Greetings from Antarctica (really)

[keralucu]

WOW, WOW, WOW....

I am blown away by what you do! How did you hear about the program, what qualifications do you have to have to be accepted etc etc? And how many of you are stationed there at one time?

Amazing... and so glad you joined the boards to share what can only be a unique experience for the rest of us

I really hope you get the chance to dive there one day so you can tell us about it. (Wow, wow, wow.....)

Yep, Richelieu Rock/Similans (I'm going there for the first time in Feb... soooo looking forward to it.) Next time you ARE thinking of Thailand as a holiday destination, look me up! Would love to dive with you.

Check this link out for some Fiji diving info....

Hope to see a lot more of you on the boards!
Cheers Icy Ears

 

[Iguana Don]

G2,

It sure is nice to hear from different people from all over and under the globe. Sorry, but I will NOT add this to my list of "Things to do before I die". I guess deep down I am just another WWW (sorry Walter). About the coldest I have ever dove is 45 deg f, and that was cold enough.

Will be looking for more of your posting as this is the first time we have had 1st hand knowledge from that part of the world.

Thanks and welcome to the Board

ID........there are NO Iguanas in the Antartic

 

[Mario S Caner]

g2, though I won't be diving in your part anytime soon, I am curious as to what type of gear the divers are trusting their lives to... come-on what's the stuff that's looking the most well-used in the dive locker?

 

[g2]

keralucu -- Thanks for the link!

I heard about working here from an ad in the Denver Post years ago. It took a while for me to work up the nerve to apply. I had no idea what I was getting myself into...

As far as qualifications, it depends on the job. For my job I needed a background in physics and computers. Obviously welders and plumbers would need other skills. We have bakers and mechanics with Master's degrees in things like law and architecture -- they took any job they could get just to get down here. If you're healthy enough to be a good scuba diver, you're probably healthy enough to pass the employment physical.

McMurdo (or "Mactown" in the vernacular) is the biggest place on the continent. Most Antarctic stations have, say, 15-25 people. We have 200 in the winter and over 1000 in the summer. It's the big city!

Mario -- Re, the diving gear. All you techies out there should like this. The science groups are encouraged to bring their own gear, except for tanks and weights. They are required to bring their own drysuits. So they're welcome to dive in whatever they are most comfortable in.

Those who dive here a lot have developed a very elegant, minimalist approach. The dive locker has lots of exotic equipment, most of which is only rarely used. What sees a lot of use are the racks of Sherwood Magnum regulators. I think they added some metal heat sinks in the second stages to inhibit freeze up, but the concensus seems to be that it really wasn't necessary.

A single standard 80cuft tank is used for most dives, equipped with a Y-valve and two regulators for redundancy. Oh yeah, they have doubles available, but remember the water temps -- most people don't want to stay down any longer than 20-30 minutes. They come up shivering with blue lips as it is. If they want to get fancy they might add an argon pony bottle for drysuit inflation.

Again it's pretty much a preference thing, but a single tank is most often attached to a simple plastic backboard with shoulder and waist straps. (I'm not sure, but I think ScubaPro makes 'em.) No BCD. No wings, no pockets, nada. Weighting preferences vary a lot; some really like the DUI weight system.

One of the fun things to watch is the competition between weddell seals for air holes in the ice. Quite often a diver returns to the entry hole to find a seal plugging it up, guarding it against other seals. A small blast of air from the diver's octo usually shoos them away.

g2

 

[Mario S Caner]

Sounds great, thanks for the info. Sounds like a lot of fun actually. I'd love to be able to dive there. Say what kind of lighting do the divers use? And also... I'm assuming full face masks would be a gimme... what's the preference?

 

[g2]

Originally posted by Mario S Caner
Say what kind of lighting do the divers use?

Hmmm. Nothing special. Generally there's no diving at night, and during the summer there's 24 hours of daylight... A lot of light filters down, even through 2m of sea ice. They might carry a light, but it's just your typical recreational type. If it dies, it doesn't matter.

I'm assuming full face masks would be a gimme... what's the preference? [/B]

Surprisingly not! Dry hoods with normal masks are typical. There are some full face masks in the dive locker but I haven't seen them used. I would want one!

 

[Mario S Caner]

Originally posted by g2

Mario -- Re, the diving gear... most people don't want to stay down any longer than 20-30 minutes. They come up shivering with blue lips as it is. g2

Perhaps they wouldn't have that problem with the proper gear eh! LOL. I'm very surprised that they use a regular mask in those conditions. No wonder they come out with blue lips! LOL :cold:

 

[scubadweeb]

Bet that's not the only thing blue...

 

[syruss32]

Originally posted by scubadweeb
Bet that's not the only thing blue...

I wonder what else might come in blue. I would imagine those battery powered heating socks come in warm for certain anotomical sections of the body!

I think that would be a cool job G2. Is the pay good?

I'm thinking this might be a good place to get away from the summer heat as my wife would swear I am at least half seal anyways since I almost never wear anything but shorts even when it is snowing.

Syruss
http://www.coraladventures.net

 

[g2]

Is the pay good?

Nah. Underpaid and overworked, as usual. But there's nothing to buy here but T-shirts and beer, so the savings are good.

I'll ask our Science Diving Coordinator (a.k.a, "the dive god") why they don't use full face masks...

g2