OCR Text |
Show Friday, May 27, 19B3 Sun Advocate This is not some strange sea creature, but Steve Paige wearing his face mask and regulator for a 1 ' ' Price Cjty Pool, ' practice dive in the ' 1C i .i'. . if Jij U, tf; t'voi'vf vf v" v, j ijui nrti J Bubbles rise to the surface. The world around you has suddenly become three-dimension- al. Objects float or are suspended at your side, but instead of being able to see miles away, your vision is limited to 100 feet. This is the world of the scuba diver. Three Price men have decided to expand their hobby into the business of salvaging objects lost in Utah rivers and lakes. Salvage in Utah up until now has been centered in Salt Lake City, but a lot of boats are lost in Lake Powell. It would be cheaper for us to do it than for someone in Salt Lake, said Bob Oliver, a professional diver and coordinator for the three-ma- n team. The team, known as the Desert Divers, consists of Oliver, Dr. David Barclay and Steve Paige. Oliver received his divers training in the navy and has been diving for about three years. Diving is a sport, but salvage is more than that, he said. Oliver also said he loves the water and has spent as much as eight-houworking underwater. There is a lot of planning and coordination involved, he said. This includes checking the depth and air consumption for the dive. There are pressure laws involved, Oliver said. Every 33 feet down is equal to one atmosphere and the rs ' , . , I r.'r man weighs only 14 average pounds in the water. The Desert Divers rent the Price Pool and practice there. They also use open circuit air cylinders which hold thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch, Paige said. Filtered air is used, although deepwater divers use a mixture of oxygen and helium, Oliver said. There are not a lot of laws applying to In order to Oliver said. salvage, to have we a take salvage, picture of the object and the serial number. If its a boat, we trace it and buy the rights from the insurance company. Legalities are very important. In order to retrieve the object, a bag with a specific weight equal to the specific weight of the object must be used. It is inflated and the object is raised up to the surface. From there it must be hoisted out of the water, explained Oliver. as a Paige, who works part-tim- e unPool the at Price said lifeguard derwater hand signals must be used and divers should never dive alone. Practice is also important, he said. Good divers should always stay in practice and go with a certified person. 10-in- ch Diving is a misunderstood sport, Paige said, but its enjoyable and rewarding. People dont know much about it. . a jump into the pool. Story by Wayne Hies Photos by Lynn Howlett Oliver and Paige show off the load of equipment they use as divers. They hope to turn their hobby into a business. 11 ri ni i. tfo'vjw |