850 GOOD NEWS: The Bay County breakthrough that revolutionized ocean exploration

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - It‘s a story of innovation, courage, and a pioneering spirit from right here in bay county that changed the way we see the ocean and how we dive into it.

It all started more than six decades ago with a man who believed that diving deeper and longer could transform not only science, but the military, too.

And now, that legacy lives on in a very special place you can visit: The Man in the Sea Museum.

And that’s what makes this story 850 good news.

You’re not underwater, you’re inside the man in the sea museum.

“This is just a showcase of what went on in this county and how it really set the tone for national defense throughout the years,” said Executive Director and Curator Steve Mulholland.

The journey began in 1963, in Panama City, when the first sea lab was built. A year later, it was taken out to Bermuda.

“Divers lived in Sea Lab I for 11 days while they proved the concept of saturation diving,” said Mulholland.

The work was the idea of one man: George Bond. As captain of Sea Lab I, he demonstrated a new way of diving-- saturation diving-- which allows divers to remain underwater for longer periods of time without having to constantly decompress.

“Divers could stay underwater for longer periods of time until they were saturated and get more work done and just do all the decompression after the mission,” said Mulholland.

Sea Lab I was a success, and the navy was convinced. It wasn’t long before they built sea lab ii and sent it to San Diego, where the dive lasted 45 days.

“The mission profile was a lot longer. The water was a lot colder. The visibility was a lot worse. So, it was very taxing on the aquanauts themselves,” said Mulholland.

Sea Lab II also had an unusual team member-- a dolphin named Tuffy who became a key member of the team.

“He would deliver mail back and forth. He would also deliver tools back and forth. But Tuffy’s main job was to rescue aquanauts,” said Mulholland.

In 1969, Sea Lab III launched-- this time at a whopping 600 feet below the surface.

But with new depths came new challenges and tragedy.

“They had a lot of problems with their hot water suits, a lot of problems with leaks on Sea Lab III, and unfortunately, an aquanaut died on the first dive on Sea Lab III,” said Mulholland.

Despite the disaster, saturation diving has become a standard practice for the military and commercial industries, all thanks to the innovative work done here in Panama City.

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