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A deep dive that changed history : Dan Wilson remembered on 50th anniversary
By KELLY HOOVER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
November 4, 2012 12:34 AM
The world of diving was forever changed 50 years ago today off the
coast of Santa Barbara by an innovative abalone diver who had not
only grand ideas, but also the guts and the smart people around him
to make them happen.
It was Nov. 3, 1962, and 32-year-old Hugh "Dan" Wilson made a
dangerous, record-setting dive on the east end of Santa Cruz Island
off a commercial fishing boat, the Rio Janeiro.
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Mr. Wilson, who died in 2007 at 76, saw an opportunity to help the
offshore drilling industry tap into hard-to-reach spots in the Santa
Barbara Channel more than
250 feet underwater, beyond what commercial divers could reach
using the air-breathing equipment available at the time.
Mr. Wilson secretly plotted, planned and did what many considered
crazy. He altered his abalone diving helmet to use helium mixed with
oxygen, a practice the Navy was using for special operations, to
make it possible to dive 400 feet.
It was an accomplishment that immediately captured the attention of
petroleum companies and catapulted Mr. Wilson, along with many
local divers, into the international spotlight of commercial diving and
of creating state-of-the-art underwater technology.
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Don Barthelmess, professor of marine diving
technology at Santa Barbara City College,
stands with the new Santa Barbara Maritime
Museum exhibit honoring local legendary
diver Dan Wilson on the 50th anniversary of
Mr. Wilson's historic 400-foot helium dive.
ROBBY BARTHELMESS/NEWS-PRESS
Mr. Wilson went on to invent the first diving bell of its kind, which
could protect divers while they were decompressing. The bell is on
permanent display at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
Although this 50th anniversary of the historic dive could easily go
unnoticed, it is an important occasion for Don Barthelmess, Santa
Barbara City College professor of marine diving technology.
Although the professor only met Mr. Wilson once in 1992, at the
inaugural meeting of the Historical Diving Society in Santa Barbara,
he has spent the countless hours the past several years researching
and writing about the historical significance of Mr. Wilson's dive.
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Mr. Barthelmess' fascination was piqued when he attended Mr.
Wilson's memorial service at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club, which
was also attended by many of the biggest names in the diving world.
Mr. Wilson, a father of four, died after a long battle with a rare
disease called progressive supra-nuclear palsy.
"It was a 'who's who' in the diving world," Mr. Barthelmess said.
"People came from all over to pay homage to Dan. It dawned on me
that if Dan didn't do what he did, the other guys couldn't have done
what they did.
"He didn't really get his place in diving history that he deserved," Mr.
Barthelmess said. "The least we can do is recognize his efforts and
the folks around him that helped him get where he was."
Some of those who were a part of Mr. Wilson's effort to develop
underwater technology are still living in Santa Barbara and
remember the game-changing dive as if it were yesterday.
Immediately following the dive, Lad Handelman, Walter "Whitey"
Stefens and Ken Elmes, who owned the Santa Barbara Fuel Dock,
started a company with Mr. Wilson called General Offshore Divers.
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Santa Barbara News-Press : Daily newspaper since 1855
11/4/12 5:36 AM
started a company with Mr. Wilson called General Offshore Divers.
Although they had a falling out and the company ultimately was
bought out, they can't deny that Mr. Wilson was a go-getting
pioneer.
"He was a dreamer, but he acted on his dreams," Mr. Barthelmess
said. "When people would say 'Why,' he would say 'Why not?'"
Mr. Handelman went on to create Oceaneering International, which is
publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and is among the
world's largest marine contractors.
"Dan Wilson risked his life to prove a point to the oil companies and
that was important. He was not only brilliant; he was not afraid to try
his ideas," Mr. Handelman said.
The diving world was amazed that Mr. Wilson had the courage to
attempt the famous dive using only a small commercial fishing boat
with no decompression chamber on board, a small crew and the
homemade helmet he had created.
"If any of the equipment had malfunctioned or if the weights had
slipped off, he would have suffered a 'blow up' and would have
resurfaced quickly and likely died of severe compression sickness,"
said Mr. Barthelmess who preaches diving safety in his SBCC classes.
"If I had been one of the divers at the time I would have thought he
was crazy because I am not a risk taker as a diver. There is a saying
that there are old divers and bold divers but there are not old, bold
divers."
Mr. Wilson's oldest son, Dan Wilson of Bozeman, Mont., said he
doesn't remember being scared for his father, but knows his mother,
Dorothy, was worried.
Santa Barbara abalone divers Bev Morgan,
left, and Bob Kirby partnered in 1965 with
their first shop at the Santa Barbara Airport
to build diving equipment in support of
"She was really nervous and didn't know if he was going to come
deepwater mixed-gas diving. Today, Kirby
back up," the younger Wilson said. "So I knew he was really taking a Morgan Diving Systems is the world's largest
chance but he was always doing crazy things, so I wasn't worried.
manufacturer of diving life-support
equipment, with offices in Santa Barbara
"I helped tape the air hose, the helium hose and the communication
wire all together. We laid the 400-plus feet of hose out on the street
in front of our tract home in Goleta and I remember kids running up
and down the street asking us what we were doing."
It may sound exciting, but being the child of a man who "never
stopped thinking" was often difficult, young Mr. Wilson said.
"He always had projects, three of four at a time and immersed
himself in subject matter. His mind never rested."
He said his father was introduced to science methodology and diving
while living with his grandmother as a child in Wilmington.
and Santa Maria.
Mr. Wilson decompresses underwater after
completing a record-setting dive to 400 feet
Nov. 3, 1962, off Santa Cruz Island. A
Brooks Institute of Photography student
observes as a safety diver.
COURTESY SANTA BARBARA MARITIME
MUSEUM
Santa Barbara abalone diver Dan Wilson
conceived and built the world's first
"He attributed his ability to come up with unique solutions and his
commercial diver lockout bell, Purisima, in
understanding of scientific method to a retired teacher named 'Chub,' 1964. He is shown here at his Santa Barbara
who was his neighbor."
shop on Gutierrez Street with his partner,
local diver and resident Whitey Stefens, who
In junior high, Mr. Wilson made his first big, risky dive in the Los
is climbing into the bell prior to testing.
Angeles River with a group of friends. After that, was hooked.
Purisima is now on permanent display in
front of the Santa Barbara Maritime
"He was a born diver, chose what he wanted to do early on and
Museum.
excelled in the field he chose," his son said.
The abalone business is what brought Mr. Wilson and his family to
Santa Barbara. His son said Mr. Wilson was doing well as a
commercial fisherman but wanted to make more money and saw the
offshore drilling business as the perfect chance.
COURTESY BEV MORGAN
At the time, Associated Divers, a loose cadre of commercial
construction divers, dominated the diving work in Santa Barbara and
Southern California.
However, they didn't have the technology to go past about 250 feet
of water and explore for more than 25 minutes, which is what the
petroleum companies needed.
"Associated Divers knew about oxy-helium diving but didn't want to
deal with trying to modify or come up with a more efficient helmet,"
Mr. Barthelmess said.
The helmet the Navy used for its helium dives was heavy, expensive
and impractical.
"(Mr. Wilson) found a way around the $5,000 cumbersome helmet
the Navy used and invented his own. It's brilliant because it's simple,
and he used items from the shelf to make it happen," Mr.
Barthelmess said.
After Mr. Wilson's successful dive, there was a frenzy to be the first
to develop the new gear.
"That dive created what I call the Santa Barbara helium rush, or the
evolution of underwater technology," the young Mr. Wilson said. "We
needed all new equipment and we had to create it and there was a
worldwide demand for divers. They suddenly had an underwater
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Santa Barbara News-Press : Daily newspaper since 1855
11/4/12 5:36 AM
worldwide demand for divers. They suddenly had an underwater
market-driven economy."
Local abalone divers Bev Morgan, Bob Ratcliffe, Bob Christensen and
Bob Kirby, among others, helped to create the new helmets,
breaking away from the "old school" copper version and introducing
the commercial lightweight helmet.
Just two years after the dive, Mr. Wilson achieved another first by
inventing the world's first-ever diving bell, named Purisima after
Purisima Point, where he dreamed up the bell while abalone diving.
General Offshore Divers was formed shortly
after Mr. Wilson's historic record dive to 400
feet on Nov. 3, 1962. Pictured here in Santa
Barbara Harbor with the Purisima diving bell
that they built are, standing from left, Dan
Eden, Al McCready, Whitey Stefens, Mitch
Pimentel, Bob Ratcliffe, Jack Strickland,
The commercial lockout bell is made up of two spheres. The top of
the bell housed the engineers to observe the work, and the bottom
section protected the divers during their decompression.
Kevin Lengyel and Billy Bossert. Kneeling
are Bob Christensen, left, and Gene
Handelman.
Today, Kirby Morgan Diving Systems, based in Santa Barbara, is the
world's largest manufacturer of these types of helmets.
It was around this time that Mr. Wilson nearly died using oxy-helium.
His crew lost communication with him during a dive, and his business
partner, Mr. Stefens, found him in bad shape.
"His face was dark and his hose was tangled up," Mr. Stefens
recalled. "I brought him up and on the way, when we were stopping
at points to decompress, he went crazy and tried to climb up the
hose and I couldn't hold him."
Mr. Wilson had his abalone "heavy gear"
diving helmet, left, modified by Santa
Barbara Radiator Shop to convert it for use
with oxy-helium. The modern Superlite 77 at
right is now the world standard.
COURTESY DON BARTHELMESS AND KMDSI
INC.
Mr. Wilson suffered oxygen toxicity and explosive decompression
sickness from his rapid ascent to the surface. Although he recovered,
he never made another oxy-helium dive.
Mr. Wilson retired at age 47 and went on to sail around the world with his wife. His son said he never stopped
coming up with ideas.
"He made a name for Santa Barbara in the diving world and the people who worked with him went on to do great
things," the younger Mr. Wilson said.
"I was proud of being a part of it and still am proud of it. There were a lot of people who had their hand and foot in
it," said Mr. Stefens.
According to Mr. Barthelmess, who will make a multimedia presentation on Mr. Wilson's 400-foot dive to the
Historical Diving Society next Saturday, the 50th anniversary is a proud moment for Santa Barbara.
"This dive made Santa Barbara the birthplace for deepwater commercial diving and allowed our industry to rapidly
develop," he said.
To learn more about Mr. Wilson's dive, visit the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, where a new exhibit on the first
commercial oxy-helium dive will be unveiled to the public Friday. A reception for the new exhibit will be held from
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For more information go to www.sbmm.org.
email: [email protected]
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