JANUARY 2012 ISSUE 01 INSIDE THIS ISSUE “A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY” BY BOB BARTH......................1 OYSTER BASH.........................3 SEALab-I RESTORATION PROJECT................................3 4TH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT......................4 MARK V MONUMENT PROJECT................................4 MUSEUM MEMBERSHIPS, CORPORATE PARTNERS, & SPONSORSHIPS....................5 A PERSONAL ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY BOB BARTH Welcome A Little Bit Of History. Dear Diver, First off, from everyone I just returned from an Underwa- at the Man In The Sea ter trade show in New Orleans, Museum, we would like this gathering of divers and other to thank you for taking underwater folks has been going the time to read the on for 40 years, each year there are first issue of our all new fewer of us, most of these past 40 quarterly newsletter. Each years I have had someone lean on newsletter you receive will feature informative articles me about a Navy program that not a about a variety of subjects lot of locals know about, I am asked involving diving as well as time and time again why I don’t tell Inside of SEALAB-I, Summer 1964 information on upcoming the story about an old relic that you Back over 50 years ago the Navy events. see in front of the small museum at decided they were going to investi- The Man In The Sea the west end of Panama City Beach. gate the feasibility of getting Navy Museum needs and With time taking its toll and the divers deeper and to stay longer, it appreciates your support storytellers diminishing I told them was a lengthy process of test after in helping us preserve our that I would try, here goes. test which in-fact did prove that we large collection of rare could place men on the seabed to and one-of-a-kind exhibits As you drive down highway 98 or work much deeper and stay longer. and antique diving what might be called the west end of What were we going to give them to equipment. The museum Panama City Beach Parkway you see is a great place to visit and live in when we got there? You may a large orange rusty object sitting at get acquainted with the remember a gent who made some the Man In The Sea Museum, it may history of diving and we wonderful TV shows about diving, his appear to you as a big tank with wob- are constantly working name was Jacques Cousteau; Captain bly legs, millions of you have driven towards improving the Cousteau had developed a program museum with updated and by it but probably found it un-inter- that consisted of a series of under- new exhibits and larger esting enough to even wonder what water houses that he placed on the endeavors like this years it was. On the side of it says “SEALAB bottom of the Mediterranean near kick-off to our SEALAB-I ONE” that doesn’t tell you a heck of a France. Our Navy, now in need of an Restoration Project. Once lot either, probably doesn’t even gen- underwater house turned to Coust- again thanks for your erate a lot of curiosity, might make a support and we look eau and his concept of underwater great mullet smoker some have said. forward to another great habitats. (continued on page 2) year at the Man In The Sea Museum. 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE A Little Bit Of History Bermuda, placed In closing I might add that next at a depth of 193 month (mid Feb) will mark the 43rd feet and occupied anniversary of the death of Berry for 11 days by four Cannon, a Navy base engineer from Navy divers; that Panama City who died at 610 feet was the summer attempting to occupy SEALAB III. I of 1964. thought you might need to be told the story of this program it did af- Deemed a success, ter all lead the way to getting divers Sealab One was deeper to stay longer. The next time returned to Pan- your driving down the back beach Newly Constructed SEALAB-I Habitat ama City, eventu- road and pass the museum, give that After several years of great collabora- ally turned into a test platform then old house a nod,she is a part of his- tion with the Cousteau organization abandoned for about a dozen years tory, then as you pass the Navy base the Navy decided that an underwa- sitting near Stage Two on the bot- you can know too that this small base ter house was the way to go. Enters tom to rust and grow feeble. In the had a huge roll in what the fraternity the Navy Mine Defense Lab (now the early 1980’s some folks at the Navy of Navy diving and this country has Navy base here) these folks had some diving school decided that this old accomplished, best of all, they are still great engineers with some ideas, a house should be brought to the sur- at it. The premier diving school of the hand full of Navy folks showed up at face and become the relic that she Navy is here, the Navy Experimental Panama City, got together with these is today, That accomplished, the old Diving Unit (NEDU) also is here, NEDU base engineers, picked out a couple habitat became nothing more than a has been around for close to 80 years. of large tanks at the base junk yard, museum piece. The SEALAB program There is no other place in the world got some cutting torches, welding continued for another few years, they like these two organizations, a lot of machines, pieces of metal, scratch conducted two more operations the nations underwater history has pads, a lot of good ideas to kick then the project was abandoned to been made in this small town. I won- around, mistakes to corerct and tests take the concept of deep diving on to der if any of you knew that. to perform. When it was all over there greater heights, with new and better sat the Navy’s first underwater habi- systems designed to get to, and stay Bob Barth tat, SEALAB-1. on, the ocean floor. It was late spring of 1964. All in all about two dozen Navy diving folks from all over the country had shown up in Panama City, half of them had Check out the been on the program that made Man In The Sea Museum’s SEALAB possible, they came from all walks of life, there were Navy doctors, Online Store medical folks, support divers and four Visit us online and explore our large variety of treasures including: gents who had been trained to do the bottom portion of the planned test- • Replicated Artifacts • Unique Books ing. The SEALAB habitat was taken to • Maps • T-Shirts sea (close to the old Stage Two area) • Collectables • Artwork tested, not too successfully, returned to the Navy base, to fix what had • Toys • Gifts & More been broken then taken back out to sea again for further testing, the tests Get your copy of Sealab: America’s Forgotten Quest were successfully completed, we to Live and Work on the Ocean Floor, just released didn’t know a lot about handling un- January 10, 2012. derwater houses. The green light was given, SEALAB-I One was placed on a barge, taken to an area near Dive in and see what’s in store! 2 PRESERVING amERICA’S RICH DIVING HISTORY SEALAB-I Restoration Project The success of SEALAB-I represented SEALAB-I Goes into the Atlantic a major diving milestone. SEALAB- SEALAB-I was first lowered from a The Man In The Sea Museum I’s success provided the foundation ship by cable to its resting area 192 will be having an “Oyster for the advancement of man’s ability Bash” on Friday, January 20th feet below the Atlantic off the island to dive to deeper depths and stay of Bermuda. The Navy had a sound from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at underwater longer. SEALAB-I can be The Dive Lab located at 1415 study station already in place off the seen at the Man In The Sea Museum Moylan Road in Panama City Bermuda coast with an underwater Beach, FL. The Oyster Bash in Panama City Beach, Florida. plateau so this along with the rela- will serve as a kick-off for tively warm waters made the island the SEALAB-I Restoration a suitable location. SEALAB-I served Project. Tickets for the as an undersea home for four Navy Oyster Bash are $25.00 each divers; Robert Thompson, Lester An- and are available at the Man derson, Bob Barth, and Sanders Man- In The Sea Museum as well as on the museum’s website ning. SEALAB-I was scheduled to stay at www.maninthesea.org. at the bottom for three weeks, but the Tickets covers all-you- project was haulted after 11 days due can-eat raw and steamed to an approaching tropical storm. The oysters, cheese grits, and hot SEALAB-I habitat was raised by the dogs. Beer will be available Current Deteriorating State of SEALAB-I Navy one foot every 20 minutes until for an additional charge. it reached 84 feet, at which point the First Underwater Habitat Table sponsorships are divers were transferred to a submers- also available for $500.00 In 1964 the United States Navy sub- ible decompression chamber. which includes ten tickets merged the first underwater habitat, and ten beer mugs that can The Success of SEALAB-I SEALAB-I.