Some people collect rocks, others collect coins or stamps, but Eric Anderson of Anchor Bay, California, collects dive gear from the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Here’s his story about his unique dive museum.
My collection began in the 60’s when I became interested in diving. I started out free diving for abalone but soon after wanted to become a SCUBA diver. My interest was tweaked because of the old Lloyd Bridges Sea Hunt series that ran from 1958-1961.While garage sailing with my wife, one day I purchased an old double hose regulator and a steel 72 tank that was out of hydro. I could almost wager that my double hose regulator was the same one Mike Nelson used in Sea Hunt.
My first tank failed the hydro test so one of my buddies loaned me one of his. At that time you could purchase air without certification, so air was not a problem. Soon after my regulator and tank purchase, it was brought to my attention that using garage sale equipment during SCUBA was not the best idea. I finally realized that you do not bet your life on any item that could possibly fail and kill you.
It wasn’t long after my garage sale purchase that I joined the Aqua Knight dive club in the Sacramento area and learned how to SCUBA dive. However, that first purchase intrigued my interest in old dive equipment. After I retired from DOD USAF, my wife and I purchased a little home in Anchor Bay, and our basement is where our Dive Museum is housed.
Our Dive Museum is the home of many old regulators, both single and double hose, vintage dive masks, fins, depth gauges, dive lights, pressure gauges, SCUBA tanks, spear guns, dive knives, buoyancy compensators, dive computers, camera housings, vintage abalone irons, snorkels, etc. It also has many trophy abalone shells, trophy scallop shells, and other shells. All of the game shells were taken free diving from the area that we live. There are also pictures on the wall of some of the best divers that I know. We purchased the complete set of Sea Hunt, so normally we’ll have one playing on a little vintage TV when people visit our museum. The museum also has a ‘curator’ named Abby that is a beautiful mannequin outfitted with old dive gear.
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Photos and Story by Eric Anderson
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Abby
Most of my collection came from flea-markets, garage sales, e-bay, and donations from retired old-time divers. If I were to choose a favorite item in my collection I would probably go with the 1950 tanks and regulators. However, I love the vintage Marvel camera case from the 50’s as well. Even the old New England Divers SCUBA vest is something to cherish, and, the old 1950’s Voit weight belt adds character to the museum. There are also a few ping-pong snorkels that I admire. I used to spear a lot of fish in my younger days so the spear guns get me excited. I picked a spear gun up in Russia 15 years ago from a Russian Officer. That spear gun has CCCP (Russian for USSR) embossed in the handle so I know it’s vintage. My favorite item? I guess it would be Abby, our beloved mannequin.
The only diving equipment in the museum that I have used are a couple of the depth gauges, single hose regulators, dive lights, and BC’s. The dive lights are very powerful but they are bulky and too heavy. The horse collar BC’s are easy to use but would not cut it in today’s world. The depth gauges were strapped to your wrist and were unreadable when you descended much over 50 feet. I’ll finish with saying SCUBA has came a long way since 1950.
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Photos and Story by Eric Anderson
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Visitors to the museum are welcome if prior notice via an email is confirmed. You can find my email at the bottom of my home webpage.