Girl Diver / Cindy Ross

GirlDiver

Edited by Cindy Ross The Girl Text by Cindy Ross GirlDiver.com Photos by Bill Battan and Chris Padilla In the Bubble

Time travel becomes reality, as scuba world—recreationally, not commer- are collectors of diving helmets and equip- I descend beneath the waterline cially. ment from our past. The suit I dived in was I sought out dive gear made for small a “Men’s Large” size—the smallest avail- in a 1944 Mark V Hard Helmet, the women, found easier methods to don the able suit size. standard U.S. Navy dive equip- heavy equipment and slowly developed With enough lacing and strapping, pull- ment used for undersea salvage the “dive specific” muscular operations in World War II. structure by hauling countless tanks to and from dive sites. I “So, what’s under the water?” I asked honed my instructional skills to Maurice, the aged Greek instructor from a ease the entry of other women local training facility for commercial divers. into the sport. I was 19 years old, and my only experience Now, I’m taking the plunge with the underwater realm was a five min- as a hard helmet diver. Using ute dive in a college swimming pool. “modern equipment” from He told of the brilliant sea life inhabit- another century. Descending to ing the chilly waters of the Puget Sound the depths in an authentic Mark in the northwestern corner of the U.S. V helmet. He explained what the guys were doing This level of helmet was pro- underwater, welding and cutting, and how duced by the Diving Equipment they would eventually use it to work in the and Salvage Company (now offshore oil fields. known as DESCO) for the U.S. “I want to learn how to dive!” Navy from 1927 until the Mark I exclaimed. Maurice just shook his head XII surface supplied system in and in a thick accent said, “Girls like you… the late 1970’s. you no dive. Girls like that, (pointing to a tall, stocky girl on the dock) they dive. Girls Donning the Gear like you… you date the divers. Come, I’ll The dive was coordinated by introduce you to my boys.” And with that, it Tim and Steve King of Smokey was done. Point Diving. As members of the I was 19, in college, and so the introduc- Historical Diving Society, they tion to the boys on the dock sufficed. In the four months following, I helped the RIGHT INSET: Mark V Girl guys get in and out of their dive gear, Cindy Ross dons the learned about the dockside diving bell, hard helmet breast plate rinsed and stored the commercial dive FAR RIGHT: Underwater – Feeling equipment. But I knew I could never dive, what it was like to do work under- for I wasn’t big enough, or strong enough. water. Robotic and difficult to It took a full decade for my entry into the move. Definitely a respect builder! Bill battan chris padilla 44 X-RAY MAG : 25 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED It takes two tenders to put the suit on the diver. Here, they strap the GirlDiver leather laces of the canvas leg- Hard Helmet gings which are then slipped into brass tipped boots with flat wood- en insoles

suit brales, with a weight able to maintain correct pos- decrease flow by turning the knob with of 56 pounds (25 kilos) ture, but as the weight beared my left hand. alone. Underwater, the down, my spine began to Overhead, a communication unit, top heavy helmet con- bend. In my mind, I was secret- made of telephone wiring, allowed me figuration, even with air ly wondering if the two inches to speak with my “dive guide” on the added, would turn div- of compression my spine was surface. His voice would be guiding me ers on their heads. So, undergoing would be able to on my journey, and my responses would to counteract the tipsi- be undone. assure him that I was both safe and com- ness, boots weighing 17 posed underwater. pounds (8 kilos) each, The helmet and a weight belt of 85 “Ok, here we go,” said Steve, Taking the plunge pounds (38.5 kilos) was as he lowered the “brass hel- Hoisted up, and six heavy steps later, I added to the standard met” onto my head. The hel- was on the edge of the dock ready for a diving dress. Total weight met of an authentic Mark V is giant stride into the water. While the Mark of the equipment is 190 not actually brass, but rather V had four “lights” (windows) in the hel- pounds (86 kilos)—almost spun copper two times my weight! with tin plating, As the donning of and all of the equipment commenced, original helmets the suit engulfed my were spun by a frame, and my two dive single individual attendants began the who had mas- task of strapping the tered the craft. leather laces and belts. The helmet, My canvas clad feet Bill battan complete with were slipped into the brales and wing brass tipped boots with were not in the plans either, apparently.) nuts, had a weight of 56 flat wooden insoles. The Next, the breastplate was attached to pounds (25 kilos), and this legs were laced in the the suit with wing nuts. I can feel the became the final piece. back to avoid over infla- weight on my shoulders, but it’s not as As the faceplate on tion once below the bad as I thought it would be. Movement the bonnet closed and surface. Ergonomics and is definitely getting difficult, no yoga sealed, my world changed comfort were definitely today. to a sepia toned view of not in the design phase Now for the final touches. First, the what early salvage divers on this equipment. leather harness was suspended from my were faced with using the They stood me upright shoulders holding 85 pounds (38.5 kilos) of “modern equipment” of (definitely not moving lead weight around my waist. This would their time.

Bill battan anywhere with the metal counteract the internal lift from the air, as Final instruction included slippers on my feet) and well as help my center of balance under- operation of the chin The smallest suit available was a men’s large. How does a five finished tightening the water. button (purge valve) to foot tall girl fit? lower part of the suit to fit They released the weight onto my release the air as it flowed my small frame. I’m sure shoulders… “I’m standing! Ok, I can do into the suit. My surface ing and tugging, they fitted me into the Desco Company never expected a this,” I thought to myself. “This is not that air supply was connected the rubber coated canvas suit, promis- five foot nothing (152 cm) girl to don this tough.” to a turn valve mounted ing no leaks in a suit manufactured the outfit. At this point, my tenders had me sit on the front of the suit, to year after Jacque Cousteau took his first The rubber seals at the end of each on the dress platform. It was time for the which I could increase or experimental dive in his Aqua-Lung. arm were pushed up my forearm to find a helmet. As I was sitting on the platform, The diving helmet was bolted to the thick enough place to seal. (Dainty wrists the belt started to take its toll. I had been The breast plate is attached

to the suit with wing nuts Bill battan 45 X-RAY MAG : 25 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Bill battan

Giant Stride entry - Unable to see the Hard Helmet GirlDiver water but trusting Just Waiting – With the heavy shoulder the voice in the harness and helmet, waiting for entry hood sayiing, is challenging on the spine “Just one step with your right foot.”

Giving the ok, I lowered down the rope to the bottom. Theoretically, you are supposed to clear your ears by pressing your nose against the side of the met, helmet and blowing the through it. I tried, but to no suit only avail. allowed a As I lowered down, the pres- diver to see sure built up. However, I landed directly ahead, to on the bottom with the pain the sides or above, not diminished. down. The giant stride was Now, it’s time to “work”. Walking made without any visual refer- in the Mark V suit is a challenge. ence to the water below, trusting, We all believe the water makes for the first time, the voice coming us weightless, however, not so in through the speaker overhead. a suit designed for walking on the As I splashed in, I took a quick look bottom. Each step entrenches the about the helmet…. no leaking. Sigh boots into the soft mud, and the of relief. suction must be overcome with The voice overhead told me to each lift of the leg. Bill battan turn and find the blue rope. Using my My safety divers directed me, hands for mobility, as I have no fins, I along with the voice in the helmet, Definitely the shortest hard hat diver they’ve put in the water turned and held the blue nylon rope. to turn and walk in the suit. —190 pounds, and I’m walking!

Bill battan 46 X-RAY MAG : 25 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED GirlDiver Hard Helmet were dressed air demand knob back down, and I in recreational was once again on my feet. scuba outfits, As the voice overhead melded with full face with the bubbles, each inhale and communica- exhale, I walked the floor of the tion masks on. sea. I experienced, for a moment, They could what the pioneers of underwater easily retrieve work went through. I imagined the mask. But going 240 feet down a line, as the what if I, in my rescuers in May of 1939 reached robotic attire, the sunken U.S. submarine, Squalus, wanted to and saved 33 crewmen from the reach down bottom of the Atlantic. The slow, and get the deliberate movement, each reach mask? and step carefully thought out, “Go ahead as the suit was difficult to travel or and sit down,” maneuver in. the voice in I am thankful to those who pio- the helmet neered the modern day self con- directed. tained breathing gear we used. Against my Men like Hans Hass and Jacques better judge- Cousteau, who enabled common ment, I fell people to be able to experience slowly back the underwater realm without don- into a seated ning 190 pounds (86 kilos) of gear. position on the Allowing us to use adaptive equip- sticky bottom. ment in a foreign environment, “Now stand rather than shield ourselves in a rub- up,” the voice berized canvas balloon. offered. Right. I thought of the female commer- Stand Up. I’m cial divers worldwide who, even stuck in the with lighter helmets and gear, are mud, and he still operating in a world where a says stand up? “Mens’ Size Large” is the smallest I rolled to dive suit available, and who walk my front and the floor of the sea, the tanks of push deeper nuclear power plants or inspect with my hands hazardous sites in full suits. into the bot- Still very much a man’s realm, Bill battan tom silt. “This I applaud the women who are Climbing the ladder isn’t working,” reaching into the world of commer- I informed my cial diving, not succumbing to the I imagined doing work in the suit, dive safety officer. belief that they are too little or not holding a welding torch, or rescue- “Try adding some air,” he sug- able to build the strength. ing men trapped in a downed sub- gested. I found the valve on the As I climbed the ladder, and marine, while moving quite like an front of the suit, turned for higher air again felt the full weight of the oversized robot in the clumsy dive output into the suit and sprang to gear with each step up the rung, I outfit. my feet. returned to our modern times. Spotting a pink mask on the bot- Chin on the exhaust control Having made my first surface sup- tom, I motioned for the safety div- valve on the side of the bonnet, I plied dive, I knew I had experi- ers to retrieve it. The safety divers released the excess air, turned the enced the past in a vivid way. ■

47 X-RAY MAG : 25 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED