The «Cousteau» of the Port of Odesa
Within the framework of the «Incredible Port» project
In April 1944, immediately after the liberation of Odesa from occupation, two elderly men visited the head of the port.
— We’ve been sitting by the pier with our fishing rods for two and a half years, — they said. — We’re tired of it. Give us work!
— What kind of work?
— The same work as before the war — as divers.
The head of the port looked at the old men: both were over sixty. 'Where do you think you’re going, old men, under water?' he thought. Aloud, so as not to offend them, he just shrugged his shoulders:
— I don’t even have any diving suits…
— Diving suits? We’ll find them in no time! — the men smiled. — Just give us a boat.
It turned out that all the diving equipment had been waiting for its time for two and a half years, safely hidden in a secure place. That very day, it was retrieved and tested during the first seabed survey in the waters of the Port of Odesa following the liberation.
One of these daring divers was Oleksandr Pomaher, known by the nickname 'Cousteau,' after the French creator of the aqualung. Like his legendary namesake, the Odesa native was constantly inventing and improving things. As early as 1909, he designed an underwater lamp — possibly one of the first in the world! And before the war, he received a patent for an invention of a wireless telephone to communicate with divers.
Behind him, he had thousands of hours spent at depth, dozens of surveyed sunken ships, and hundreds of neutralized mines and shells behind him. His life was filled with courage and adventure.
In 1956, Oleksandr Pomaher celebrated two anniversaries at once: his 75th birthday and 50 years of service in diving. He celebrated them in his own way - with another descent to the seabed. Retirement was not even on the horizon for the jubilarian.
