Hi,
I am not sure if this is the right forum to post this - mods please move if it is not.
We have just come back from a diving trip from Antarctica (Feb 2013). Prior to going away I struggled to find an extensive report on an Antarctic diving trip, so this is my attempt at one. I hope it is useful for someone else, especially other people who are not used to diving in cold water and are wondering how to prepare and what they need to take. I have deliberately not talked about what we saw on the dives, that is a whole different post to write another day (and I have posted a you tube link at the end).
In this report I will explain the equipment we chose, decisions we made, what we saw others doing/using, companies we used, and anything else I can think of. So it is a big post.
About us
I have about 500 dives and am certified as a PADI Advanced/Deep/Nitrox diver
Rachel (my wife) has about 300 dives with the same certifications.
We both dive regularly at home in and around Australia.
Prior to diving in Antarctica; Rachel and I had not done any diving in water colder than 20C (68F) nor did we have any drysuit experience. Also living in Perth, Western Australia we were a long way from any LDS that had experience in this area.
We started planning the trip about 2 years out from the season we wanted to travel in, with proper training in the gear we were going to use on the trip starting about 18 months out.
The Trip
The company we chose to dive with was Waterproof Expeditions (www.waterproof-expeditions.com) who charter the boat Polar Pioneer from Aurora Expeditions (www.auroraexpeditions.com.au). Our initial inquiry was with Aurora but they outsource their diving operation to Waterproof. We booked about 12 months in advance.
The Polar Pioneer is a Russian ex survey/research vessel. It takes about 55 passengers, and is the smallest expedition vessel to tour the Antarctic. It is basic yet comfortable. Food was simple yet hearty. Staff were fantastic. It was not a luxury cruise. Passengers on the boat were made up of 'land/ice explorers' (~20 pax), kayakers (~8 pax), divers (~24 pax), snorkelers (2 pax). Each day there were
Our cabin was on deck 3, the same deck as the dive deck. Toilets and showers on this deck are shared but plentiful, we rarely had to wait for a shower toilet. Toilets/showers were cleaned a number of times a day. Beds were single beds but only just long enough for me at 6"3 (190cm). I would choose the same deck again rather than a larger cabin higher up in the ship, two reasons (a) less rocking than lower down in the ship (b) easy walk out onto the dive deck and back to your cabin if you forget something.
The Diving
A typical day as a diver involved breakfast, followed by dive briefing and gear up. The ship has a heated container on the aft deck for storing/drying dive gear. We only used the container for hanging suits between dives and overnight, hoods/gloves/boots we took back to our cabin. To gear up we took our drysuits back to our cabin, 'dressed in' and then went out on deck.
Rachel and I left our BC's and regs attached to tanks out in the weather (tied down or tucked under a step), other people disassembled theirs. There was no rinsing gear in fresh water for the duration of the trip as fresh water would have frozen.
There was no 'Caribbean Service' here, the Dive Masters drive the zodiacs, select the dive sites, and fill your tanks. It is your responsibility to swap your tanks, load your gear onto the zodiacs, get ready etc etc, and navigate your dives.
Gear was loaded into the zodiacs and the zodiacs were craned into the water, divers then climbed in. Selecting a dive site could take up to an hour, we would then dive, and then have the opportunity to catch the end of the shore expedition. So in this respect the divers had the best of both worlds, we got to dive and then do some shore exploring. It did mean that we were out in the elements and in our drysuits for 3-4 hours at a time. After the dive we could take off wet gloves/hoods and replace with mitts/beanies but we stayed in our suits, this was an issue for some divers with dry gloves that could not be removed from their suits.
After diving/exploring it was a zodiac trip back to the boat, swapping tanks, gearing down, having lunch, and doing it all again in the afternoon.
Water temperature was -1C to 0C (30F to 32F).
Air Temp was around freezing somewhere, often colder, sometimes warmer.
Dives were a max time of 45mins with a max depth of 20m
Dry Suits
We chose Hollis BioDry FX100 (www.hollisgear.com) suits as our drysuits and gave ourselves 2 perth winters to get used to them. The reason for this suit selection was that they are a hard wearing simple suit. Also one we could dive here in Perth with thin undergarments, and then bulk up with in colder water.
On the trip other divers had a range of other suits from ScubaPro neoprene suits to full rubber TriLam heavy duty and everything in between. When I said our suits were simple, they were only simple in features not performance. The flexible material used in the Hollis suits made them very comfortable to spend extended periods of time in, and a number of people commented on how comfortable we looked. We did not have dry gloves, warm neck neoprene covers, integrated hoods, etc etc. At the end of the day it seemed that any drysuit was fine as long as the person diving it was completely comfortable with it. The people who had issues were those who were trying something new.
There was a combination of neoprene and latex seals on peoples suits. Rachel and I did not have any seal rash, though some others did. Sitting in drysuits for 3+hours is a real test of your drysuit comfort, if you suffer in any way from seal rash I recommend an Apollo Bio Seal (apollo-sports.com). There was one being shared around on the boat between the worst neck rash sufferers. Yes they do degrade latex seals over time but you are talking about using it for a week only, if you are considering a trip like this and in any way suffer from seal rash (or think you might) take a BioSeal.
Gloves/Hands
After talking with a few people who had cold water experience we chose 7mm mitts rather than dry gloves, simplicity being a deciding factor here. I wore the fourth element (www.fourthelement.com) mitts and Rachel had the Waterproof (www.waterproof.eu) mitts. Both performed well and most importantly we could both "self dress" or at least get them on with minimal (5 second or less) assistance. We had no problem with spending 30-40mins in the water plus 'zodiac time'
Hoods/Head
I wore a 7mm Fourth Element hood, and Rachel wore a 7mm Waterproof hood with a Waterproof ice hood over the top. I tried the ice hood but with my larger head I found it felt too tight on my head. Neither of us experienced 'ice cream headache'
Undergarments
As, at home, we normally dive in 20C (68F) water this was a bit of an unknown for us, so we chose a modular approach with the Fourth Element Dry Range, at home diving in the Xerotherm gear and then adding layers on the Antarctic trip
- As a base layer we wore either the DryBase or simply sports leggings and top, just to provide a tight wicking layer against the skin.
- For a second layer we wore a Fourth Element Xerotherm long sleeve top, I wore an additional Xerotherm vest
- For the final layer we wore the Fourth Element Halo 3D
We took with us the Fourth Element Xerotherm leggings, we tried them for one dive but we did not need them and took them off so we could reduce the lead we were carrying.
Feet
On our feet we wore merino wool socks with the Fourth Element HotFoot socks over the top, with the drysuit over this and then neoprene boots. Neither of us had cold feet. Keeping feet well insulated was very important as walking in snow and ice after diving (still in drysuits) became difficult for people who did not insulate their feet well.
Regs/BCD's/Wings
There was a range of gear in use, as long as it was ice rated and you were comfortable with it, it seemed to be fine. This was not technical diving it was just diving in cold difficult conditions.
We took our regular BCD's but most other people had wings.
We took Poseidon XStream regulators
The boat provided single tanks with a Y-Valve to accommodate dual first stages, with a single second stage coming from each. So
- the 'primary first stage' had your primary second stage, drysuit inflator hose, manual pressure gauge
- the 'secondary first stage' had your reserve second stage, computer, BCD/wing inflator.
In the event of a primary regulator freezup and freeflow the procedure was to shut down the 'primary side' and abort the dive.
We did not have any free flows, but Rachel did have her regulator feed her some ice balls at one point, but it did not freeze/freeflow. To continue the dive she switched to her secondary for a few minutes and then back to her primary which avoided any further issues.
Other Equipment/Gear issues
It is important to remember that there is no LDS that you can goto to buy spare parts, so if you think something might break take a spare, or know how to fix it. We took the following spares
Recommendations for anyone else thinking about this trip
1. Do at least 50 dives in the gear you plan to take with you, Antarctica is not a place to try new gear.
2. Take your own buddy and have done 20+ dives with them, you need to have someone you can work with as a team. If you go on your own you might get lucky with a good buddy, or as some discovered you might miss dives because your buddy let you down.
3. Be confident in your underwater navigation and all diving skills, there is no DM to guide you underwater, the DM stays on the zodiac.
4. The diving is not difficult but the conditions are, the last thing you need to be nervous about is the diving. If you are not a comfortable competent diver wait till you are before trying a trip like this.
5. Conditions are variable so pack plenty of patience and flexibility
Here is a small youtube video of our trip Dive Antarctica - YouTube
Honorable mentions for other companies/people not listed previously that helped/supported us in our preparation
If anyone has any questions I will try to answer them as best I can.
Andy
I am not sure if this is the right forum to post this - mods please move if it is not.
We have just come back from a diving trip from Antarctica (Feb 2013). Prior to going away I struggled to find an extensive report on an Antarctic diving trip, so this is my attempt at one. I hope it is useful for someone else, especially other people who are not used to diving in cold water and are wondering how to prepare and what they need to take. I have deliberately not talked about what we saw on the dives, that is a whole different post to write another day (and I have posted a you tube link at the end).
In this report I will explain the equipment we chose, decisions we made, what we saw others doing/using, companies we used, and anything else I can think of. So it is a big post.
About us
I have about 500 dives and am certified as a PADI Advanced/Deep/Nitrox diver
Rachel (my wife) has about 300 dives with the same certifications.
We both dive regularly at home in and around Australia.
Prior to diving in Antarctica; Rachel and I had not done any diving in water colder than 20C (68F) nor did we have any drysuit experience. Also living in Perth, Western Australia we were a long way from any LDS that had experience in this area.
We started planning the trip about 2 years out from the season we wanted to travel in, with proper training in the gear we were going to use on the trip starting about 18 months out.
The Trip
The company we chose to dive with was Waterproof Expeditions (www.waterproof-expeditions.com) who charter the boat Polar Pioneer from Aurora Expeditions (www.auroraexpeditions.com.au). Our initial inquiry was with Aurora but they outsource their diving operation to Waterproof. We booked about 12 months in advance.
The Polar Pioneer is a Russian ex survey/research vessel. It takes about 55 passengers, and is the smallest expedition vessel to tour the Antarctic. It is basic yet comfortable. Food was simple yet hearty. Staff were fantastic. It was not a luxury cruise. Passengers on the boat were made up of 'land/ice explorers' (~20 pax), kayakers (~8 pax), divers (~24 pax), snorkelers (2 pax). Each day there were
- 2 to 3 landings or zodiac cruises for the explorers,
- 2 dives/snorkels for the divers/snorkelers
- 2 to 3 kayak trips
- As a diver/kayaker/snorkeler you could sit out a dive and do a land expedition and do any additional land expeditions that were available over and above the diving/kayaking/snorkeling.
Our cabin was on deck 3, the same deck as the dive deck. Toilets and showers on this deck are shared but plentiful, we rarely had to wait for a shower toilet. Toilets/showers were cleaned a number of times a day. Beds were single beds but only just long enough for me at 6"3 (190cm). I would choose the same deck again rather than a larger cabin higher up in the ship, two reasons (a) less rocking than lower down in the ship (b) easy walk out onto the dive deck and back to your cabin if you forget something.
The Diving
A typical day as a diver involved breakfast, followed by dive briefing and gear up. The ship has a heated container on the aft deck for storing/drying dive gear. We only used the container for hanging suits between dives and overnight, hoods/gloves/boots we took back to our cabin. To gear up we took our drysuits back to our cabin, 'dressed in' and then went out on deck.
Rachel and I left our BC's and regs attached to tanks out in the weather (tied down or tucked under a step), other people disassembled theirs. There was no rinsing gear in fresh water for the duration of the trip as fresh water would have frozen.
There was no 'Caribbean Service' here, the Dive Masters drive the zodiacs, select the dive sites, and fill your tanks. It is your responsibility to swap your tanks, load your gear onto the zodiacs, get ready etc etc, and navigate your dives.
Gear was loaded into the zodiacs and the zodiacs were craned into the water, divers then climbed in. Selecting a dive site could take up to an hour, we would then dive, and then have the opportunity to catch the end of the shore expedition. So in this respect the divers had the best of both worlds, we got to dive and then do some shore exploring. It did mean that we were out in the elements and in our drysuits for 3-4 hours at a time. After the dive we could take off wet gloves/hoods and replace with mitts/beanies but we stayed in our suits, this was an issue for some divers with dry gloves that could not be removed from their suits.
After diving/exploring it was a zodiac trip back to the boat, swapping tanks, gearing down, having lunch, and doing it all again in the afternoon.
Water temperature was -1C to 0C (30F to 32F).
Air Temp was around freezing somewhere, often colder, sometimes warmer.
Dives were a max time of 45mins with a max depth of 20m
Dry Suits
We chose Hollis BioDry FX100 (www.hollisgear.com) suits as our drysuits and gave ourselves 2 perth winters to get used to them. The reason for this suit selection was that they are a hard wearing simple suit. Also one we could dive here in Perth with thin undergarments, and then bulk up with in colder water.
On the trip other divers had a range of other suits from ScubaPro neoprene suits to full rubber TriLam heavy duty and everything in between. When I said our suits were simple, they were only simple in features not performance. The flexible material used in the Hollis suits made them very comfortable to spend extended periods of time in, and a number of people commented on how comfortable we looked. We did not have dry gloves, warm neck neoprene covers, integrated hoods, etc etc. At the end of the day it seemed that any drysuit was fine as long as the person diving it was completely comfortable with it. The people who had issues were those who were trying something new.
There was a combination of neoprene and latex seals on peoples suits. Rachel and I did not have any seal rash, though some others did. Sitting in drysuits for 3+hours is a real test of your drysuit comfort, if you suffer in any way from seal rash I recommend an Apollo Bio Seal (apollo-sports.com). There was one being shared around on the boat between the worst neck rash sufferers. Yes they do degrade latex seals over time but you are talking about using it for a week only, if you are considering a trip like this and in any way suffer from seal rash (or think you might) take a BioSeal.
Gloves/Hands
After talking with a few people who had cold water experience we chose 7mm mitts rather than dry gloves, simplicity being a deciding factor here. I wore the fourth element (www.fourthelement.com) mitts and Rachel had the Waterproof (www.waterproof.eu) mitts. Both performed well and most importantly we could both "self dress" or at least get them on with minimal (5 second or less) assistance. We had no problem with spending 30-40mins in the water plus 'zodiac time'
Hoods/Head
I wore a 7mm Fourth Element hood, and Rachel wore a 7mm Waterproof hood with a Waterproof ice hood over the top. I tried the ice hood but with my larger head I found it felt too tight on my head. Neither of us experienced 'ice cream headache'
Undergarments
As, at home, we normally dive in 20C (68F) water this was a bit of an unknown for us, so we chose a modular approach with the Fourth Element Dry Range, at home diving in the Xerotherm gear and then adding layers on the Antarctic trip
- As a base layer we wore either the DryBase or simply sports leggings and top, just to provide a tight wicking layer against the skin.
- For a second layer we wore a Fourth Element Xerotherm long sleeve top, I wore an additional Xerotherm vest
- For the final layer we wore the Fourth Element Halo 3D
We took with us the Fourth Element Xerotherm leggings, we tried them for one dive but we did not need them and took them off so we could reduce the lead we were carrying.
Feet
On our feet we wore merino wool socks with the Fourth Element HotFoot socks over the top, with the drysuit over this and then neoprene boots. Neither of us had cold feet. Keeping feet well insulated was very important as walking in snow and ice after diving (still in drysuits) became difficult for people who did not insulate their feet well.
Regs/BCD's/Wings
There was a range of gear in use, as long as it was ice rated and you were comfortable with it, it seemed to be fine. This was not technical diving it was just diving in cold difficult conditions.
We took our regular BCD's but most other people had wings.
We took Poseidon XStream regulators
The boat provided single tanks with a Y-Valve to accommodate dual first stages, with a single second stage coming from each. So
- the 'primary first stage' had your primary second stage, drysuit inflator hose, manual pressure gauge
- the 'secondary first stage' had your reserve second stage, computer, BCD/wing inflator.
In the event of a primary regulator freezup and freeflow the procedure was to shut down the 'primary side' and abort the dive.
We did not have any free flows, but Rachel did have her regulator feed her some ice balls at one point, but it did not freeze/freeflow. To continue the dive she switched to her secondary for a few minutes and then back to her primary which avoided any further issues.
Other Equipment/Gear issues
It is important to remember that there is no LDS that you can goto to buy spare parts, so if you think something might break take a spare, or know how to fix it. We took the following spares
- parts for Poseidon Xtreme second stage
- cable ties (used)
- aquaseal and cotol (used)
- one spare neck and wrist seal for each suit
- spare mask (used)
- spare HP hose (used)
- spare regulator mouthpiece (used)
- spare LP inflator hose
- first stage port plugs HP and LP used
- mask and fin straps
- allen keys, screw driver, small adjustable spanner
- silicone grease
- BCD inflator parts
Recommendations for anyone else thinking about this trip
1. Do at least 50 dives in the gear you plan to take with you, Antarctica is not a place to try new gear.
2. Take your own buddy and have done 20+ dives with them, you need to have someone you can work with as a team. If you go on your own you might get lucky with a good buddy, or as some discovered you might miss dives because your buddy let you down.
3. Be confident in your underwater navigation and all diving skills, there is no DM to guide you underwater, the DM stays on the zodiac.
4. The diving is not difficult but the conditions are, the last thing you need to be nervous about is the diving. If you are not a comfortable competent diver wait till you are before trying a trip like this.
5. Conditions are variable so pack plenty of patience and flexibility
Here is a small youtube video of our trip Dive Antarctica - YouTube
Honorable mentions for other companies/people not listed previously that helped/supported us in our preparation
- Dolphin Scuba Perth www.dolphinscuba.com.au
- Tony Davis www.oceanicaus.com.au
- Perth Diving Academy www.perthdiving.com.au
If anyone has any questions I will try to answer them as best I can.
Andy
