Tethered Ice diving in Canada

[skippy31]

We ran a recreational ice diving course a short time ago and had a blast. Recreational ice diving safely requires divers to be tethered which means lines and harnesses. Its a lot of work to organize, but the rewards are worth it since you get to enjoy exceptional vis and the ice looks stunning from underneath. We got some nice video footage as well.

The weather was very pleasant that day so we had perfect conditions all around.

[video=youtube;NTpf11zpL1U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTpf11zpL1U[/video]

 

[Jared0425]

Where was this?

 

[dfx]

Is that a wetsuit???

 

[lowviz]

Sweet! So you can have two divers on one tether. Nicely done. Which one is the safety diver, the one at the end or the one that can communicate (line pulls) with the surface?

I'm used to each diver being on his/her own line with a tender. One diver stays on surface ready to go and acts as safety diver.

 

[skippy31]

Where was this?

This was at our local quarry just north of Ottawa. It's a very well known locally.

Mat.

---------- Post added April 7th, 2014 at 02:29 PM ----------

Sweet! So you can have two divers on one tether. Nicely done. Which one is the safety diver, the one at the end or the one that can communicate (line pulls) with the surface?

I'm used to each diver being on his/her own line with a tender. One diver stays on surface ready to go and acts as safety diver.

We had one safety diver and myself in the water with the students at all times. There were also tenders on the surface of course for both the safety diver and the dive team pair.

Mat.

 

[lowviz]

...//... We had one safety diver and myself in the water with the students at all times. There were also tenders on the surface of course for both the safety diver and the dive team pair.

Mat.

Wow. Serious backup.

Looks like the polypropylene tether really does work for a buddy pair. Wish I were there...

I couldn't imagine trying that config with nylon!

 

[skippy31]

Is that a wetsuit???

Yes,

Wetsuits! My students were quite comfortable in the 7MM Waterproof brand suits. The seals at the arms and legs worked well to limit water circulation in the suits.

Water temps were 38F at depth, but the air temp that day was pleasant which made it more comfortable changing... That and the heated cabin.

Mat.