Sealab
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140 hook up a battery charger: Diary of Berry Cannon, entry for Sept. 2, 1965.
140 Anchovies!: Ibid.; “Sealab II Log,” pp. 37, 41, 43, 45.
140 nowhere to go for shelter: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 101.
140 rid the PTC of the decaying fish: Ibid.; “Sealab II Log,” pp. 47–49; Cyril Tuckfield, interview, April 26, 2004.
140 capsule had to be raised: “Sealab II Log,” pp. 83–85, 87; Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 109.
140 another night without: Diary of Berry Cannon, entries for Sept. 10 and 11, 1965.
140 Scorpaena guttata: Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, pp. 63–64; California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Sportfish Indentification, www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mspcont4.asp.
141 one every square yard: Carpenter, interview, April 6, 2004.
141 usually dissolved into darkness: Interviews with aquanauts; see also Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, pp. 62–63; “Sealab II Log,” pp. 23 and 60, for example, contain telling entries on the limited visibility; Diary of Berry Cannon, entry for Sept. 3, 1965, says about the silty bottom, “once stirred, visibility goes to zero”; Story of Sealab II shows just how dark the water often was.
141 unnerving to lose sight: Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, pp. 62–63; “Sealab II Log,” p. 59.
141 practice of carrying tethers: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 21.
141 ripe for physiological research: “Sealab II Log,” p. 59; Story of Sealab II.
141 everything seemed to take longer: Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, pp. 65–67; Diary of Berry Cannon, entries for Aug. 30 and Sept. 2, 1965; interviews with aquanauts.
141 Donning a snug-fitting wet suit: Diary of Berry Cannon, entry for Aug. 30, 1965; Carpenter, “200 Feet Down,” p. 103.
141 frequently burned out: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” pp. 92, 185.
141 take an hour to replace: Diary of Berry Cannon, entry for Sept. 2, 1965; Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, p. 66.
141 “This will certainly be”: “Sealab II Log,” p. 20.
142 brief ceremonial visit: Coffman, interview, Sept. 29, 2004; Leo Bowler, “Torpedoman Re-Enlists 205 Ft. Down,” (San Diego) Evening Tribune, Aug. 31, 1965, p. A1; Story of Sealab II.
142 For their brief thirteen minutes: Story of Sealab II.
142 cake had crumbled: “Cake Falls—Aquanaut’s Wife Crumbles,” San Diego Union, Sept. 7, 1965, p. A21; Story of Sealab II.
142 Bond led the singing: Tape recording of assorted Sealab communications, labeled Day 4–12 (in author’s possession).
142 asked to sit for an interview: Bond, Papa Topside, pp. 110–11; a less edited, more colorful description of Bond’s thoughts can be found in “Sealab II Chronicle,” pp. 77–79.
142 When the article appeared: Peter Bart, “Sealab Explores an ‘Inner World,’” New York Times, Sept. 9, 1965, p. 30.
142 unwelcome consternation: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 110.
142 posted the marked-up clipping: Ibid., p. 111.
142 Carpenter had just returned: “Sealab II Log,” p. 91.
142 stuck his bare hand in: Carpenter, interview, Jan. 25, 2002.
143 nose and sinuses filled: Carpenter, “200 Feet Down,” p. 104.
143 assortment of drugs: “Sealab II Log,” pp. 92, 94.
143 on the intercom with Bond: Tape recording of assorted Sealab II communications from the day Carpenter was stung (in author’s possession).
143 postponed their pressurized PTC ride: Ibid.; S. A. Desick, “Carpenter Treated; 9 Men Brought Up,” San Diego Union, Sept. 13, 1965, p. A17.
143 find it irresistible to point out: “Navy compilation of Sealab II press coverage,” pp. 100–104.
143 zapped him on the leg: Coffman, interview, Sept. 29, 2004.
143 hardly a word was printed: “Navy compilation of Sealab II press coverage,” combined with research in other publications, made this clear.
143 ten-day duration mark: Sealab I was often referred to as an eleven-day dive, as it was in the previously cited full title of O’Neal et al., “Project Sealab Summary Report.” But in the log included in that official report, pp. 39 and 53, and as noted in other sources, the actual bottom time, between the aquanauts’ initial entry into the lab and its raising, with the aquanauts still inside, was closer to ten days.
143 team leader’s acting deputy: Bond, “Sealab II Chronicle,” p. 85.
144 the sight of the Berkone: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 103.
144 Barth had been looking forward: Ibid., p. 106.
144 Some stingy bureaucrat: Ibid., p. 104.
144 out two hundred and forty bucks: Ibid.
144 Carpenter’s persistent questions: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 125.
144 functioning of a pneumofathometer: Ibid., pp. 111–12; “Sealab II Log,” pp. 74, 113.
144 like a patient father: Tape recordings during Sealab II of dictations by Bond and of assorted topside conversations with aquanauts in the habitat; a dialogue with Carpenter about the pneumofathometer is on a tape recorded Sept. 22, 1965, according to Bond’s dictation (in author’s possession).
144 “Our Lord gave us”: Tape recordings during Sealab II; Bond, Papa Topside, p. 113.
144 question everything: Tape recordings during Sealab II.
144 an electrically heated wet suit: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” pp. 272–305.
145 getting an ice cube shoved: Carpenter, “200 Feet Down,” p. 103.
145 chilled within a half-hour: Diary of Berry Cannon, entry for Aug. 30, 1965.
145 arms shaking uncontrollably: Tape recordings of Sealab II press conference for Team 2 (in author’s possession); Carpenter, “200 Feet Down,” p. 103.
145 “unbelievably delicious”: Carpenter, “200 Feet Down,” p. 103.
145 “better than sex”: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 111.
145 Eight aquanauts: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” pp. 297–98.
145 wrapped up a four-year stint: Wally Jenkins, taped interview, May 3, 2004.
145 Tolbert, who at thirty-nine: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 175.
145 grateful to have been picked: Tolbert statement in tape recording of Sealab II press conference for Team 2.
145 crushed by an ice truck: George Dowling, Tolbert’s Mine Defense Lab colleague at the time, interview during a Sealab reunion, Panama City, Fla., March 12, 2005.
146 watched as it vanished: Tape recording of Sealab II press conference for Team 2.
146 release scores of detectors: Dowling, interview, March 12, 2005; Judith Morgan, “2 Plan to Litter Sea with Papers,” San Diego Union, Sept. 4, 1965, p. A2.
146 severe case of rash: Dowling, interview, March 12, 2005.
146 “You are completely enclosed”: Morgan, “2 Plan to Litter Sea with Papers,” San Diego Union, p. A2.
146 four “targets”: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 251.
146 Tolbert realized he was drifting: Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, p. 56. This first-person account, although anonymous in the cited text, clearly came from Tolbert. See also “Sealab II Log,” p. 107. Other aquanauts interviewed, including Cyril Tuckfield, on April 26, 2004, were familiar with this incident. Tolbert died before research on this book began.
146 slipped toward his knees: Jenkins, interview, May 3, 2004; this previously cited interview, along with Tolbert’s published account, cited above, are the primary sources for the details of this close call.
147 Ken Conda: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” pp. 170, 408; Conda, like Tolbert, died before research on this book began.
147 scared him quite like this: Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, p. 56.
147 cadre of marine mammals: “Brief History of the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program,” in Annotated Bibliography of Publications from the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program, Technical Document 627, Revision D (San Diego, Cali
f.: Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, May 1998), pp. v–vii, www.spawar.navy.mil/sti/publications/pubs/td/627/index.html.
147 hit TV series: Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, 6th ed. (New York: Ballantine, 1995), p. 1263.
147 act as a courier: Cliff Smith, “A Tougher Tuffy Carries Mail,” San Diego Union, Sept. 18, 1965.
147 undersea St. Bernard: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 407; Story of Sealab II.
147 web of tethers: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 21; Cyril Tuckfield, interview, Aug. 15, 2002.
147 in about a minute: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 408.
148 Tuffy seemed to be wary: Ibid.
148 potential to work with future Sealabs: Ibid., p. 409.
148 mirthful headline: Ted Thackery Jr., “Porpoise Tuffy Chickens Out on Sealab Test,” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Sept. 17, 1965.
148 White’s space walk: www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/ch11-2.htm; the walk was widely covered in the press but this official NASA Web site provides the essential details.
148 NASA had to lease: Ibid.
148 give or take an atmosphere: Reynold T. Larsen and Walter F. Mazzone, “Excursion Diving from Saturation Exposures at Depth,” in Underwater Physiology—Proceedings of the Third Symposium, p. 251; Charles Hillinger, “Aquanauts Under Sea Talk to Press Above,” Los Angeles Times, Sept. 10, 1965, p. A8.
148 “excursion dives”: Larsen and Mazzone, “Excursion Diving from Saturation Exposures at Depth,” in Underwater Physiology—Proceedings of the Third Symposium, pp. 241–54; Mazzone, interview, Jan. 19, 2005.
148 Dr. Workman wielded: Larsen and Mazzone, “Excursion Diving from Saturation Exposures at Depth,” in Underwater Physiology—Proceedings of the Third Symposium, p. 242; Mazzone, interview, Jan. 19, 2005.
149 results were promising enough: Larsen and Mazzone, “Excursion Diving from Saturation Exposures at Depth,” in Underwater Physiology—Proceedings of the Third Symposium, p. 247; Mazzone, e-mail to author, Jan. 20, 2005.
149 Mazzone never saw any: Mazzone, interviews, including Jan. 23 and Feb. 5, 2003; Hock, Bond, and Mazzone, “Physiological Evaluation of Sealab II,” p. 4.
149 say, 430 feet: Larsen and Mazzone, “Excursion Diving from Saturation Exposures at Depth,” in Underwater Physiology—Proceedings of the Third Symposium, p. 251.
149 much more expensive to operate: Mazzone, interview, Jan. 19, 2005.
149 could foresee a time: Stated by Bond in tape recording of Sealab II press conference for Team 3, Oct. 12, 1965.
149 placed like way stations: Bond, “Proposal for Underwater Research,” p. 3.
149 yield greater insights: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 128.
150 others were cut short: Jenkins, interview, May 3, 2004; “Sealab II Log,” pp. 112, 113, 113b, 118, 118b, 119, contain examples of some difficulties, as do a smattering of local news items, such as Bryant Evans, “Two Sealab Divers Reach 253 Feet; Instrument Failure Forces Men into Swift Return,” San Diego Union, Sept. 24, 1965, p. A17.
150 edge of the Grand Canyon: Jenkins, interview, May 3, 2004.
150 along the rocky canyon rim: Ibid.
150 stopped where they were: Ibid.
150 reached their depth goal: Ibid.; Bryant Evans, “Aquanauts Dive Below Sealab to Sheer Cliff,” San Diego Union, Sept. 25, 1965.
150 had just lowered Conshelf Three: Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau, “Working for Weeks on the Sea Floor,” National Geographic, April 1966, p. 508.
150 after midnight on September 22: Ibid., p. 509.
150 almost 330 feet: Ibid., p. 504.
150 a steel sphere: Ibid., pp. 502, 504, 519.
151 minimize the habitat’s reliance: Ibid., p. 504.
151 same hostile conditions: André Laban, leader of Conshelf Three crew and longtime Cousteau associate, interview, Juan-les-Pins, France, Oct. 27 and 31, 2004.
151 shooting a film while living: Ibid.; Cousteau, “Working for Weeks on the Sea Floor,” p. 506.
151 prime sponsors: Cousteau, “Working for Weeks on the Sea Floor,” p. 502.
151 “Christmas tree”: Ibid., p. 500; World of Jacques Cousteau, National Geographic Special, April 28, 1966, viewed at Museum of Television and Radio, New York City, March 28, 2003.
151 lower a mock Christmas tree: Cousteau, “Working for Weeks on the Sea Floor,” pp. 522, 527.
151 370 feet: Ibid., p. 527.
151 Oil engineers would be watching: Ibid.
151 at seven-thirty in the morning: “Sealab II Log,” p. 18A.
152 Barth was the last: Ibid.
152 football helmets: Jenkins, interview, May 3, 2004; Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, p. 77; Story of Sealab II.
152 could see out a little porthole: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 115.
152 exposed the aquanauts to as much danger: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 146; Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, pp. 77–78.
152 had to sweat out its decompression: Diary of Berry Cannon, entry for Sept. 13, 1965.
152 six feet an hour: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 112.
152 just over twenty feet long: Ibid., p. 118.
153 like “Goodnight, Irene”: Carpenter, interview, Jan. 25, 2002; Story of Sealab II.
153 quite a few congratulatory calls: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 115.
153 from President Lyndon Johnson: S. A. Desick, “President Calls Up Crew in Chamber,” San Diego Union, Sept. 27, 1965, p. A17.
153 Alas, it was not: Tape recording of the conversations with the telephone operators and the president (in author’s possession).
153 operator sounded mortified: Ibid.
153 big headlines about Cooper: Evert Clark, “2 Astronauts End 8-Day Flight Tired but in ‘Wonderful Shape’; Johnson Hails U.S. Space Gains,” New York Times, Aug. 30, 1965, p. 1, was one of many.
154 “I’m not sure he got much”: Tape recording of the conversations.
154 ashore for a more formal press conference: Bryant Evans, “Carpenter Reports on Life for 30 Days Under the Sea,” San Diego Union, Sept. 29, 1965 (with photo), p. 1.
154 whose members had sat willy-nilly: Smith, “Aquanauts Report on Sealab Life,” San Diego Union (with photo), p. 1.
154 spoke from a lectern: Story of Sealab II.
154 “If we had been seeking records”: Tape recording of Sealab II press conference for Team 2.
155 “hardships”: Ibid.
155 never worked harder: Ibid.
155 “Commander Carpenter”: Ibid.
155 “It’s going on”: Ibid.
155 “This is the second”: Ibid.
156 “We are really in the dawn”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 12: THE THIRD TEAM
Page
157 Robert Carlton Sheats: Owen Lee, “The Master of the Master Divers,” Skin Diver, September 1965, p. 50; this article, a Q&A with Sheats, added to the overall description of Sheats’s life and times that came from other sources, including those cited in the notes that follow.
157 “the finest man”: Tape recording of Sealab II press conference for Team 3; see also Bond, “Sealab II Chronicle,” p. 21, for a further expression of his unequivocal respect for Sheats.
157 compact and muscular: Barth, Sea Dwellers, p. 166 (photo).
157 supervisor for Sealab I: Ibid., p. 55.
157 took part in the macabre recovery: Lee, “The Master of the Master Divers,” p. 52.
157 dives he was forced to make: Robert C. Sheats, One Man’s War: Diving as a Guest of the Emperor 1942 (Flagstaff, Ariz.: Best Publishing, 1998), pp. 31–52.
158 Bond had first met Sheats: Tape recording of Sealab II press conference for Team 3; Lee, “The Master of the Master Divers,” p. 53.
158 friends and diving buddies: Lee, “The Master of the Master Divers,” p. 53; Carl Sheats, the younger of Sheats’s two sons, interview, April 27, 2004.
158 gl
ad to have Sheats leading: Bond, “Sealab II Chronicle,” p. 21.
158 his obsession with safety: Ibid.; Phil Sheats, the older of Sheats’s two sons, interviews, July 8 and 21, 2004.
158 ordered five pairs: Bob Sheats Daily Log—Sealab II, entry for Sept. 20, 1965 (copy in author’s possession).
158 lapses in safety procedures: Ibid., entry for Sept. 25, 1965.
158 Mark VI had a long way to go: Ibid., entry for Sept. 30, 1965; see also entries for Sept. 2 and 5, and Oct. 3; “Sealab II Log, Part 2,” p. 41; Radloff and Helmreich, Groups Under Stress, pp. 55–56, 58.
159 long face: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 173.
159 fresh out of diving school: Bill Meeks, taped interview, April 29, 2004.
159 paired with Sheats during: Ibid.
159 gave him nightmares: Ibid.
159 when Bond brought it up: Ibid.
159 “foam in salvage”: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” pp. 385–89.
160 enabled the Team 3 aquanauts to refill: Ibid., pp. 182, 419.
160 swam a hundred feet over: Sheats Daily Log, entry for Sept. 27, 1965.
160 the FIS gun: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 387.
160 to take the first shots: Meeks, interview, April 29, 2004.
160 between two and eighteen minutes: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 386.
160 foam escaped: Leo Bowler, “2 Aquanauts Study Coral During Dive,” (San Diego) Evening Tribune, Oct. 5, p. A3.
160 becoming overly buoyant: Meeks, interview, April 29, 2004.
160 foam was clogging: Ibid.
160 signaled to each other: Ibid.
160 Sheats let it be known: Sheats Daily Log, entry for Sept. 30, 1965; “Sealab II Log, Part 2,” pp. 37A, 39.
160 switch to standard scuba rigs: Bond, Papa Topside, p. 137.
161 problem with the foam: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 388.
161 an important step forward: Sheats Daily Log, entry for Sept. 29, 1965.
161 blasted studs into steel: Pauli and Clapper, “Project Sealab Report,” p. 389.