I live in Antarctica!: Dive Tending

riding out to the dive hut in the piston bully

You might have read from a previous post on facebook, that I was finally given the chance to go on my first boondoggle. For those of you who don't quite know what a boondoggle is I will fill you in. It is a morale trip. Its not necessarily a leisurely day, though. For the most part you are working, but get to do something or go somewhere really cool because extra hands are needed. My first boondoggle was dive tending. Me and one other guy were given the opportunity to go along with two divers and help them when needed.

Hanging out on the piston bully parked next to the dive hut

Now, you must remember that I work the night shift. So, I had woken up at 1645, from a phone call from my boss asking if I was interested, stayed up all night, then met the divers at 0900 with absolutely no idea of what I was doing or where I was going. Normally, I go to sleep between 0700 and 0800 so already I was exhausted. But, how could I turn it down? So, I sucked it up and told myself "I'm here for a good time, not for a long time." That little quote always motivates to do things I know I will love, but just am having troubles finding the motivation to do it due to exhaustion. Anyways, I met the divers at the dive shack in town. The divers, SOPP Gary (the other person selected to dive tend with me), and I jumped into a piston bully, made our way to the galley to pick up sack lunches, then headed out to the dive hut. The dive hut was pretty close to McMurdo, just on the other side of hut point, but due to cracks and movement in the ice we had to go out and around taking about 20 min-1/2 hour to get there. Oh, and this ride was no joy ride. Off roading in a piston bully is worse than riding in the back of a delta. If you don't remember, I once told you that riding in the back of the delta on bumpy snow roads is equivalent to riding in the back of a school bus from hell. But you have to remember that the roads that the deltas drive on are groomed on a daily basis, where as the ride to the dive hut was literally "off roading", just following a path of flags. They do not smooth or groom the paths. You wouldn't think that because of the size of a piston bully that it would be that bad, but if you are one to get motion sickness you would definitely need a barf bag. The best way I can describe this one is its very similar to riding on a one car wooden roller coaster built back in the 1920's. When a piston bully turns it feels like you are on the roller coaster turning the slow, snappy, square turn at the end of the ride before you make it back to the beginning. Lucky for me, I don't really get motion sick.

Almost all geared up ready to jump in

Immediately after arriving at the dive hut, we unpacked the diving gear from the piston bully and the divers got right to work. And when I say "got right to work" I mean they started to gear up. It was pretty cool to see exactly all the layers required to keep them warm while diving. They stay under for 45 min to an hour so you can only imagine all the thermal wear necessary to keep them warm. Under their dive suit they wear a full on snow suit. Or at least it looks like a one piece snow suit. Multiple layers are worn all over, including the head, hands, and feet. I must say that as they were gearing up, I totally wished that I could gear up with them and go down.

You might be wondering why we were brought there; wondering what our job as dive tendies was. Well, we only played a small part. We helped them when ever they needed help getting of their gear on. When they came up from the 2 dives that they completed we had to lean over the dive hole and grab their tanks from them and also put down the ladder for them. The diver on the left also brought down a 30 lb video camera so we also had to lay on our stomachs and hand it to him when he got in and take it from him when he got back. Lets just say I was close to falling in a few times :) Other than that we just hung out in the dive hut.

So what were the divers doing? What was their roll in supporting science? Well the diver on the left, the one that was video recording, he dives for the science groups that don't have a diver on their team. So they tell him what they want recorded and he does it. This particular footage was taken at the Arrival Heights site. The diver on the right was going down to assist him and to also collect these giant cockroach/ crayfish looking creatures. They were pretty disgusting, but we were able to hold them.

Another cool thing that happened when I was there was some "beakers" came in. You know, scientists. There are 3 groups, 2 American and 1 Swedish, studying fish. While we were there 2 fishermen came in. They were fishing for Antarctic carp or cod fish (I can't remember which one). They ended up catching one. This particular group was there studying the effects of temperature change in the water and what that would do to the fish, about 6 or 7 different types of fish. So they collect fish every day, bring them back to Crary Lab (the research building on station) and log their experiment. They monitor the fish as they change the temperature of the water over time. Reporting whether the fish will live or die and any changes in behavior or eating habits. Well, at least that is what I interpreted from the chat with them. They, actually, are dissecting some too. I was told at the end of the season they return the remaining fish back to the water. If you are interested, the divers got in the water and recorded some footage of the view from the fish's eyes. What they see and how they respond to fishing lines and hooks as people are "fishing" for them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PDgCgX0AoY

fishing

not the cutest fish I've ever seen

All in all, the dive tending experience was pretty cool. I didn't get back to McMurdo until about 1430 that day, pretty much staying up for almost 24 hours, but it was worth it. I got a few hours of sleep and crawled my way up to work at 1800. Lucky for me, my boss was nice enough to let me go home and sleep until "midrats" (midnight lunch for the night shifters). Here is the footage from the dive. Make sure you watch all the way to the end so you can see my pretty face :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m49mYUxuWdU&feature=related

While I got you reading, I might as well give you a briefing on Scott's Discovery Hut. Tonight, Cargo Karl lead a tour of Discovery Hut for a few of us night folks who had off. Discovery Hut is at Hut Point. So, here is a little information about this hut. The hut was built in 1902 by Robert Falcon Scott during the Discovery Expedition. The hut was designed after the Australian huts in the outback. Seeing as those huts were designed to keep cool in the inside, this hut proved to be insufficient to keep heated, therefore unlivable. Because the hut was unlivable it was used for storage and as an entertainment venue.

You might be surprised to find out that Shackelton was actually on that expedition with Scott. Before the expedition was over the two had some sort of falling out and it turned into a rivalry. Both ended up coming back seperately and used the hut on future expeditions. Never for sleeping because there were no bunks or stoves, but they kept it well stocked with essentials for survival as a back up shelter if needed.

Lamp oil from Scott's expedition in 1910.. Over 100 years old!

View out one of the windows. You can't tell
but the Royal Society Mountains
are in the background

After Shackelton left the hut in 1917, the hut remained vacant until 1956 when US expeditioners dug it out of snow and ice. They found it to be well preserved with many artifacts. Some people took things as souvenirs but for the most part things have remained as they were back in 1917. So far, Shackelton's hut at Cape Royds and Scott's hut at Cape Evens have been gone through to make sure the artifacts are preserved. Some have even been taken to New Zealand to go into museums and replaced with identical make-shift replicas. This year they are working on Discovery Hut. Before entering the hut you are warned about asbestos, fungal decay, and possible anthrax (anthrax? who would've thought?) The hut smells like a very old barn and is only bearable to be in and stand the smell for a few minutes. This is due to over 100 year old seal blubber and rotted food.