Sunken Dreams/Sunken Graves

[covediver]

I recently purchased and finished reading two novels by Otto Gasser. The first is Sunken Dreams. The second is Sunken Graves. Both were published in 2004. I am not sure how these managed to stay off my radar screen as long as they did, as I am constantly culling for books on the Channel Islands.

Both novels center on the life of Vietnam vet, beach bum, philosopher and dive instructor Bobby Wright, a 50-something diver with an island capable Radon. For some unfathomable reason, women of a certain age (much less than his) find their way through diving into Bobby's life as love interests.

The first novel describes the discovery of a family treasure of gold coins from the Winfield Scott, a paddle wheel steamer that went aground on Anacapa Island in 1854. The second deals with the salvage of silver from an unidentified vessel off of Point Honda, the same location where seven Navy destroyers ran agount in 1923. The first novel involves sharks of a two-legged genus, the second involves a great white that guards the treasure and a few more of the two-legged genus.

The stories are entertaining and plausible. What stands out is the descriptions that the author has of people and places along the Santa Barbara Channel from Ventura to Point Conception and points north. The people seem like people I knew in the area involved in the diving, each a combination of nobility and sculdugery. The characters seem an amalgum of dive instructors, fisher folk and students. His descriptons of the locales are familiar and accurate enough to bring back many memories of a place I called home and dived for many years.

Definitely two novels worth reading.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Frank Wilbur Otto Gasser Jr; "Otto Gasser" Also known in certain circles of the diving world as "Ot- a- Gas"
And by his former students at Cal Poly Pomona "Dr.Gasser." Now by diving bibliophiles as simply "Otto Gasser."

I recall that Otto was introduced to the underwater world in 1963 via an LA County Skin and SCUBA diving course especially designed for UCLA students and UCLA personnel taught by the late Karl Francis (Karl had a horrible automobile accident a few months after the course that left him wheel chair bound.)

After completing the required number of dives and a diving internship under Dr Glen Egstrom Otto applied and was accepted into the LA County Program. Otto graduated from the prestigious and very demanding LA County Under Water Instructor Certification Program (UICC) in 1965. Graduating at the top of the class he was awarded the "Outstanding student of 16 UICC." (LA Co recently completed UICC# 58) Some years later he was awarded the "Outstanding instructor of the year" award. A few years later he was awarded the "Connie Limbaugh" award. Named in honor of the great Connie Limbaugh who along with the late Andy Rechnitzer in 1954 were responsible for creating the Scrips program which created LA County program, the father and fountain head of all civilian diving programs. (including NAUI, 10 yearslater PADI and the rest of the alphabet)

Otto and I served on the LA County Underwater instructors (UIA) Board of Directors in the late 1960s , as well as being "Divemasters" for the LA County UICC for several years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Later he served a term as the president of the L.A. County Underwater Instructors Association (L.A.County UIA).

In 1964 I wrote one of the very first and certainly the most all inclusive articles on diving for Jade at Jade cove for the now defunct LA Co UW News. At the time of publication of this six page article Jade cove was a mystery piece of real estate, it was not on the maps, it was unknown to the Auto club and it had not been dove except for a very ver y small hand full of hardy Socal divers who were generaly LA Co UW instructors .

After graduating from LA Co UICC and using my article as a guide Otto embraced Jade Cove and Jade diving as a long lost friend, he got "Jade fever" which is as strong today as it was in 1965. It is my recollection that Dr.Glasser conducted a number of diving feild trips to Jade Cove several times every year during his 37 year tenure for his CalPoly students and not one broken rib! Concurrently for 14 years I also conducted a twice yearly 3 day field trip for my advanced dive students at Orange Coast College in Coasta Mesa

It is my understanding that Dr Gasser recently did a fantastic article on Jade cove that was published in a new magazine titled "California Diver." I must confess I breifly seen the magazine in a LDS, but did not have the opportunity to read it.

When we were diving together Otto aways wore a Cal Poly athelic warm up coat between dives; he was always warm; I was always chilled between dives, so I began wearing a a coat I acquired from Orange Coast College where I was teaching at the time ...It probably can be said that Otto's wearing of the warm up coat began a new SoCal trend which developed into world wide acceptance and a new business of producing between dive warm up coats..(.I am currently on my 4th "Warm Wind" and that one is becoming a little worn.)

I do not recall the details of Otto's undergraduate work, He received his doctorate at UCLA under Dr. Glen Egstrom in the physical education area. After receiving his doctorate he was hired by Cal Poly Pomona where he along with pioneer NAUI instructor Stan Jackson, revitalized the Cal Poly diving program originally established a decade earlier by the late LA Co UW instructor Dr. Bob Kendal. Otto spent his entire 37 year academic instructional career at Cal Poly, retiring several years ago.

Currently he has three self published books by Create Space in print; Sunken Dreams, (2010- $7.95) Sunken Graves (2010 -$8.95) and Santa Monica Bay Diving and Fishing (2010-$9.95) (Otto grew up in Santa Monica and dove the area for many years.) All his books are only avaliable from Amazon .com in paperback and Kendall format. If you haven't read the books and dive the channel islands of California -- Shame on you!

I have all three of his books and in the process of reading one of them. I must confess that recognize many of our mutual friends of days pass, not by name but by Dr.Gasser's
very descriptive word pictures

Otto was always recognized as one who had a way with words. It is refreshing to discover after the pasage of so many years and now our seperation by 250 miles that he is persuing his passion for writing novels with a SoCal SCUBA Diving theme

I certainly wish him well in his second career and eagerly look forward to when his next book to be published
SDM