THE diving gear looks positively medieval with lead boots, weights, belt and helmet weighing a total 80kg.

They do this for fun?

Indeed they do, and it’s quite a spectacle.

Portland hosts the Historical Diving Society Australia Pacific each June long weekend, run seamlessly by Frank Zeigler and his team at Professional Diving Services.

This year divers came from around Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.

The divers were fortunate to have calm conditions last weekend, basing themselves at the end of the trawler wharf in Portland harbour.

They were all fully qualified scuba divers but eight were diving in historic gear for the first time.

And their verdict was unanimous: fantastic.

First they gear up in a 6kg canvas and rubber suit, 5-12kg brass helmet, lead boots weighing 10kg each, 20kg lead weights front and back, and an extra weight belt if required.

Despite that extra 60-80kg weight, once their suit and helmet fill with air, the divers are buoyant. “It’s like walking on the moon once you get that neutral buoyancy, when the air inside the suit is equal to the water depth,” Mr Zeigler said. 

The divers need help gearing up – just getting that helmet on and off is quite a task – stepping down into the water from a pontoon ladder and back out again.

A third assistant then holds the air, safety rope and communications line, called an umbilical, as the diver walks along the seabed, five to eight metres in depth for up to 20 minutes. Over the weekend, visibility was up to 12 metres for the first divers of the day, but dropped to 1.5 metres once the silt had been disturbed by those lead boots.

The breathing hose is connected to an antique manually operated air pump, operated by the tenders (and willing bystanders) and backed up by scuba air cylinders and the diver can communicate to land support via a two-way communication.

The divers were in safe hands thanks to support teams on the pontoon and scuba divers in the water keeping track of them underwater.

In command of all proceedings was Mr Zeigler, who founded the Professional Diving Group more than 40 years ago and has been a dive instructor and trainer for 45 years.

About 15 years ago, Mr Zeigler and fellow diver Steve Taylor decided to develop the world’s first civilian standard dress diving program which is recognised by the National Association of Underwater Instructors and used internationally. (Standard dress is the term for heavy and deepsea diving gear.)

Mr Zeigler owns several of the historic helmets which are 60 to 100 years old. One helmet brought to Portland was the first made in Australia – in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane – in 1868 by a Henri Dykes and was on display and dived over the weekend.

Mr Zeigler was thrilled with last weekend's event.

"Portland’s facilities are really world class and being able to get close to the action is unique," he said.

"We had perfect weather, the sea conditions were brilliant, and the support from Glenelg Shire and local port was pivotal in the success of the weekend.

“We – and the public who stopped by – were privileged to see such an arrangement of classic diving equipment on display and in use.

"And it all started in Portland!”