On April 21st, we were invited to attend the Open House at the College of Oceaneering in Wilmington. With Ken "Bud" McElvain as dive master, our first man was in the water at 10:00 a.m. (Charlie Orr) diving a Yokohama designed after the famous Kirby air hat, but manufactured in Japan in the early 60's. Ben Briggs was on hand with a "work in progress," a 1930's Morse shallow water hat that actually belongs to his neighbor. To the neighbors delight, Ben is restoring it to it's original 1930 condition.
Beside the "regulars", charter member "Earl The Pearl" Weatherby drove up from Twenty-nine Palms. It didn't take any coaxing to have several of the COO students dive the vintage gear. And, we still have a promise from COO's Executive Director, Ella Morgan, to try out the MKV "someday soon."
At noon a BBQ lunch was provided by the COO and staffed by COO volunteers. A surprise 60th birthday celebration was held for Charlie Orr (thanks in part to Duke Drake for spilling the beans). A beautiful card hand made by Larry "LawDog" Breazeale was passed around for everyone to sign and a huge cake shaped like the American Flag with "Happy Birthday Neverbent" was brought by Ken and Barb McElvain. Charlie stated that he wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the old guys that, as a child helped to shape his life, like Leslie Leaney, Rocky Rockwell, Mark Howell, Jocko Robinson, Wild Bill Kurka, Big Al Pilkington, Brad Speer, Ben Briggs and Bill "Duke" Drake to name but a few. (Note - most of these old guys are younger than Charlie!)
At days end, the crew meet at the usual hangout, The Green Onion, in San Pedro, for their usual "After The Dive BS Session" The restaurant staff completed the days celebration by singing "Happy Birthday" to Charlie.
Our dear friend, Ruby Nething, remains in the Los Alamitos Care Facility near her home. Harold and Ruby were special people and part of our group almost from the very beginning. Cards are most welcome and may be sent to her home address - 4380 Adenmoor Ave., Lakewood, CA. 90713
Last summer we ran an article about the scams and fraudulent sales of diving gear that are inundating EBay. During the past 2 months (April-May) we are again picking up on these fraudulent listings. If you are shopping to purchase a helmet listed on EBay, be very careful.
The most common scam we have seen is for the Kirby-Morgan Superlites. The listings are for a short duration, usually 1 - 3 days, with a starting bid at a ridiculously low price ranging from $11 to $44 and no shipping charge. The fraudulent scammers then offer a "Buy It Now" price of $1000 with direct contact through an e-mail address outside of the protection of EBay.
One of these fraudulent listings actually had a starting bid of $5000, but offered the "Buy It Now" price of $1000 by contacting the seller direct. A $4000 reduction in price from his opening bid to his "Buy It Now" price. It should also be noted that each time these hats pop up, they are listed under a different legitimate EBay seller ID which has been hacked by the scammer. One such hat was listed under "baby clothes and accessories".
There has been listings for several Morris and Schrader hats that were in all probability frauds. At least two of them are suspected of being "copy cat" listings as they sold on EBay a year or so ago. It was also hard to believe a Schrader Mark V belonging to a US Navy diver had ended up in Kiev, Ukraine and being sold for $1000.
If you are interested in a hat listed on EBay, try to make arrangements to pick it up in person, with your money still in your pocket. Once you mail the check, bank draft or money order - these people do not use PayPal - your money is gone. This type of scam will leave you high and dry with no hat, no money and no support from EBay or Pay Pal. Take to heart the old saying "If it is too good to be true, it probably isn't!"
And speaking of EBay, it was interesting to see three more of Leon Lyon's book, Helmets of the Deep, listed during April and May. Two of the books sold for opening bid, but the third one received 11 bids possibly because it started for a low bid of only $849. There was certainly not the fast and furious bidding we saw a few months.
The first, #99 of 900 Presentation Edition and dated 11/3/89, with the dust cover and in mint unused condition. The seller stated that it was from an estate and had been literally stored in a safe. The book sold on April 30 for $2052 ($2500 Australian) which was the opening bid. Both the buyer and seller were from Australia.
The second book, #300 of 900 Presentation Edition, dated 12/7/92. Signed by Leon to BAX. It was also from an estate with the seller located in San Diego, California. Although there was a dust cover it appeared to be damaged, both front and back, from wear and the book appeared to be "dished" with possibly some damage on the lower corners of the hard cover as well. The seller did encourage the bidders to ask for additional photos or drop by to actually see the book before bidding. This book sold for $1575 which again was the opening bid. The buyer was from the United States.
The third book, #766 of 900 Presentation Edition, also appeared to be in mint condition with dust cover. Seller was from California and the bidding started for a rather low at $849. It sold on May 27 after 11 bids at the lowest price we have seen to date - $1313. Buyer was from the United States.
These prices were considerably less then those seen last fall when the first one was listed on October 3, 2006. A Presentation Edition #850 or 900, sold for $3302, collecting 55 bids before the bidding frenzy ended. On October 20, #11 of 100, Leather Bond Edition, sold in Australia for a whooping $5750 with 15 bids. Between these two books several others were sold more or less at prices ranging from the highest to the lowest.
Considering that the Presentation Edition originally sold
for $287 and the Leather Bond for $487, they were a
good investment and will probably continue to bring a
good price when and if anyone wants to sell their copy.
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS! Due to increased demand, Leon Lyons is compiling a
second edition of his out-of-print book, Helmets of the
Deep. The book will be an expanded version of the 1988
original, and will contain additional helmets discovered
after the first edition was published. There will also be
an expanded section showing photos of other collections
from around the world. The printing will be limited to
only 2,000 copies, and each copy will be numbered and
signed by the author. The book is estimated to contain
over 500 pages and should be available in early 2008.
The price has not been set as yet. The HDS-USA is now accepting pre-publication orders.
All purchases from the HDS will include a complimentary
copy of the American classic, Diving With & Without
Armor, by G.B. Green, originally published in 1859, and
meticulously reprinted by Sea Pearls. Further details will
appear in the Historical Diver Magazine and the HDS
website (www.hds.org). To reserve a copy of the second edition of HELMETS OF
THE DEEP please send your name and email address to
hds@hds.org. Put HDS Helmets of the Deep in the Subject
box or mail your request to: HDS-USA, Helmets of the
Deep 2nd Edition, PO Box 2837, Santa Maria, CA 93457.
No payment is required. You will be contacted once the
book is available.
Helmets of the Deep - 2nd Edition
Friday October 26, 6 p.m. - Traditional Greek welcoming reception at the historical Sponge Docks, hosted by the Honorable Beverly Billiris, Mayor of Tarpon Springs.
Saturday October 27, 9 a.m. - Tarpon Springs City Hall. Historical diving presentations and exhibits featuring: Carl Roessler, Kent Rockwell, "Scrap" Lundy, Tome Lowe, Samantha Merrill, and Nick Toth.
Saturday October 27, 7 p.m. - HDS Awards Banquet with guest speaker Zale Parry, "Wooden Tanks and Live Sharks."
Sunday October 28, 10 a.m. - Traditional Greek Sponge diving at the sponge docks.
Conference ticket $30 - Banquet ticket price pending. Check www.hds.org for updated information or contact the HDS at (805) 934-1660.
