Hi DUI,
Diving under the 20' thick ice of the Ross Sea, around New Harbor, Antarctica (as seen in the film I made with Werner Herzog: ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE THE WORLD), it's often blacker than a coal bin at midnight. Just a bit of dim light from our dive hole, that we dynamite through the ice. I've been using the same CF200 DUI drysuit since 2001 it was getting a bit worn from the harsh and abusive treatment that it gets topside and outdoors on the sea ice, day after day, and year after year.
I decided to order a new suit with the features that I think are best for me, for the research diving I do in the United States Antarctic Program. My pal Rob Robbins, the McMurdo Diving supervisor, was using a TLS suit last season and it was working great for him, especially since
ice seems to just fall off it, after the water on the suit freezes topside.
I went for the reflective tape option on my new TLSSE suit that was just delivered to me. I figure that the tape and fluorescent pink overlay will make it easier for my buddy to spot me if I am dragged away, and down, by playful or murderous leopard seal. It also make the Elephant Seals at home stand up and pay attention. I think that I got it exactly right for my needs with this new suit.
Here are a few links from last season, of videos that I shot beneath the ice:
Wish You Were Here
Rob in his TLS Suit
Death of a Jelly Fish
Weddell Seal Playtime
That Lovely Ceiling
The Cute Robot SCINI
Henry Kaiser
Berkeley, CA
|
