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The Blurry Age (Before 1930)
From the earliest times to just before the invention of the fin. Goggles are virtually unknown outside Japan. Some early cultures made lenses out of polished turtle shells and used palm leaves and tar for fins. Most spearfishing is done from the surface.
1800s - Japanese Ama divers begin two centuries of freediving.
1913 - Stotti Georghios retrieves an anchor in 200 feet (61 m) of water.
The Goggle Age (1930-1949)
The invention of the fin and the use of goggles starts to become widespread. Early European "gogglers" and "sinkers" explore the Mediterranean (Hans Haas, Jacques Cousteau, and Guy Gilpatrick). Freediving/spearfishing clubs organize in California.
1933 - Louis M. DeCorlieu patents "Lifesaving and Swimming Propelling Device", aka fins.
1933 - The San Diego Bottoms Scratchers forms (Glen Orr, Jack Prodonovich and Wally Potts among others).
1938 - Guy Gilpatrick publishes The Compleat Goggler .
1943 - Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan invent SCUBA gear.
1949 - National Geographic estimates that there are roughly 8000 freedivers in the United States.
The Golden Age (1950-1969)
The mask, fins and snorkel develop into a mature state, resembling modern SCUBA equipment.
1950 - Cressi manufactures a mask that encloses the nose and provides finger pockets, allowing the mask to be equalized as well as the ears.
1950 - The International Underwater Spearfishing Association forms.
1951 - Skin Diver Magazine begins publishing.
1953 - Neoprene wetsuits become commercially available.
The Modern Age (1970-Present)
Long blade fins appear. Further advances in technology are evolutionary including carbon fibre fins and advanced neoprene wetsuits. Bluewater hunting gear (Tuna guns, sophisticated terminal gear) is available commercially.
1970 - The first long-bladed freediving fins appear.
1999 - The RetroSub Freedivers form.
The History of Ear Clearing
For the pre-20th century Greek sponge-divers, equalizing of the ears was not necessary. These freedivers had burst their eardrums since early childhood, on purpose, through diving without equalization. The perforated eardrum would not heal, since they would continue diving every day. This was thought to be a small price to pay for the ability to earn a decent living via the sponge trade. This involved risks from infections and also balance problems, but it didn't seem to affect them significantly.
In general it is not clear if these early sponge divers of the Aegean knew about equalization techniques. Diving techniques were considered a trade secret and were carried from one generation to the next without much information leaking out to the competition. Even if they knew how to equalize, they would still prefer the above technique, since the amount of air lost to ear equalization is not trivial, and compromises their working depths. This fact alone explains the depths reached by Stathis Hatzis in Karpathos island, which were admittedly no less than 80 meters and probably closer to 90 m. since the bottom was at an angle, and he did several dives to locate the anchor.
-Stathis Kostopoulos .
Famous North Shore Shark Adventure
As featured on ESPN Outdoors and BBC Outdoors in England, North Shore Shark Adventures, Hawaii's original shark tour company, provides an intimate and thrilling experience with Hawaii's sharks. Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime encounter! Your adventure begins with a short 15-minute boat ride that will take you three miles out from Haleiwa Small Boat Harbor. You'll take in the breathtaking views of Oahu's North Shore and may even encounter dolphins, green sea turtles, or majestic humpback whales (December-May).
When the water turns a deep cobalt blue and reaches depths of 200-400 feet, the shark cage, which floats on top of the water, is lowered and in only a moment's time you will see sharks rise from the deep! At this point, you'll have the opportunity to enter the very secure shark cage for as long as you wish (those in your group who do not wish to enter the shark cage, may book the half-price observer rate, and watch you from the boat). This thrilling experience will profoundly affect your feelings towards sharks. Typically you will encounter Gray Reef Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, and Sandbar Sharks, ranging from 5 to 15 feet in length. Occasionally, there have been visits from the mysterious Tiger or Hammerhead Sharks!
North Shore Shark Adventure
Franko's Hawaiian Sharks & Rays Creatures Guide
Franko's Hawaiian Sharks & Rays Creatures Guide
Franko's fish cards are stiff, laminated plastic, with a hole for a lanyard. Take it snorkeling or scuba diving with you!
Size of Fish Cards: 9" x 6"
FM-SHARK (Laminated $5.00) ISBN 1-59162-029-5
Franko’s Hawaiian Sharks and Rays Guide
The last of this series of Hawaiian fish cards is a departure from the common and friendly reef creatures, and is instead a guide to Hawaii’s sharks and rays. Side 1 side shows the Inshore Species - ones that swim where even you might swim - hanging out in the crystal waters above a colorful Hawaiian reef. These species include Hawaii’s most common shark, the whitetip reef shark which divers see all of the time, the compact-sized blacktip reef shark which is hard to find inHawaii, the blacktip shark, the man-sized gray reef shark, the dangerous and rather large Galapagos shark, the most recognizable shark, the scalloped hammerhead, and the most dangerous shark in Hawaii, the awesome tiger shark. The tiger shark is the most likely to ruin some snorkeler’s or surfers day as it is responsible for a several attacks each year. The odds are something akin to getting struck by lightning, but yes it does happen. Three species of rays gracefully glide above the colorful Hawaiian reef on the sharks and rays card. They are the huge but harmless manta ray (one of Franko’s favorite night dives is the manta ray dive on the Kona Coast), the elegant whitespotted eagle ray, and the bottom-dwelling broad stingray. A flurry of technicolor reef life is depicted on the bottom below the sharks and rays. The flip side of the Hawaiian Sharks & Rays card shows the offshore species. These include the tiniest and the largest sharks. The tiny one is the cookie cutter shark, which has a feeding method that has it chomping non-lethal, but scarring 5-inch round divots right out of the side of pelagic fish,
and even dolphins. The largest shark is the whale shark. It is shown to scale next to a woman diver. People occasionally get lucky and have a close encounter with one of these gentle giants on the outside of Molokini Island by Maui or near Lehua Rock at the northern tip of Niihau, 17 miles from Kauai. Since all of the other sharks appear so business like, with their natural menacing look, this whale shark is shown with it’s mouth agape in feeding fashion, which makes it actually have the appearance of smiling. Perhaps it is happy with being the largest thing in the sea other than the great whales. Other species shown on this card include the sleek and fast blue shark, the potentially dangerous oceanic whitetip shark, the world’s fastest shark, the mako, the beautiful thresher shark, the silky shark, and Hawaii’s rare visitor, the great white shark, which luckily prefers cooler waters. However, on Labor Day, 2003, Franko was at Yokahama Bay (aka, Pray for Sex Beach) on Oahu when a great white shark decided to check out the local skin divers, perhaps thanks to the delicious bloody odor of their spear catches. Yes, they got the heck out of the water, although it can be argued that the great white shark was not hunting, otherwise they wouldn’t have even seen him coming! Yikes! I called the Honolulu Ocean Safety people, but guess what...they did not believe my story that a great white shark was there! The local life guard wouldn’t believe it either.
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