Next on Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, an underwater blast from the past celebrating Sea Hunt!
Hi, I’m Jonathan Bird, and welcome to my world!
In 1958, Sea Hunt was one of the most popular programs on U.S. Television.
It starred Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson, an ex-Navy diver doing freelance underwater work.
His underwater adventures spurred a generation of viewers to learn to dive and appreciate
the ocean.
While Sea hunt was a little ahead of my time, I know a lot of people who would not be scuba
divers today if it weren’t for Sea Hunt.
And some of those people are here at Silver Springs for the Sea Hunt Forever Festival—celebrating
the history of Sea Hunt!
Mike Nelson’s gear was state of the art in the 1950s.
He had his double-hose regulator, tiny rubber fins and no buoyancy compensator!
The spirit of Sea Hunt is being kept alive by a group of vintage scuba enthusiasts who
restore, maintain and dive with classic scuba gear from the 1950s.
This weekend I am attending a special event, that happens only once a year: the Sea Hunt
Forever festival at Silver Springs State Park in Florida.
Silver Springs is a special place.
It’s a little piece of unspoiled Florida wilderness, complete with an alligator or
two.
There are a lot of springs in Florida, but there’s a special reason why Sea Hunt Forever
takes place here.
From 1958 to 1961, Silver Springs was a prime underwater filming location for Sea Hunt.
The clear water, and calm, controlled conditions made it a perfect place for what was basically
an underwater studio.
Silver Springs is now a state park, and no scuba diving is allowed.
But today is different.
Tourists are boarding a glass-bottomed boat for a fisheye view of the spring.
Below the boat—crystal clear water and divers.
The rain won’t spoil this special day.
We’re here to get wet anyway.
Alan Klauda is getting into his vintage gear for a dive in the spring.
I feel right at home here with all these double hose regulators!
Cameraman Todd and I head for the water to catch the underwater action.
My doublehose is a modern interpretation of the classics, so I decide to try out some
real vintage stuff.
Other than the algae we have all kicked up near the entrance, the water in the spring
is super clear and everyone looks like they just jumped into an episode of Sea Hunt.
If ever there was a chance for fully-grown adults to relive their childhood, this is
it.
Re-enactments are game of the day.
Play knife fights with rubber knives break out every 5 minutes.
A bad guy is hiding.
Meanwhile, the good guy has found a treasure chest.
Another knife fight.
With my vintage fins I try to keep up with the unfolding action.
Victory for the good guy.
The reward: A chest full of gold coins.
The local fish keep far away from the action while I look for the next knife fight.
Unfortunately, a bad guy has seen me and is coming after me with one of those terrible
rubber knives.
My buddy Luis Heros saves the day with his extremely dangerous speargun!
Jerry Lang zips by on his Voit Portasub, an extremely rare and noisy piece of vintage
gear.
Meanwhile…Joe Musial fires up a magnesium torch.
Magnesium burns so hot that water can’t extinguish the flame, and the reaction releases
the oxygen from the water needed to support the combustion.
Inside the mouth of the cave, the torch provides light, and even produces smoke.
These magnesium torches were all the rage in the 1950s, but they are quite dangerous
and not commonly used anymore.
Still, it’s a highlight of the day for me to see this torch.
I have never seen one before.
Scuba diving hasn’t really changed fundamentally since the 1950s.
We have a few new gadgets that make diving safer, but for the most part it’s still
a cylinder of compressed air and a regulator that allows one to breathe that air underwater.
But at the end of the day, events that keep vintage diving alive are mostly about having
fun.
And isn’t that why we scuba dive?
The Sea Hunt Forever festival is a great tradition that not only keeps history alive, but is
just plain fun.