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Post by scubalawyer on Dec 21, 2019 18:32:59 GMT -8
Loved those Farallon masks! I went through several of them. Here is me in about 1980 with my Fara-Mask inside a freshly sunken sailboat off Catalina reading a novel that I pulled out of a drawer at 90'!
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 23, 2019 9:41:49 GMT -8
Before I go on, let me say that I've placed a lot more content on the six masks in my last post. I will have another post soon. John PS, Here's my wife, Chris swimming with her HyperDry TUSA mask before she got the new one. Chris testing mask for leaks by John Ratliff, on Flickr
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 27, 2019 22:41:07 GMT -8
Here's th next round of masks and snorkels I will be discussing on this post. fullsizeoutput_2304 by John Ratliff, on Flickr 7. Nemrod Oval MaskThis mask was originally with a plastic lens holder. That broke off, and so it is now yellow electrical tape that holds the lens in place. I use it only in he pool, but this mask has made several trips to Hong Kong and back, as I use it in the pool. I figure if I loose it, it's no big deal. So it is a travel mask for me to use in hotel pools. Being made of silicone, it will last forever, but with only a tape lens holder. 8. Scubapro Pressurizer CompactThis is a good, oval mask, seals well, and has nose pinching ability. Its strap broke, and I placed an aftermarket strap on it, with a yellow nylon/neoprene head band. I use it mainly in the pool, but have used it in the river at times. It is a sturdy mask, that has lased for decades. 9. U.S. Divers Company ChampionThis is perhaps my favorite oval mask, as it is an original. This one originated in the late 1950s in France, and came over to the USA. The mask's skirt has lettering, stating: "Rene Cavalero ETC IE" on one side, and: "MARCEILLE B. DU RHONE" on the other on the bottom of the skirt. On the front glass, at the bottom it states, "TREMPE" "MADE IN FRANCE" I have used a Champion mask (also known as the "Champion Deluxe") since the 1960s. It has great visibility, as it has no nose pockets. It fits like a glove, and seals tightly. This is the mask everyone copied. To clear the ears, I make a fist with my fingers toward my head, my thumb up by the first finger, and push up on the bottom of the skirt with the thumb and first knuckle of my first finger. This plugs my nostrils, and I can blow out gently to clear my ears. It is quick and effective, and can be done with one hand. 10. White Stag's Oval MaskThis is probably my best oval mask for swimming laps, as it has a purge valve under the nose. When I'm swimming laps, if water gets in on a turn, I can simply snort a bit and it's gone. It has a Scubapro strap (neoprene straps don't last like the masks do). I use this one both in the pool and in the river. Because it's got reinforcing ribs on the sides, it fits me very well. SnorkelsIt's amazing to me how far snorkel technology and design has come since I started in the 1950s snorkeling. I remember having my first "C" snorkel, with the pingpong ball in the top, and cutting the top off to make it a "J" snorkel. I used that for several years too. Well, here's some evaluations of various snorkels I have acquired. Please note, it's extremely easy to find good snorkels very cheaply at Goodwill. People buy these to snorkel in warm water, then give them away when their vacation is finished. 11. U.S. Divers Company Pivot-Dry SnorkelThis snorkel actually works pretty well to keep water out of the snorkel. It clears easily after immersion, and has only a minor breathing restriction. The restriction is just enough to clear the snorkel upon a hard exhalation. The only "down" side is that sometimes the pivot catches closed upon surfacing, and a slight exhalation is needed to free it and be able to inhale. It's a pretty good snorkel, which great mouthpiece and a very nicely designed purge in the bottom. 12. Sea-Horse Hawaii snorkelThis is basically a J-snorkel with a not-so-well-designed purge in the bottom. The purge is not deep enough, and collects water in the bottom which cannot be purged with normal or even a forceable exhalation. It appears to have been added just for looks. Purge it by putting your hand over the end of the snorkel and exhaling. This snorkel is best cleared using the blast method, although the displacement will work if it is forceful. With the purge valve high, the displacement method must be forceful to blow out the water from the other end of the snorkel, as much of your exhalation will go out the purge valve instead. 13. and 14. The U.S. Divers Company Luxe SnorkelThis snorkel has a protected end, and that does a fairly good job of diverting water from down the tube when a wave comes over. But the cost of that is a fairly high restriction in breathing. Because of that, I have experimented with using it without the end attachment (see #14). This works well, actually, removing several inches of dead air space at the same time, but at a cost of lower opening and greater propensity of water entering the snorkel. Without the end, clear it easily by putting a hand over the end and blowing. With the end in place, with the restriction, water can be purged by simply exhaling hard. Again, the breathing restriction applies, and was distracting to me. My reference is a J-snorkel without purge or end, and that is what I use to judge snorkels. This works for those who simply snorkel on vacation, but if you want to use it for a long time, the restriction will become noticable. 15. U.S. Divers Co. Air-Tech Valve Dry SnorkelThis snorkel relies upon a float that comes up and shuts off the snorkel's opening. It's basically for those who simply snorkel on the surface, without surface diving. If you dive with this snorkel, it's probably best to spit it out upon descent, and simply go without on the return trip to the surface. The down side to this strategy (which many freedivers use now) is that if there is something interesting in the water (green sea turtle, for instance), or dangerous (shark or barracuda) you will loose sight of it as you surface to get your first breath. Well, that's it for this installment. Next up will be the second generation 1970s masks and snorkels. Stay tuned... John
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 28, 2019 16:03:04 GMT -8
Thoughts on the Oval Mask We owe a lot to the oval mask design. It was the first available, and a whole lot of diving has been done with the oval mask. It provides a lot of protection in cold water, which is where I started diving in Oregon/Washington, by covering the forehead area with an air space. It has great upward visibility, and good down visibility. The oval design restricts viewing to the sides, but not terribly. All my early days diving was with an oval mask. HoodCanal by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here, I'm diving in Puget Sound in about 1963 with my orange oval mask, probably a U.S. Divers Company mask. Note that it has nose pockets too! Dive Log--Clear Lake001 by John Ratliff, on Flickr In 1971 I dove Clear Lake in a research project. Here's my dive log of those dives, all of which were with my Champion Deluxe oval mask. Clear Lake Research Dive1 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here you can see me all geared up for these research dives, with my cardiogram being taken, my breath sampled, depth recorded, CO2 analyzed, etc. All with my Champion Deluxe oval mask, without nose pockets. Clear Lake Research Dive descent by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here I'm descending with a weighted line (no work) to the work depth for a horizontal monitored swim. Note the oval mask, and also note the third generation Calypso regulator the University of Oregon researchers used for their rig. Clear Lake Research Dive--Equilizing by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here I'm clearing my Champion Deluxe mask, preparing for the horizontal swim. What I'm saying is that diving with the oval mask design enabled a lot of work to be done, a lot of recreational activities to be accumplished, and a lot of research completed. The oval mask itself opened the underwater world to everyone. If you look at Hans Hass' book, We Came From the Sea, you'll see oval masks, and Hans and Lotti used nose clips to aid in ear clearing. So we entered the sea in the modern era using oval masks. They are a part of our heritige, and a huge part of vintage diving. John on Willamette River New Year Float 1962 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Our Salem Diving Club's 1962 New Years Day Swim down the Willamette River from Eola Bend to Salem, using oval masks. John Photos003 by John Ratliff, on Flickr A 1970 dive in Alexander Springs State Park, Florida while I was in the USAF. Note the blue Champion Deluxe mask, which is the same mask I used in the 1971 research dives depicted above. So from my start in diving in 1959 (actually probably 1957, when I was still snorkeling), to at least 1971, I used almost exclusively an oval mask. John PS, I have continued to add to the above post on oval masks and snorkels, so go back up and read that too.
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Post by nikeajax on Aug 24, 2020 10:42:09 GMT -8
Fun bit of trivia from Webster's Dictionary Doff vs DonTime was, people talked about doffing and donning articles of wear with about the same frequency. But in the mid-19th century the verb don became significantly more popular and left doff to flounder a bit in linguistic semi-obscurity. Doff and don have been a pair from the start: both date to the 14th century, with doff coming from a phrase meaning "to do off" and don from one meaning "to do on." Shakespeare was first, as far as we know, to use the word as it's defined at sense 2. He put it in Juliet's mouth: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet. / … Romeo, doff thy name; / And for that name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself."JB
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Aug 25, 2020 6:10:53 GMT -8
Fun bit of trivia from Webster's Dictionary Doff vs DonTime was, people talked about doffing and donning articles of wear with about the same frequency. But in the mid-19th century the verb don became significantly more popular and left doff to flounder a bit in linguistic semi-obscurity. Doff and don have been a pair from the start: both date to the 14th century, with doff coming from a phrase meaning "to do off" and don from one meaning "to do on." Shakespeare was first, as far as we know, to use the word as it's defined at sense 2. He put it in Juliet's mouth: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet. / … Romeo, doff thy name; / And for that name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself."JB Thanks for the item of trivia, JB. I had no idea "doff" was traceable back to Shakespeare. I had some inkling that "don" and "doff" were both US English, but I've seen it used recently in a European Standard with specifications for exposure suits. Mind you, UK English tried valiantly in the 1950s to resist American terminology such as "regulator" and "snorkel" and to insist on "demand valve" and "breathing tube" instead, but the efforts were all in vain. DRW
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Post by nikeajax on Aug 25, 2020 7:42:32 GMT -8
JB thanks for the item of trivia, JB. I had no idea "doff" was traceable back to Shakespeare. I had some inkling that "don" and "doff" were both US English, but I've seen it used recently in a European Standard with specifications for exposure suits. Mind you, UK English tried valiantly in the 1950s to resist American terminology such as "regulator" and "snorkel" and to insist on "demand valve" and "breathing tube" instead, but the efforts were all in vain. DRW When I was in the UK a few years back I was very saddened to see how many American-brands of everything had totally permeated the culture. Now I hear that your pronunciation of the letter-Z (pronounced zed) is becoming Americanized because of the kids show Sesame Street, "We'll learn ya how ta talk more gooder too!" JB
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Post by SeaRat on Aug 25, 2020 10:02:02 GMT -8
JB thanks for the item of trivia, JB. I had no idea "doff" was traceable back to Shakespeare. I had some inkling that "don" and "doff" were both US English, but I've seen it used recently in a European Standard with specifications for exposure suits. Mind you, UK English tried valiantly in the 1950s to resist American terminology such as "regulator" and "snorkel" and to insist on "demand valve" and "breathing tube" instead, but the efforts were all in vain. DRW When I was in the UK a few years back I was very saddened to see how many American-brands of everything had totally permeated the culture. Now I hear that your pronunciation of the letter-Z (pronounced zed) is becoming Americanized because of the kids show Sesame Street, "We'll learn ya how ta talk more gooder too!" JB Well, they call it "English" for a reason, and what we say in America varies from region to region. I've heard some say that if we had no telephones/computers/tv that our Southern States would by now be talking a whole new language. At least with diving, we're not usually talking. But now, I've watched Shark Week, and many are using what I was hoping for in 1972, full-face masks and communication gear underwater. But it is not very entertaining. The U/W conversations seem truncated and made for TV ("Look Out Behind YOU!!!"), rather than the kind of communications I was thinking about, which is what we had with the Space Program. In 1972 I had envisioned full-face masks (I had one then), with a wired communication line between buddies, that could be hooked into and unhooked. It was like the intercom sytems I was used to in USAF helicopters. We had some interesting full-face masks for communications. The one I had was a U.S. Divers Company one made for double hose regulators in cold water. But Scubapro had an interesting alternative, with the front lens being the diaphragm. (There, so how we're back on "Odd Masks"?). John
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Post by nikeajax on Aug 25, 2020 10:48:41 GMT -8
I've seen a few shows where they have a guy hunting fish so people can pay obscene amounts of money for their extra fresh fish... Yeah, they're all like that so that people will know for sure they are being entertained: no one wants to pay for content. Jacques Cousteau may have not been the the most ethical person, but he sure as heck know how to get extra high quality programing made: who better than the golden-voiced Rod Serling to narrate those programs? Like Orson Welles, who if he read the phone book he'd have you weeping, whereas Serling would have you wondering if all those people used those names because they're hiding some nefarious plot. John, was it these types of masks?
JB
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Post by SeaRat on Aug 25, 2020 11:43:54 GMT -8
JB,
Yes, it was the top one that I had. I put an extra piece of wet suit neoprene around the outside to completely protect me from the cold water. What I did not realize until I used this USD Full Face Mask was how I felt the water pressure difference between the regulator and mouthpiece when wearing that full face mask. Normally, using the double hose regulator, if I would stick my head down toward the bottom, I would not notice; but with the full face mask and a double hose regulator, when I got my head down to take a macro photo with my Nikonos, it felt like my cheeks wanted to be sucked into the mask. Weird!
John
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