I was a great fan of Sea Hunt, the television show which aired from 1958 to 1961 and stared Lloyd Bridges. This was called “skin diving”. It peaked an interest in diving lessons for people who watched the show. There were no BCDS or gauges used — just tank, mask, regulator, fins and dive watch. Your diving watch was your “life-line” on a dive. On the left hand side of the tank, poking out was a lever called a “j valve”, long since obsolete. Once you ran out of air ( better keep an eye on your watch!!!) you would reach back and open the valve. There was 300 psi left in the tank, which would be enough to get you to the surface. Imagine the surprise, and panic of a diver if the switch had already been pulled!!!! I wouldn’t even want to think about that.

Flipper was a show that ran on NBC television from 1964 to 1967. I remember seeing the show for the first time in colour and was amazed by the underwater photography. Good family morals, and a happy ending made for great entertainment and my love of dolphins to this day. Who wouldn’t as a kid want to live in the Florida Keys with water outside their door and a pet dolphin!!!

Scuba is fast becoming a popular sport, with the amount of water on this earth and interesting marine life, shipwrecks and beautiful coral to see.

With todays equipment, training from a professional scuba instructor and following the diving rules, scuba is a a safe and enjoyable sport, and opens up a whole new world of fun!!!!