Retro diving
Retro diving offers a possibility to experience all preparation stages that heavy divers had formerly passed through when immersing into the sea. These stages involve getting into a heavy diving suit, putting a metal helmet on, pulling shoes with plumb on, getting equipped with weights and adjusting an air supply. Assisted by at least two persons to help you getting into heavy diving equipment you will be ready to take a short immersion to depth of some two-three meters escorted by a diving instructor. When you try to control the heavy diving equipment in the undersea you will get a chance to observe all characteristics and note differences between contemporary and heavy diving equipment.
The offer includes a possibility of taking an underwater photography of you dressed in heavy diving equipment in memory of your retro diving during cruising by the Ship Borna.
A history of diving
As early as in 1530 the first diving bell was applied. In 1662 Sir Robert Boyle published “The Spring of Air and Its Effects” reporting his research on relation between pressure and volume at constant temperature. He kept continuing his research and in his work published in 1667 he observed that at abrupt decompression a very apparent gas bubble got formed in a viper’s eye, so he concluded that tissues undergoing sudden decompression discharge gas dissolved from before. His conclusions were involved in the Boyle’s law in 1670 in which he asserts that volume is inversely proportionate to pressure (gas pressure) at constant temperature. Namely, that density (mass/volume) directly increases influenced by pressure increase. Briefly, The Boyle’s law helps explain what happens to the bottle of carbonated beverage when suddenly opened. The situation known as "Coca cola effect" actually represents an abrupt pressure difference causing the dissolved gas in a liquid to develop into gaseous state. Late in the 17th century a renowned scientist Edmund Halley (of comet fame) patented the first wooden diving bell, fully effective, with an air supply from the surface (90 minutes immersions at depth of 18 m). The first diving suit, actually a "diving engine" inside which an ambient pressure got equalized successfully was built by John Lethbridge presumably in 1715. An English engineer Augustus Siebe invented the first effective diving suit, namely the first soft suit – heavy watertight diving suit with helmet. The suit was improved in 1837 when made out rubberized canvas.
In 1823 Charles Antony Deane patents a "smoke helmet" for fire fighting and consequently adapting it for diving. In 1825 William James invented the first SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), though it has been never confirmed it really functioned. The apparatus incorporated a number of small vessels placed in a belt around the diver’s trunk with operating pressure of 15 bars.
Later on it was improved by Taylor who in 1838 supplemented it with joints and additions for easily movement of limbs and by Philips who did add metal pincers and "fingers" respectively, to enable the divers to control their arms more precisely under water. Benoit Rouquayrol, a mining engineer and Auguste Denayrouze a naval lieutenant of the French navy patented a heavy apparatus for classic diving. They succeeded in it in 1865, some 40 years after the first heavy diving apparatus was presented to the world by its inventor Augustus Siebe. An original feature comprised by their apparatus consisted in breathing system. They invented an underwater air supply regulator for breathing operating on principle of dry and wet chambers, a membrane and dose valve. The whole system is movable at inhalation (under pressure) and at exhalation (overpressure) of the diver what means a safe and continuous air supply to the diver’s helmet. A diving set consisted of a manual diving suction pipe, air tank with regulator on the back, helmet with a collar tightened by three screws, air supply hose, diving shoes, breast and back weights, diving suit of rubberized canvas, signal rope, diving knife and afterwards also an underwater lamp and phone for communication with diving operators were introduced. This equipment weighted approximately 160 kilos. The divers had a possibility to annul such a weight by means of proper operation of a relief valve in the helmet using the principles of buoyancy and negative buoyancy, and to lead them into complete balance respectively, thus becoming rather mobile under water.
Each immersion of heavy divers demanded a number of operators - divers who had to exert very hard work. They used to pump two-cylinder pumps by hand on shore and the pumps had to insure enough quantity of air for diver’s stay under water.
It is worth mentioning that almost 80 years later the French mining engineer Emile Gagnan and naval lieutenant Jacques-Yves Cousteau have applied the same principle when designing their first single-stage regulator for autonomous diving. Their invention represents a turning point in the history of diving, almost a revolution in popularization of diving.