THis past weekend Jan 31 and Feb 1st SEI put on an Ice Diving Class in Muncie, Indiana. Led by SEI Instructors Tom Leaird, Dan Marelli, Dick Schwan, and Randy Smith, 15 students received their SEI Ice Certifications. Yours truly was one of the participants.
It was a blast! I'll post more details later and will be posting photos on my website as I get them downloaded from the camera. I also have shots coming via email and those will be up as well.
We had 6-7 inches of "good ice" as Tom calls it and a beautiful day. Water temps were 38-40 by my bottom timer and the air temp actually got up to 42 with bright sunshine. It was incredible to see it streaming down through the ice!
But as beautiful as it was I gained a new appreciation and respect for diving in an overhead environment. The ice, coupled with the cold temps, and the risks involved are not to be taken lightly.
More details later, but as a point of information there will be another SEI Ice Diving Class led by Andy Silverman at Whitestar Quarry in Ohio on Feb7&8. I'd love to attend but family commitments make that a no go. If anyone would like contact info PM me.
It was a blast! I'll post more details later and will be posting photos on my website as I get them downloaded from the camera. I also have shots coming via email and those will be up as well.
We had 6-7 inches of "good ice" as Tom calls it and a beautiful day. Water temps were 38-40 by my bottom timer and the air temp actually got up to 42 with bright sunshine. It was incredible to see it streaming down through the ice!
But as beautiful as it was I gained a new appreciation and respect for diving in an overhead environment. The ice, coupled with the cold temps, and the risks involved are not to be taken lightly.
More details later, but as a point of information there will be another SEI Ice Diving Class led by Andy Silverman at Whitestar Quarry in Ohio on Feb7&8. I'd love to attend but family commitments make that a no go. If anyone would like contact info PM me.
