Kingdome of the Sea

a champ is a champ whether he's slugging out homeruns on the baseball diamond making touchdowns on the gridiron or proving a mastery of water sports the kingdom of the sea your guide is Colonel John D gray author Explorer adventurer and a champion of sorts in his own way when it concerns the highways and byways of the seven seas I'm your host Bob Stephenson whether it's your high school debating team or the Olympics these prizes symbolize achievement in open competition we call the winners champions and rightly so but there are other champions men women and children too who have proven their superiority in various endeavors without the benefit of gold cups or metals or Myrtle Reed's water chaps we call them and to pay them the homage do here is our man of the sea himself Colonel John Dee Craig you've summed it up so neatly Bob there's little I can add to what you just said now these people that Bob is talking about have taken up various watersports pertaining to our kingdom of the sea not necessarily in competition with others but primarily for the sheer joy and exhilaration they derive from the sport whether it's water skiing body surfing high diving or just old-fashioned clowning I'm glad you included clowning colonel because they seem to be our unsung heroes they lend so much color and enjoyment to aquatic events and frequently perform hazardous stunts but they seldom receive the credit they deserve how do you account for this well there are a number of reasons for this Bob in the first place these clowns perform so smoothly making their stunts look so simple we get the feeling they're not interested in any special mention you refer to water skiing body surfing and high diving but there must be many more water sports the list is long and it includes nearly every activity over under and across the surface of our waterways there's log rolling near lumber camps ice skating in our frozen rivers and lakes gymnastics on the beaches and several others you know I think our viewing audience would be more interested in seeing them than hearing about them so let's see some of these water champs hi in popularity among water sports and growing more popular in leaps and bounds his waterskiing here's Pete Peterson a former lifeguard and a world champion demonstrating his prowess on skis around the breakwater at Santa Monica Bay [Music] Colonel I'm curious about that word scheme I've heard it pronounced she from the type of hunt the word originally came from the Icelanders Bob to the best of my knowledge and it means a piece of wood it is pronounced either ski or she but the former pronunciation seems to be the more common in America this zigzagging that Pete's doing is called slalom a term also used in snow skiing at 35 25 miles-an-hour you better not make any miscalculations but for him it's just warming up practice [Music] in case you don't have a motorboat handy Pete shows you another way get hold of a helicopter gosh that propwash alone I think would be enough to throw me [Music] [Music] instead of skiing around an obstacle you just leave it to the pilot and ups-a-daisy he goes [Music] [Music] here's a neat trick if your insurance is all paid up a fast moving motorboat Patti Saunders and Pete strong arms and I don't have to remind you that the stunt calls for split-second tiny getting back into the boat might present a problem to some people but not to Patti going at full speed Patti makes this look as easy as walking up an escalator here's the Flying Saucer stunt with Pete making a 360-degree turn a feat that calls for perfect balance while toad at top speed [Music] [Applause] [Music] let's see up to colonel he let go the Toro he's just demonstrating what we call free boarding sliding down the constant Hill in the wake of the boat it's like a constant surf that never runs its full course [Music] and as an added attraction he does it on a chair for little while but you can't keep a good man down and here he is on a single ski a perfect landing the change of shoes and here he goes again seems to have picked up a hitchhiker that's eight-year-old Teddy Taylor an up-and-coming water skier of prominence here's something Pete has pulled out of his bag of tricks which I believe is being seen for the first time on television the human surfboard you don't suppose you'd like to rent himself out for a spin around the bay you'd better stick to the standard surfboard Bob like these Islanders you recognize Diamond Head here with the natural surge of the surf they ride the waves like a bunch of Bronco Buster's at a rodeo and a fall can be just as dangerous [Music] the two high standing sitting and the two high standing can be seen among the performers vilest surf may not compare with the one at Makaha it's still dangerous and always a challenge [Music] for the sake of a little variety Margie Calhoun and Pete are doing a little water ski on surfboard [Music] it's easy to see why waterskiing so popular Colonel it's a thrill or challenge to the imagination just thinking up new stunts [Music] [Applause] [Music] for a change of pace Bob let's meet another breed of water champs some divers hi and fancy here are responders and Billy service acknowledged as two of the champs in this field they demonstrate dives call for in competition the cutaway double jackknife the half twist swan the half-gainer [Music] the two and a half cutaway the two and a half back in tuck position the two and a half cut away in tuck position the running forward one and a half with full twist the three and a half forward somersault [Music] and as a topper the neatest trick of the year the handstand cut away in one in Reverse the last of course with a small assist from the cameraman kernels are anyway we can run that again sorry Bob a time and tide in television wait for no man [Music] [Music] this officially is a Santa Monica recreation playground but to anyone who has been here it is better known as Muscle Beach and we don't mean the oyster the clam but the biceps and triceps muscles thousands gather here daily to watch amateur and professional acrobats and athletes work out including many of our national champs yes and even world champs here's Johnny Robinson for example national high bar champion doing the Giant Swing with crossover and for a little levity Johnny is making like a monkey and believe me this is not as simple as it looks I've always had a warm spot for these clowns colonel ever since my kid days of the circus and you know they never seem to get the recognition they deserve they do make some of the most difficult stunts look so easy nothing they surely do [Music] Lea Thompson one of the greatest double bar performers is doing the fly away on the high bar in private life he's a railroad engineer [Music] [Applause] [Music] and here is Russ again on the Peter board with patty flipping her into the air and catching her so neatly in this Adagio routine [Music] we would appreciate this act more if we could have seen them rehearsing it again and again with many a narrow escape from broken bones and other bruises until they perfected the tiny as in the case of the high divers each of these stunts is clearly prescribed and must meet with all the rules and regulations before being acceptable in competitions the fellow on the receiving end must be pretty good himself you're so right Bob that's your namesake Bob Gordon who is an outstanding store as well as a receiver he's dependable and gives a lot of confidence to the others they let themselves go without any worry about what's going to happen after they do the cameraman went high to catch this back dive to a fish as this act is called giving us a bird's-eye view they demonstrate here all the grace and form of a ballet troupe without benefit of the toe shoes they handle the girl like a rag doll almost twisting her into a pretzel and throwing her back and forth like a sack of sawdust but you can be sure everything is worked out with precision distance measured to the inch and timing to the split second you have to be double-jointed for these acts colonel not necessarily but it helps in the case of contortionist they must be double-jointed if they have any joints at all [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] now there's something I've always enjoyed swinging through the air with the greatest of ease you must be thinking the man on that flying trapeze this man is working out on the low rings it isn't enough to do some of these difficult stunts while swinging he has some tricky twists after he lets go like this double somersault and half twist [Music] [Applause] Berry happens to be one of the greatest exponents of the low range and here he is demonstrating what he calls the flip us don't ask me why they gave it that name ba because I just don't know the answer it's a double somersault and a half twist one of the most difficult stunts to complete landing on that sand doesn't make the trick any easier fella could get really hurt twist an ankle or break a leg couldn't it well in competition the landing is included in the scoring for a real thrill the high Rings are close double to the man on the flying trapeze you really fly through the air with the greatest of ease if you ever want to discover muscles you didn't know you had Bob try a little work out on these high reins they'll bring them out quickly but have the liniment handy got an aching back just watching this firm [Music] well Bob a little skin-diving will put you back in condition well Colonel I still don't think I'd be able to do those giant swings and pull-ups well that chap happens to be Ferris the world's greatest athlete on the high rings one of his most spectacular stunts is a swinging iron cross which few people in the world can perform incidentally a strange ruling in gymnastics particularly in the Olympics serves to penalize a specialist like Ferris in favor of the all-round gymnast it isn't enough to become the world's greatest hiring performer or gain perfection in any of the other many branches of gymnastics you must excel in all of them including the horizontal bar the parallel bars the horse and many more before you can be declared a winner that's one sport that's really Universal isn't it colonel that's right Bob originally it signified a system of exercises for the purpose of promoting health and developing the body the word gymnasium is derived from the fact that the competitors were naked especially in Greece apparently there's no age limit that's April Atkins age 8 who has the makings of a world champ from the moment he discovered her Russ Saunders felt she was unnatural and started to train her here's a youngster that will bear watching he's little Linwood Janssen age two-and-a-half this routine the strength body pressed to a handstand takes an adult as long as five years to perfect you know colonel after seeing all these water champs in action I think there should be a Hall of Fame for them similar to the Baseball Hall of Fame or the one for gridiron chaps that's not a bad idea Bob king neptune's Hall of Fame we wouldn't have any trouble selecting eligible members would we well I hereby nominate you a committee of one to start the ball rolling that's a fast bob let's wait until we find out how many others are interested in the suggestion in the meantime let's your fans the demonstration we cooked up for them for this occasion had several requests from would be skin divers to help them select appropriate outfits so here's a young lady on just such a mission most sporting goods stores handle this equipment and joan selected Belloc Wasswa maids on her shopping tour bill bharata a pioneer skin diver is helping her select an outfit you test it by placing it over your nose and inhaling if a vacuum is formed a perfect seal occurs and the plate adheres to the face there's no need of using the strap in the test just exhale and the faceplate is released [Music] the selection of a snorkel is next it should be made of rubber so that it will Bend and not foul up in the kelp the soft rubber mouthpiece should be comfortable and will last a long time if you keep it out of the Sun when not in use flippers are chosen with as much the same care as in the purchase of a pair of shoes for fit and comfort if possible they should be tried out in a pool to make sure they don't chafe swim fins are invaluable especially when you are loaded down with spear guns and cameras and don't have free use of your arms for swimming [Music] or the more ambitious skin diver who wants to stay under for longer periods this tank and regulator make it possible to do so the breathing valve or regulator is a matter of personal preference but the important thing is to make sure it works bill is showing Joan the two-stage or a double diaphragm regulator when submerged the two-stage makes it impossible to inhale water instead of air a non-return valve prevents the water from entering the breathing tube in the event the mouthpiece is jarred from place a dry suit will keep you dry but not warm hence some underwear is highly recommended similar to that used by snow skiers if you prefer the wet suit then the underwear is not needed the water that gets between the suit and the skin is warm to body temperature you stay comfortable even if you're swimming in very cold water a tight-fitting rubber cap is worn with the wetsuit the material should be durable preferably with a tough coating of pliable on both sides of the neoprene material weighted belts are a must especially with exposure suits which are unusually buoyant the amount of weight depends on the individual a young miss weighing about a hundred ten pounds would require a belt weighing from eight to ten pounds but regardless of the outfit you select there is one rule you must be sure to follow and that is try it out in a pool before you venture out into the sea now seeing this demonstration reminds me of that old Chinese saying a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step speaking of Chinese saying a hint a next adventure keeps audience tuned in sooner said sooner done on behalf of Colonel Craig and our sponsor this is your host Bob Stevenson thanking you ladies and gentlemen and inviting you to be with us again on our next visit to the kingdom of the sea [Music] [Applause] [Music]