. After considerable soul searching and penny counting, I opted for what I felt I could afford, the original round mask for $6.00.
Now, Charlie's garage was something to behold. It appeared to be in total disarray, and the best way to describe it would be the day after a big sale in a bargain basement. Diving equipment in various stages of repairs, pieces of metal, lengths of stainless rods scattered about... Omnipresent was the huge metal turret lathe and miscellaneous metal working machines. But to Charlie, it was his arena, it was where he excelled in turning these seemingly scrap pieces of metal into custom spear points, spear shafts, yes, even masks.
Charlie knew the location, size, shape and type of everything in his garage. His storage system was logical and certainly workable, but it still defies the imagination how he managed to find anything, let alone make anything, but he did.
Charlie went to work with the speed and skill of a emergency room surgeon. He immediately uncovered a length of 5 inch O.D. soft rubber World War 11, surplus firehose, from which he cut a 4 inch piece. He placed the piece of rubber hose in the wooden mold and proceeded to his trusty bench grinder where he slowly cut a 1/8 inch wide, 3/32 deep groove all around the edge for the glass. This was followed by the rough contouring for the forehead, cheeks, and upper lip. He then went to his metal rack and withdrew a piece of 3/4 x 16 inch 22 gauge stainless steel, which he placed in his specially constructed mold and carefully, yet skillfully, forced the stainless steel around the mold forming it into a familiar round mask shape. His next step was to form the band evenly and smoothly around the mold creating the lip for the compression hand with light rapid laps of a hammer. Using silver solder, the welding process of the era, he soldered the tabs for the strap and the compression screw tabs to complete the band. A piece of pre-cut 1/3 inch glass, the same kind used for window glass, was taken from the shelf and fit into the groove; the compression band placed around the mask and the compression screw tightened.
At last, the mask was assembled. My own custom Sturgil mask! Charlie proceeded to take some cursory measurements of my then youthful face, and returned to the grinding wheel, skillfully grinding a little here, a little there, another trial fit, a little more grinding. Finally, a perfect fit. A final hand finish with fine sandpaper, attaching of the strap, cut from a truck inner tube, and I was the proud possessor of a real genuine Charlie Sturgil Original Style Diving Mask.
This occurred many years ago when diving as well as life was much simpler, a time when pride in workmanship and ownership were at a premium. Charlie made almost 40 of these one of a kind custom dive masks, however only three are known to have survived the rigors of our disposable society, mine, Alex Pierce's of Toronto, Canada and Charlie's widow's Laura's mask which now on loan and rests in a Southern California museum. And indeed they are museum pieces... the three remaining masks are all almost sixty five years old and represent an era which was experienced by only a precious few which will never be experienced again upon this earth.
Charlie has reverend position in the fraternity of diving pioneers; he won the world's second Spearfishing contest in 1950 with a pole spear, was a LA County Underwater Instructor and serendipity developed much of the spearfishing and SCUBA equipment which has become mainstream in todays diving.
I will never forget Charlie, nor will anyone who ever knew him.... nor will there ever be another mask like a Sturgil Mask.
Dr Samuel Miller,111
(Copyright Dr. Samuel Miller,111 & Dr. Samuel Miller,IV and Lee/CCnews/TPR; may not be used with out permission of author and Lee/CCnews)
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post script;
Charlie passed on November 15 1984, 29 years ago- long before many of you were born or were engaged in this noble activity. His devoted wife Laura passed on a few years ago at the age of 90. If Charlie knew you and liked you he always addressed you in the familiar; Ie Sammy, Bobbie, Jimmie,--Those he didn't have great admiration or didn't know well it was formal Sam, Bob or Jim.
A little about Charlie Sturgil...
Charlie along with team mates the late Bud Abernathy and Freddie Kittles of the SoCal Skin Divers team won the 1951 International Spearfishing meet. Bud and Freddie used a Sturgil modified Champion Arabletes with Sturgil points. Charlie used his trusty legendary pole spear. Charlie Sturgil was the only person in the history of spearfishing competition to win an international meet with a pole spear.
The Fathomiers spearfishing club has been presenting the "Charlie Sturgil Pole Spear Spearfishing meet" for about 30 years...It came full circle when Charlie's grand daughter, Laura Lee Gonta won the meet several years ago using one of grandfather Charlie's legendary pole spears.
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There were only 40 mask made and only 40 who were privileged to dive with one-- I am the only survivor of that privileged tribe...only three mask remain...
Mine only because I have keep it stored in a 50 Cal Ammo box all these years.
One sold 10 years ago for $1500.00--now ?
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SDM

 

[Sam Miller III]

Most of the info was pulled of the website of the shop. I mistakenly referred to Long Beach as the Aquatic Capital of the World, and should have been "of the US". All in all, it's just my attempt at Sam Miller Scuba Jeopardy here I appreciate all the details you provide !

Are YOU interested in a item by item revision of your shops web site ?

There are so many inaccuracies, so much omitted, it is almost like reading a fairy tale ...once upon a time ..

SDM