ernieg
New Member
Interested in hearing from anyone around UK that is into vintage diving
Posts: 6 
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Post by ernieg on May 11, 2015 21:10:24 GMT -8
hi to you all, just a quick update about me, I am a married man in my mid 50s, who learnt to dive in the army about 1986/7, I have dived around the world from the cold clear waters around Ireland, stoney cove, Red Sea, Belize, Australia etc etc,
i have always had a interest diving with twin hose regulators but never got the chance, but I now have acquired a new Mistral twin hose reg, which has never seen water, in original both with instructions, also have a sciebe Gorman MKVi, have got a old frenzy collar,
so I am getting there, just need a few more items so I can start to get back into the water,
i am not sure if there is many divers around the UK on here, who have the same interest, so I would be interested hearing from anyone, I am not into deep diving now a I find there is more to see down to about 10 meters, and maybe I will get the chance to dive as they did in the Old days
many thanks and good wishes to you all that read this
Ernie
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on May 12, 2015 1:46:12 GMT -8
Hi, Ernie. Welcome aboard! My stamping-ground is the North East of England and I'm not the only UK-based member here. I'm with you when it comes to a preference for shallow waters because these days I "just" snorkel from a Northumberland beach into the North Sea, which isn't very deep where I swim. I love researching as well as using old basic gear and the maker of your Mistral twin hose manufactured some interesting diving equipment back in the 1950s and 1960s when I first got the underwater bug.
I look forward to hearing more about your experiences. We are a much friendlier bunch here than some other forums I could mention, where the discussions can get pretty heated on the topic of vintage diving!
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ernieg
New Member
Interested in hearing from anyone around UK that is into vintage diving
Posts: 6
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Post by ernieg on May 12, 2015 2:57:41 GMT -8
Great to hear from you David, I thought I was the only one around the UK that was interested in vintage diving, maybe some day I will get the chance to don a cylinder with twin hose reg and enjoy the freedom of what scuba diving is all about,
I must say I am not from this neck of the woods sorry flat lands here in Lincolnshire,, but I was brought up in the Northern Ireland, were the diving was great and so so close to many a great sites, the west coast of Ireland was ace and only a few hours drive,
Do you just snorkel now? Are do you still dive swallow dives with vintage gear?
Look forward to hearing from you
And many thanks for replying to my post
Ernie
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Post by regulator68bj on May 12, 2015 4:54:41 GMT -8
Welcome aboard Ernie, My location is in Devon the vintage interest is widespread in the UK and is well supported with rally's organized by the Historical Diving Soc. who have a web site which is worth a look as to the dates etc.
I tend towards the vintage regulators from early days to the mid 1970's collating history and technical details which on this forum we like to share and broaden the knowledge. Enjoy the vintage ride.
john
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Post by nikeajax on May 12, 2015 8:09:14 GMT -8
Ahoy matey, welcome from sunny and overly dry California! We have many very friendly people here who are more than willing to help! So, can you share some images please!
Jaybird
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on May 13, 2015 1:43:56 GMT -8
Do you just snorkel now? Are do you still dive swallow dives with vintage gear Ernie Hi, Ernie. I did try out a double-hose regulator back in the late 1960s when I was a student, but I've always found snorkelling a much easier interest to pursue, particularly while I was travelling during long summer vacations. In the 1970s I snorkelled in a lake in what was then East Berlin and in the Med and during many summer visits States-side from the 1980s onwards I snorkelled in Minneapolis, which is not for nothing known as the City of Lakes. A highlight during one US trip was a visit to La Jolla Cove in California, which is a magnet for snorkellers. Nowadays I don't venture far from home, snorkelling in the North Sea when the weather gets warmer. I always snorkel with retro or vintage basic gear because I've never seen any reason to abandon the kind of equipment that suited me perfectly back in the 1960s. It's not just members of the vintage diving community who do as I do. People outside Europe and North America, notably Japan, still happily snorkel and dive, for example, with the full-foot rubber fins that Cressi popularised in the early 1950s. After all, if it ain't broke, why fix it? David |
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Post by surflung on May 13, 2015 12:45:52 GMT -8
- Welcome Ernie and congratulations on your Mistral. I have several U.S. Mistral based regs... US Divers Mistrals, Voit Lung built on Mistral guts, Faux 50 Fathom and Faux Jet Air built on Mistral guts... They ALL work great. So, you are in for some fun diving with that regulator.
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Post by herman on May 13, 2015 19:43:32 GMT -8
Welcome to the board. By "new" do you mean new to you or the version of the Mistral sold in the recently (2007-2010 time frame)? The reason I am asking is the original one sold in the 50/60s when properly restored and tuned is a very good reg, the "modern" version is a study in how not to build a double hose reg, it is a poor example of DH regs. Don't mean to talk bad about it but you should not judge DH regs based on it.
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Post by SeaRat on May 13, 2015 21:50:09 GMT -8
Earnie, welcome from Oregon, USA, although as I write this I'm on vacation in Rome, Italy. Last week in Germany I met another member, Vintage Frank and will write more after I get back home about our meeting.
We always enjoy new members. Tell us a bit more about your background diving. Mine goes back a long ways to 1959, when I was a boy of 13 years of age and started diving a Healthways SCUBA regulator and a 38 cubic foot tank in the rivers and lakes of Oregon.
John
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Post by scubadiverbob on Jun 26, 2015 6:53:29 GMT -8
There are a couple of differences in diving a double hose and single hose. One, clearing the regulator. Make sure you master all methods to do it in a pool before going open water. As my son Andrew has told me, "where's the purge button". I usually just clear mine by blowing out the water like a snorkel, or rolling over so the intake blows the water out the exhaust (I use my tongue to close the mouthpiece while doing this). This method is in the old US Navy Dive Manuals. Also, if you watch Sea Hunt, you'll notice almost everyone taking there regulator mouthpieces out of their mouth, holding the mouthpiece upside down and over their heads to clear their regs. I sorta don't like this; I like to leave the mouthpiece in my mouth underwater.
You will also have to learn to buddy breath with a Mistral; as, it doesn't have an IP port. This is also in the US Navy Dive Manuals ... you should get a copy and read up on all this. If there is a dive shop were your at that teaches re-breathers, they should be able to assist/teach you all this. Remember, you have to hold your mouthpiece upside down if it's out of your mouth underwater, or it will flood at least your exhaust hose (older ones without wagonwheels; the whole reg will flood)!
Welcome to the world of double hose diving! If your into underwater photography, DH regs are great! (no bubbles to get in front of your camera lens and ruin your photos!)
Robert
I think the US Navy Dive Manuals, in .pdf form, can be acquired off the internet for free; but, I don't know the address.
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