Coming up, Jonathan is nowhere to be found as Cameraman Bill braves frozen water, ice
diving in New Hampshire!
Welcome to Jonathan Bird’s Blue World!
There’s an ice dive scheduled for today…in New Hampshire, where it’s really cold.
But, turns out, I’m in the Bahamas!
So, I’m sending Cameraman Bill!
Alright Blue World, how ya doing?
Cameraman Bill here…frozen tundra of New Hampshire, Lake Winnipesaukee.
Today I’m going to get ice dive certified.
This is going to be cold!
It’s a frigid windy winter morning on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.
Bill meets his dive class at Central New Hampshire divers in Laconia.
The first order of business is filling out the paperwork.
Then a quick pre-dive briefing in the last heated space they are going to see all day.
Finally, it’s time to head out to the ice.
Lake Winnipesaukee is located not far from Mount Washington, in the middle of New Hampshire’s
lake region.
Here in Center Harbor, there’s an ice fishing competition going on, so the place looks like
a carnival is in town!
With over a foot of ice, people can drive their cars right out on the lake.
Getting the gear to the site requires a trailer, but everyone else has to walk.
This spot was chosen because of a unique underwater attraction for the divers to see.
Before the diving can begin, there’s a lot to do.
Dive instructor Aleksay Averin, begins by assigning tasks.
The process begins with an ice screw, which marks the center of the work area.
So what we’re doing here, is we are drilling several holes outside of our central hole
to allow light to shine through so we can see what we are doing underneath the ice.
Next it’s time to drill some holes.
They don’t need to drill all the way down to the water, just to the clear ice to allow
light to pass through.
Next, they scribe the outline of the hole.
With the hole ready to cut, now it’s time to suit up because things are about to get
wet.
A trailer provides shelter from the wind, but it doesn’t have heat.
Everyone is wearing drysuits to stay warm.
So what you see us doing now is using a chainsaw to cut a triangular hole in the ice to get
access to the water.
We’re all taking turns as part of the class and I can’t wait for my turn with this chainsaw.
Step one, is to drill the corners of the hole, this time all the way to the water.
Then the cutting begins.
This cannot be good for your chainsaw!
Because the giant slab of ice is way too heavy to lift, the team pushes it down and under,
where it will be held in place by its own buoyancy.
The wooden poles will keep it from freezing to the underside of the ice so it can be put
back later.
Next, Aleksay briefs the divers on the proper way to enter and exit the water.
Then Bill and his dive buddy John Hanzl get ready to go.
In each two person dive team, one serves as the primary and the other as secondary.
Aleksay as the instructor will be in the water supervising.
On the first dive, Bill’s buddy John will be the primary diver, so he is connected to
the dive tender above with a rope.
Bill, as the secondary, is connected to John with another rope.
Now it’s time to submerge into the icy water.
As the dive team descends, the tender up above has to pay out the line, but keep it taught
enough that he can fell for a tug of distress.
Meanwhile Bill and John are heading towards the underwater attraction…which turns out
to be an old wooden boat.
Too small to be a shipwreck…it’s a boatwreck!
The attraction was definitely oversold.
Man, I’m glad I’m in the Bahamas!
It takes them 30 seconds to see the wreck and then it’s back to the surface.
At the surface, they change roles.
Bill becomes the primary diver and John becomes the secondary.
Then it’s back down for another lap around the SS Minnow.
With the training complete and the cold setting it, it’s time to get out of the water.
The hole is triangular in shape because it helps getting yourself out of the water.
But in this case, it’s a full service operation.
This is always the hardest part, getting out.
I am warming up my feet because they are very cold.
This feels so good.
But Bill doesn’t have much time in the hot tub, because now it’s his turn to be a tender.
In an emergency, the tender can physically pull a diver all the way to the surface.
No ice dive is complete without a cookout.
Before they leave, the ice block is put back . It will freeze in place, preventing someone
from accidentally falling through.
Ice diving takes a lot of effort, and it’s bad for your chainsaw.
Furthermore, it’s cold.
Basically I’m glad I’m in the Bahamas!
Thanks Bill for going under the ice and showing us what it’s like in the frozen Blue World!!
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