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Description
When I was a boy of either 9 or 10 years old, my grammar school took my class on a field trip to Marineland of the Pacific, near San Pedro, CA, an immense aquarium which was once a major tourist attraction but which has long since been closed down, it's marine life moved elsewhere. But I digress. Apart from the fascinating displays of exotic fish and other ocean life, what really got my attention was a steel ball known as a benthoscope, a smaller version of the classic bathysphere such as the one used by Dr. William Beebe for deep diving into the ocean depths in the mid 1930s. (Gk: Benthos for "bottom" and scopaie for "to look"). The benthoscope was used by explorer Otis Barton to descend to a depth of 4,500 ft., a record for a cable-suspended submersible that still stands today. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benthosc… After Marineland was closed, Barton's benthoscope was moved to it's present location at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, where Stuart Davenport, Rhonda Roykirk and Richelle Davies marvel at this early ocean exploration device, particularly it's size and how anybody could possibly squeeze into it. Of course, Rhonda uses that fact to poke a little fun at Richelle's short stature which starts another spate of name-calling to which Stuart, much to his annoyance, must act as referee. Richelle's sailor collar blouse and shorts outfit is also an original costume design by Gulliver63. Richelle Navy Outfit (medium: pen and ink, Sketchbook digital coloring)

Stuart Davenport & Rhonda Roykirk (C) M.W. Bertrand
Richelle Davies (C) R. Fitzpatrick

Description
When I was a boy of either 9 or 10 years old, my grammar school took my class on a field trip to Marineland of the Pacific, near San Pedro, CA, an immense aquarium which was once a major tourist attraction but which has long since been closed down, it's marine life moved elsewhere. But I digress. Apart from the fascinating displays of exotic fish and other ocean life, what really got my attention was a steel ball known as a benthoscope, a smaller version of the classic bathysphere such as the one used by Dr. William Beebe for deep diving into the ocean depths in the mid 1930s. (Gk: Benthos for "bottom" and scopaie for "to look"). The benthoscope was used by explorer Otis Barton to descend to a depth of 4,500 ft., a record for a cable-suspended submersible that still stands today. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benthosc… After Marineland was closed, Barton's benthoscope was moved to it's present location at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, where Stuart Davenport, Rhonda Roykirk and Richelle Davies marvel at this early ocean exploration device, particularly it's size and how anybody could possibly squeeze into it. Of course, Rhonda uses that fact to poke a little fun at Richelle's short stature which starts another spate of name-calling to which Stuart, much to his annoyance, must act as referee. Richelle's sailor collar blouse and shorts outfit is also an original costume design by Gulliver63. Richelle Navy Outfit (medium: pen and ink, Sketchbook digital coloring)

Stuart Davenport & Rhonda Roykirk (C) M.W. Bertrand
Richelle Davies (C) R. Fitzpatrick