Archive for March, 2011
Evan Bozanic, 13, recently became the youngest diver to dive south of the Antarctic Circle. Considering the danger of the feat and the fact that he is so young makes it all the more remarkable. Bozanic got his first taste of diving when he was a four month old infant. His father, a marine scientist, submerged the infant in an open bell helmet that had been specially designed.
In recounting his first attempt at scuba diving, Bozanic said that he was terrified of anything hurting, so wound up going kayaking instead. Obviously, that fear wore off. For the Antarctic dive Bozanic had to wear scuba dive boots and a dry suit under his wet suit to help combat the cold. A chill still set in, but the teen accomplished his goal and is now looking for the next adventure.
Rescue dive teams work year round, even in icy conditions. The Colchester Technical Rescue Dive team in Colchester, Vermont knows that better than most. Each winter the team conducts a practice ice dive to keep their skills sharp in the event that they have to save a drowning victim or locate a vehicle that’s been submerged in an icy body of water.
The exercise is well coordinated and each diver takes extreme safety precautions to avoid cold-related injuries. In fact, the divers wear clothes under their dry suits and each diver wears a full face scuba mask. The dive rules for ice rescues are essentially the same as normal conditions, but looking up and seeing a sheet of ice can be daunting, according to the rescue workers. “It can be a little intimidating because you know you can’t go through it,” said one of the rescue divers to a local reporter.