Eric Keibler

So you think you are having a difficult day? Jesse Cancelmo was recently in photographing and diving in Antarctica and he relayed a story to us…

“One of the divers in our zodiac failed to snug up her drysuit zipper completely and after going in and establishing her buoyancy also confirmed a leak. But instead of aborting the dive, she joined her buddy for a 30 minute tour in 29 degree Fahrenheit water.

Upon surfacing, she had a water level in her suit up to her waist. The trooper she was, she simply asked for help draining her suit. After draining her suit I looked at her face and it was a combination of crimson red and blotches of black & blue. She was also shivering and looked terrible. The zodiac driver wanted to take us on a tour before going back to the boat and I was really concerned for her and suggested we go back right away. She spoke up and said, “no, I’m fine.” as she shivered like crazy. When I pointed out her shivering and face-coloring, others who had been to Antarctica before said, “Don’t worry, if she doesn’t shiver is when there’s a problem.”

So we toured for another 15 mins and then went back to the boat. This was the first dive in the morning. I figured for sure after this experience she would never show up for the afternoon dive but I was wrong. She was able to get another drysuit and a complete dry set of undergarments and she made the afternoon dive. I’ll say again, she was a real trooper!

Dive Mom and Madison can both attest that the water is cold in Antarctica and the goal is to manage the water and keep as much of it outside of your suit. But this experience demonstrates that the proper undergarments can help you manage the cold, even if you have a leak. It also demonstrates that you can withstand the cold for a period of time. In this case thirty minutes underwater and fifteen minutes on a surface boat tour. You just have to keep thinking positively!”

The other thing you can learn is that it is important to check all of your seals and the zipper before entering the water. In the case of a tizip plastic zipper, they are different from metal-neoprene zippers also used in drysuits. In zipping a metal-neoprene zipper you pull the slide all of the way to the stop at the end of the zipper. This is the fully closed position. In contrast, the TiZip plastic zippers pull all the way to the stop and then onto the solid piece at the end where it is in its fully closed position. What happens many times is that your buddy is familiar with one type of zipper and not with the one you have and he/she believe it is closed but in reality, it needs to be pulled just a bit more.

A buddy check is important but equally important is helping one another become familiar with the equipment so that the check is more complete. This will help you have a safer and more enjoyable dive.