La Chalupa

Cheito's father Don Jesus carefully drove over the hard packed sand of the dwarf forest leading to the gate of the compound by the lagoon where the underwater laboratory was moored. The gate was open. They drove on through and parked by the building that housed the offices and workshops supporting the laboratory. The boy was very excited. As a child he had read Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and then, as he grew older, all about Sealab, Conshelf, Tektite, and the underwater exploits of Jacques Cousteau and Scott Carpenter. Mr. Kormann, the director of the lab, had been a member of the Tektite team and had written a book about living and working under the sea. Mr. Kormann, had been waiting for them. He greeted them warmly, introduced himself and shook hands with the boy and his father. Mr. K actually looked like Captain Nemo as portrayed by James Mason in the old Disney film. They were invited into the office and Mr. Kormann offered them refreshments, and explained the purpose of the lab and its history. They left the office and started touring the workshop. Mr. Kormann explained the saturation diving equipment used on the lab that would allow the aquanauts to remain safely underwater for days at a time with only an abbreviated stay in the decompression chamber. They also saw and learned about the sea sleds designed and built by the members of the lab. They walked from the workshop to the pier where the lab was moored. They were not allowed to enter the lab but were able to closely examine the exterior. The use of the two detachable diving bells was explained. The lab was designed to be used for saturation diving with mixed gases. It would be stationed at a depth of about 60 feet and the aquanauts would be able to perform prolonged dives to depths in excess of 160 feet. The nitrogen in their air supply would be replaced by helium. The helium would not saturate the diver's bodies as much as nitrogen would, allowing a shorter and safer decompression. On the other hand, they would sound like munchkins when talking in the atmosphere of the lab. The divers could control the amount of oxygen in the air they breathed to prevent oxygen toxicity as the partial pressure of the gas increased as they went deeper. In case of an emergency, either of the diving bells could be detached from the lab, airlifted to the workshop, and attached to the decompression chamber which was large enough to allow a medic to provide emergency care to a stricken diver. The last part of the visit was spent aboard the twin masted schooner that had been restored by Mr. Kormann, and served as his and his family's home. They day ended after a meal aboard the schooner. They walked back to the car with Mr. Kormann, hands were shaken again, farewells exchanged. Cheito and his father drove off as the sun set. He closed his eyes and quietly dreamed of living and working undersea, and of the fantastic adventures still to come.

Jose M. Caldas, October 3, 2013.