Honoring the Birthplace of Deepwater Diving
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) proudly unveiled the Deepwater Diving Monument—a long-overdue tribute to Santa Barbara’s rich heritage as the birthplace of deepwater diving—during a special ceremony on Saturday, April 5, at 4:30 p.m., next to the Santa Barbara Harbor and SBMM.
The monument depicted a professional diver from 1982, wearing a Kirby Morgan® Superlite® 17 Diving Helmet, a revolutionary design that set the world standard for commercial divers. This iconic figure stood as a symbol of Santa Barbara’s pioneering role in shaping the global diving industry. The project was funded through the sale of Limited Edition, Certified, Fine-Art Bronze Statuettes sculpted by California-based artist Greg Polutanovich, as well ascharitable donations made through SBMM.
In the 1960s, local abalone divers transitioned to deepwater oxy-helium diving, revolutionizing commercial and military diving by enabling safe exploration of much deeper waters. This transformation was sparked by Hugh “Dan” Wilson’s historic 400-foot dive off Santa Cruz Island on November 3, 1962. Conducted in secrecy, Wilson’s groundbreaking achievement—using mixed gas instead of air—launched what became known as the “Santa Barbara Helium Rush.”…