DIVERS TO EXPLORE DROWNED CITY

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4431, 29 August 1939, Page 3

DIVERS TO EXPLORE DROWNED CITY

SUBMERGED FOR 250 YEARS Au expedition of marine explorers has revealed plans for walking under 300 ft of water, encased in recently developed helium gas diving suits along the ancient streets of a once nourishing island city in the Lesser Antilles. Captain Robert Hall, of Detroit, said the expedition hoped to accumulate data concerning St. James, former capital of St. Kitts’ Island. The town has been submerged for more than 2$ centuries —since an earthquake dropped it into the sea in 1680. Captain Hall told of the plans for his expedition after he had offered use of the helium diving suits to the A avy at Portsmouth, N.H., for work at the sunken submarine Squalus. Max Gene Nohl, diver, has been down 420 feet in the new type of deepsea contraption, Captain Hall said. No air tube is attached—only a cable, the centre of which is a small telephone wire for communication. The equipment contains a supply of helium and oxygen and needs no life line to compressed air machines on deck. Describing the mysterious lure of the submerged city. Captain Hall explained : “ AYhen the sea is calm you can see in the crystal-clear water 300 feet below the dim outline of the coral-en-crusted walls of the ancient town that was a thriving community long before the revolutionary war, long before there was any United States.”

speedway racing fan No. 1.” It has offered her the freedom of all speedway tracks. A personal friend of the Duchess said: “ She loved every minute of the racing she saw at West Ham Speedway recently, and said she intended going oftener to enjoy a ‘ thrill-and-spill ’ evening.”

Dalton’s Misfortune. it was a bad break for Hawke’s Ray when All Black D. S. Dalton damaged a ligament at ‘Wanganui last week and was thus lost to the side for the Auckland match (says the Napier ‘ Telegraph ’). But it’s a lot worse luck for Dalton himself. There seems to be little doubt that he is out for the season and that he is consequently going to lose his chance of consolidating his claims for the All Black team to visit South Africa next season.

Money in Cycling. At 41 the Dutchman. Piet Van Kempcn. is still the uncrowned king of sixday cycling. He has competed in do races, ami his average income is now £7 000 a vfcar. It is also a published fact that‘'ho is worth £IOO,OOO. Ho has bought an hotel in Brussels, where lie runs a restaurant on 'tne lines or those owned by Georges Carpentier and Jack Dempsey in Pans and New York City respectively. Furthermore, his property in Brussels also includes a block of luxury flats.