Sealab

by Ben Hellwarth

  89 “sonic boom”: Ibid., p. 45.

  89 “all hell broke loose!”: Ibid.

  89 apparently outright fiction: Neither Mazzone, in interviews on March 17, 2002, and June 2, 2003, nor Barth, in an undated interview, recall these dramatic incidents, which Bond wrote that they, too, witnessed. Embellishment and exaggeration in Bond’s writing were familiar to them, and to others interviewed, but not usually outright fiction, as appears to be the case in these particular accounts.

  89 After nearly twelve days living: Lynch, “Exercise Tolerance Studies,” pp. 1, 2, 9.

  89 schedule lasting twenty-six hours: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 47.

  89 Barth, Bull, and Manning showed no: Ibid.; Dictation of Genesis E results by Dr. George Lord.

  CHAPTER 8: TRIANGLE TRIALS

  Page

  90 build a prototype sea dwelling: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 43.

  90 crews of a Texas Tower: Ibid.

  90 improvised hacking and welding: Barth, interview, June 9, 2003.

  90 “Bond’s Folly—Sealab I”: Mazzone, interview, Jan. 29, 2003.

  90 got a call from Captain Bond: Barth, interview, June 9, 2003.

  91 old minesweeping floats: Ibid.; Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 46; Bond, Papa Topside, p. 49.

  91 Formal Navy approval: Bond, Papa Topside, pp. 48–49.

  91 happy to try living on the: Barth, interviews.

  91 “aquanaut,” as Captain Bond liked to call: Bond frequently used this term in his writings and in audiotape recordings made during Sealab.

  91 considered the French explorer a hero: Scott Carpenter and Chris Stoever, For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut (Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2002), p. 313.

  91 met Cousteau at the Massachusetts: Ibid., p. 314; Scott Carpenter, taped interview, Jan. 30, 2002.

  91 fear of the deep ocean: Carpenter and Stoever, For Spacious Skies, p. 314; Carpenter, interview, April 6, 2004.

  91 Cousteau said that: Carpenter, interview, Jan. 30, 2002.

  91 Carpenter had never heard of: Ibid.

  91 attained official status: No one interviewed knew for sure, and no documentation as to the origin of the name could be found, but Mazzone, in the Jan. 29, 2003, interview cited above, was certain that the name originated with him, although he did not know how it became official. Lewis Melson, in a telephone interview on Jan. 24, 2003, said his engineer, Al O’Neal, came up with the name. O’Neal was not yet involved when Mazzone said he made up the name and wrote it on the Texas Tower pod. But perhaps O’Neal heard it, liked it, and helped make it official once the project was taken on by the Office of Naval Research. Bond would seem most likely to elaborate on such a point; his reason for choosing to call his early experiments Genesis was well known. But Bond’s only documented comment on the Sealab name is a passing reference in Papa Topside, p. 49.

  92 lent back to the Navy: Carpenter and Stoever, For Spacious Skies, p. 315.

  92 they would train him: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 56; Barth, interview, Jan. 16, 2004.

  92 knew he would have to prove himself: Carpenter, taped interview, April 6, 2004.

  92 lifetime hobbies and achievements: Carpenter and Stoever, For Spacious Skies, pp. 61, 70, 72.

  92 hazing of their new recruit: Carpenter, interview, April 6, 2004; Barth, interview, Jan. 16, 2004.

  92 underfunded the Sealab program: Carpenter, interviews, Jan. 25, 2002, and Oct. 20, 2006.

  92 formed after World War II: A fiftieth anniversary history of ONR, originally published in Naval Research Reviews 48, no. 1 (1996), online at www.onr.navy.mil/about/history.

  92 $200,000: Lewis B. Melson, Captain, U.S. Navy, Retired, “Remarks Concerning the Inception and Operations of the Sealab I and Sealab II Projects,” Feb. 15, 1989, p. 5 (copy in author’s possession, obtained during interview with Melson, Annapolis, Md., Nov. 11, 2003).

  92 about $35,000: Bill Culpepper, former senior engineer at the Mine Defense Laboratory assigned to Sealab, interview, Seagrove Beach, Fla., March 11, 2003.

  92 few specific guidelines: Ibid.; Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 56.

  92 earning a master’s degree: Mazzone, e-mail to author, June 4, 2003; Mazzone, interview, Oct. 17, 2002.

  92 Bond could see Sealab: Bill Culpepper, interview, June 13, 2003.

  92 cigar-shaped capsule: Barth, Sea Dwellers, pp. 46, 147.

  93 fixtures from Sears: Melson, “Remarks,” p. 7; Culpepper, interview, March 11, 2003.

  93 avoid an ordinary fridge: Culpepper, interview, March 11, 2003.

  93 Sears garden hose: Ibid.; Lewis Melson, taped interview, Jan. 28, 2003.

  93 “Knowledge of the oceans”: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1961 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962), p. 241.

  93 “We know less of the oceans”: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1963 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964), p. 805.

  94 shipyard work he preferred: Melson, e-mail to author, Jan. 10, 2004.

  94 late August 1963: Melson, e-mail to author, June 14, 2003.

  94 decided to act on an idea: Melson, “Remarks,” pp. 3–4.

  94 Typhoon Karen’s trashing: Ibid., p. 2.

  94 Melson saw firsthand: Ibid.

  94 ought to have better ways: Ibid., p. 3.

  94 put his top engineer: Ibid., p. 4.

  94 “diving establishment”: Ibid., p. 5.

  94 Neither Melson nor O’Neal was a diver: Melson, interview, Nov. 11, 2003.

  94 found out about Captain Bond: Melson, e-mail to author, Feb. 1, 2004; Melson, “Remarks,” p. 6.

  94 invited Bond to Washington: Ibid.

  94 Melson still had doubts: Ibid.

  94 tried to recruit Dr. Workman: Ibid., p. 5; Melson, interview, June 13, 2003.

  94 lent his support and asked: Melson, “Remarks,” p. 5; Melson, e-mail to author, Feb. 2, 2004.

  94 pooled funds from other projects: Melson, “Remarks,” p. 5.

  95 put Sealab I on view: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 58.

  95 Bond stood on the tarmac: Ibid.

  95 A few thousand people: Ibid., p. 146; George F. Bond, Capt., USN, “Sealab I Chronicle,” pp. 44–45 (copy in author’s possession of this unedited journal on which the Sealab I chapter in Papa Topside is based), p. 1.

  95 its first tests at sea: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 61.

  95 orange whale chasing after: Sealab I, a documentary film produced by the U.S. Naval Photographic Center; in addition to providing a valuable visual record of many activities, the film includes corroborating information in its voice-over narration (video copy in author’s possession, but also available in libraries).

  95 support ship that would serve: H. A. O’Neal, G. F. Bond, R. E. Lanphear, and T. Odum, “Project Sealab Summary Report: An Experimental Eleven-Day Undersea Saturation Dive at 193 Feet,” Office of Naval Research, Washington, D.C., June 14, 1965, p. 31; “Special Projects Barge YFNB-12,” Sealab I press release, undated (in author’s possession).

  95 “Your Friendly Navy Barge”: Mazzone, Barth, and others, interviews.

  95 attached Sealab to the barge: Culpepper, interview, March 11, 2003.

  95 effect of the stretching line: Ibid.; Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 62.

  95 lab flooded and crash-landed: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 62; Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 6.

  96 threatened with termination: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 8.

  96 hanging by a hair: LCDR Robert E. Thompson, MC, USN, “Sealab I: A Personal Documentary Account,” U.S. Naval Submarine Medical Center, Groton, Conn., Memorandum Report No. 66-9, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Navy Department Research Work Unit MF011.99-9003.05, March 30, 1966, p. 5.

  96 left on the bottom overnight: Ibid., p. 6.

  96 twenty-seven miles southwest: O’Neal et al., “Project Sealab Summary Report,” p. 3.

  96 relatively warm and clear water: Ibid., p. 2; Sealab I film.

  96 k
nown as the Bermuda Triangle: Charles Berlitz, with the collaboration of J. Manson Valentine, The Bermuda Triangle (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974), pp. 11, 19.

  96 “They vanished as completely”: Ibid., photograph section, p. 2.

  96 deepened the mystery: Ibid., p. 35.

  97 Link wrapped up: M. C. Link, Windows in the Sea, p. 63.

  97 habitat he called SPID: Ibid.

  97 envisioned as an elevator: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, pp. 163–65.

  97 Nahant used its echo: Ibid., p. 162.

  97 extinct volcano: Ibid., p. 148; Hans W. Hannau, Bermuda (Munich: Wilhelm Andermann Verlag, 1962), p. 5.

  97 an undersea plateau: M. C. Link, Windows in the Sea, p. 66.

  97 seas were calm: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 163.

  97 leaks had to be plugged: Ibid.

  97 Lindbergh, the eldest son: Ibid., p. 156; M. C. Link, Windows in the Sea, p. 66; Jon M. Lindbergh, “What Direction for Men in the Sea?,” Undercurrents, defunct magazine about commercial diving), June 1970, pp. 8–9.

  98 affable but considerably more taciturn: Sténuit, interview, Nov. 26, 2004.

  98 By early afternoon: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 167.

  98 collided in midair: “Colony Shocked; Seven Survive Plane Collision: Five Bodies Are Recovered,” Bermuda Sun, June 29, 1964, p. 1; “Moment of an Awful Plunge,” Life, July 10, 1964, p. 32; “Seven Dead, 10 Missing as Planes Collide,” New York Times, June 30, 1964, p. 67.

  98 Sealab crew got an unexpected: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 65.

  98 depths down to 250: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 51.

  98 considered putting Sealab down near: Ibid., p. 53; Thompson, “Sealab I: A Personal Documentary Account,” p. 14.

  98 pipefuls of Sir Walter: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 53; George Bond Jr., interview, Oct. 11, 2003.

  98 stick with their original plan: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 54.

  98 observer and emissary: Aquadro, interviews, including Oct. 8, 2002, and May 16–18, 2003.

  99 perilous dives to three hundred feet: Ibid.; Colin Simpson, The Lusitania (Little Brown & Co., 1973), p. 4; Kenneth MacLeish, “Was There A Gun?,” Sports Illustrated, Dec. 24, 1962, p. 46.

  99 for a television documentary: Charles Aquadro, interview, June 30, 2006.

  99 a golden age for diving: Vorosmarti, “History of Saturation Diving,” p. 4.

  99 surprised him with an offer: Aquadro, interview, Oct. 8, 2002.

  99 arrangement with the Office of Naval Research: Aquadro, interview, May 16–18, 2003; Commander F. J. Kelley, ONR Branch Office, London to Commandant Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Director, Institut Oceanographique, June 24, 1964 (copy in author’s possession).

  99 jet remains were widely scattered: Thompson, “Sealab I: A Personal Documentary Account,” p. 14; Robert Thompson, interview, Feb. 19, 2004; Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 19; Aquadro, interview, May 16–18, 2003; Cyril Tuckfield, interview, March 24, 2004.

  99 unhappy and unrewarding: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 52.

  99 Tuck came up with: Tuckfield, interview, March 24, 2004; Thompson, “Sealab I: A Personal Documentary Account,” p. 15.

  100 Aquadro had managed to extricate: Aquadro, interview, May 16–18, 2003; Thompson, “Sealab I: A Personal Documentary Account,” p. 15.

  100 seemed the least fazed: Carpenter, interview, Oct. 20, 2006; Carpenter and Stoever, For Spacious Skies, p. 317.

  100 panting like winded dogs: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 172.

  100 their heater failed: Ibid., p. 171.

  100 lightbulb imploded: Ibid.

  100 divers scribbled notes: Ibid., pp. 172, 178.

  100 distance of fifty feet: Ibid., p. 175.

  101 emptied within minutes: Edwin A. Link, “Outpost Under the Ocean,” National Geographic, April 1965, p. 532.

  101 dive for several hours: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 178.

  101 seventy-two degrees: Ibid., p. 169.

  101 Sténuit nearly froze: Ibid., pp. 179, 180.

  101 deepest photographs ever shot: Ibid.

  101 unnerving thuds: Ibid., p. 178.

  101 Forty-nine hours after: Ibid., pp. 168, 181.

  101 Link called down: Ibid., p. 180; M. C. Link, Windows in the Sea, p. 78.

  101 divers thought they might as well: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 180.

  101 thought they had been fortunate: M. C. Link, Windows in the Sea, p. 81; Link to Jon Lindbergh, Aug. 13, 1964, Folder 256, LC.

  101 nothing more to be gained: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 180; Sténuit, interview, Nov. 26, 2004.

  101 afternoon on July 2: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 181.

  101 made an airtight transfer: M. C. Link, Windows in the Sea, pp. 78–79.

  101 sailed back to Miami: Ibid., p. 79.

  101 Link’s three medical specialists: Ibid., p. 66.

  101 schedule that Dr. Workman had devised: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 181; Link to Cmdr. C. H. Hedgepeth, Officer in Charge, U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit, July 21, 1964, Folder 255, LC.

  102 inside of his leg: Sténuit, The Deepest Days, p. 184.

  102 schedule was extended: Ibid.

  102 Bond considered a scientific sin: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 21.

  102 NASA could continue to assess: Richard Witkin, “Clouds Threaten Astronaut Flight; Officials Hoping to Launch Cooper on a 22-Orbit Trip This Morning in Florida,” New York Times, May 14, 1963, p. 1.

  102 explosion to rock Sea Diver: Diary of Marion C. Link, pp. 16–17, Folder 107, LC; Link to Dr. C. J. Lambertsen, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Aug. 13, 1964; Link to Dr. Joan Membery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., Aug. 14, 1964; Link to Kenneth MacLeish, assistant editor, National Geographic Society, Aug. 14, 1964, Folder 256, LC; Sténuit, interview, Nov. 26, 2004.

  103 paralysis around his ankles: Sténuit, interview, Nov. 26, 2004.

  CHAPTER 9: “BREATHE!”

  Page

  104 observation platform called Argus Island: O’Neal et al., “Project Sealab Summary Report,” p. 3; Sealab I film.

  104 tricky process of lowering: O’Neal et al., “Project Sealab Summary Report,” p. 5.

  104 Bond’s heart sank: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 41.

  104 like Panama City: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 64.

  104 had good reason to worry: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 40.

  104 called into a conference: Ibid., p. 41.

  104 monstrous handling difficulties: Ibid.

  104 the job was hopeless: Ibid.

  105 source of tension: Melson to Helen Siiteri, editor of Papa Topside, Aug. 1, 1992 (copy in author’s possession); Melson, “Remarks,” p. 9; Mazzone, interviews, including Jan. 2, 2002.

  105 impressive credentials: Sealab I press releases (in author’s possession).

  105 ignored his commands: Melson to Siiteri, Aug. 1, 1992; Melson, interview, Jan. 28, 2003.

  105 cannot accede to command: Mazzone, interviews, including Jan. 2, 2002.

  105 worthy of court-martial: Melson to Siiteri, Aug. 1, 1992; Melson e-mail to author, June 26, 2003.

  105 an ingenious approach: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 41.

  105 suggested relocating the test: Ibid.

  105 just seventy feet: Ibid.

  105 exchanged hopeful glances: Ibid., p. 43.

  105 use the big crane on Argus: Ibid; O’Neal et al., “Project Sealab Summary Report,” p. 5.

  105 Bond was relieved: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 43.

  106 front-page headline: Bermuda Sun, July 17, 1964.

  106 newly acquainted colleagues rode: Carpenter, interview, April 6, 2004; Aquadro, interview, May 16–18, 2003; Royal Gazette (Bermuda), July 17, 1964.

  106 called to the dispensary: Aquadro, interview, May 16–18, 2003.

  106 Bond was summoned: Ibid.; Bond, Papa Topside, p. 54; Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 44.

  106 thirty-nine-year-old spaceman: Carpenter and Stoever, For Spacious Skies, p. 11.

 
106 dozed off at the handlebars: Carpenter, interview, April 6, 2004.

  106 compound fracture: Ibid., p. 317.

  106 looking badly bruised: Aquadro, interview, May 16–18, 2003.

  106 totaled half a dozen cars: Carpenter and Stoever, For Spacious Skies, p. 60.

  106 beloved ’34 Ford coupe: Ibid., p. 88.

  106 off the roster: Bond, “Sealab I Chronicle,” p. 44.

  106 sorely disappointed: Ibid.; Carpenter, interview, April 6, 2004.

  106 Thompson, a younger submarine medical officer: Robert Thompson, taped interview, Fallbrook, Calif., Dec. 29, 2003; résumé from a Sealab I press packet (in author’s possession).

  107 Anderson had been enthusiastic: Barth, interview, June 9, 2003.

  107 the two hit it off: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 23.

  107 had swarthy features: Navy photographs (in author’s possession); Sealab I film.

  107 an inveterate prankster: “Lester Everett ‘Andy’ Anderson, GMI (DV), Aug. 20, 1932–Aug. 31, 1999,” biographical sketches by family and friends compiled by Sherry Anderson, Lester’s eldest daughter, who sent a copy to author on May 19, 2003, p. 34; interviews with Anderson’s former shipmates.

  107 “midnight requisitioning”: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 57; Barth, interview, Panama City, Fla., including a tour of the Navy Experimental Diving Unit and the surrounding base, formerly the Mine Defense Laboratory, Dec. 17, 2001.

  107 Andy Anderson was just fifteen: “Lester Everett ‘Andy’ Anderson,” p. 9; résumé of Lester Everett Anderson, 1984 (in author’s possession).

  107 and all were fathers: O’Neal et al., “Project Sealab Summary Report,” pp. 57–58.

  107 structure with respect to its divers: Barth, interview about Anderson’s specific case; interviews with other Navy divers; see also The Bluejackets’ Manual, revised by Bill Wedertz and Bill Beardon, 20th ed. (Annapolis, Md.: United States Naval Institute, 1978), pp. 16–18.

  107 jobs that happened to be underwater: Owen Lee, “The Master of the Master Divers,” Skin Diver, September 1965, p. 53.

  108 ran scuba training sessions: Barth, interview, Sept. 24, 2002.

  108 seas were blessedly calm: Bond, Papa Topside, pp. 54, 56; Sealab I film.

  108 secured by a bridle: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 150; Sealab I film.

  108 issue of gradually raising the lab’s: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 62.