Four MIT divers (Bill, Derya, Elron, and Chris) and several non-MIT divers took a two-day ice diving certification course last weekend. In addition, two previously-certified MIT ice divers (Peter and myself) helped out as safety divers and spare buddy divers on Sunday. The instructor was Steve Brown of the Cambridge Fire and Rescue Dept.

The dive site was Hathaway Pond in Barnstable on Cape Cod. The weather was beautiful, with bright sunshine, temperatures in the 20's, and a pretty good breeze which made it a little chilly out on the ice. Speaking of the ice, it was in ideal condition because: (1) there had been no snow, so the surface of the ice was smooth, and lots of sunlight was getting through, and (2) the ice was pretty translucent, and in someplaces transparent, so you could see through it, even to the bottom in some spots, and (3) the water was incredibly clear, so the visibility was spectacular, especially with the bright sunlight shining through the ice.

On the first day, the class learned about the mechanics of ice diving, including using an auger to drill the three holes that define the vertices of a triangle, and a chain saw to make cuts from hole-to-hole, resulting in a floating triangular slab of ice. This is then pushed down and slid under the surface, allowing access into the water. (The slab will be slid back into its original position after the diving is finished in order to close up the hole.) The dive spot on the first day was pretty far out from the beach, right over a small cabin-cruiser shipwreck. But since there was no snow, it was easy to slide the gear out there on sleds. ("Yaktrax" on your boots are great for walking on the ice.) I wasn't here on the first day, but on Sunday I viewed the wreck through a clear patch of ice, and it looked pretty enticing. If any of the four students wants to write about their Saturday dives, I'll add it in here.

By the end of the dives on Saturday, the edges of the triangular hole were very eroded, so the hole had to be "retired". The triangular slab of ice was popped back into place and the hole was carefully marked with lots of big branches. But this meant that when I arrived early Sunday morning, we had to drill and cut another hole. This time the instructor picked a spot closer to the shore, so it all seemed to go very quickly. By 09:30 the site was all set up, and people began getting into their dive gear.

I had expected that Peter and I would spend most of the morning sitting by the hole, all geared up and ready to dive in at a moment's notice in case of emergency. I thought that any diving by us would have to wait until all the students had done their first dives. But it turns out that there were an odd number of students, and since I was ready quickly, the instructor let me be the buddy for the first student. After tying in to the safety lines, we plunged in. Conditions under the ice were SUPER! So clear and sunny; great vis. Infinitely better than when I got certified two years earlier in a dark, murky lake up in New Hampshire. I think a big difference is that since this was on the Cape, the pond had a sandy bottom instead of a silty, muddy bottom. Plus, it's surrounded by pine trees, rather than deciduous trees, so there's no leaf tannin.

We followed the instructor, almost to the spot where an old car was sunk years ago, and then turned around and went in the other direction to a wooden platform on the bottom. There's also a lawn tractor a little distance beyond the platform. During these dives the students were alternately practicing being rescuers and "victims" in the event that someone got detached from their safety line. This is extremely unlikely, given the sturdy harnesses and double carabiners everyone used. Anyway, the exercise requires the student "victim" to float up to the underside of the ice and wait for the rescuer's line to come floating by. During this time I was free to look around a little more. I made a note of the water temperature, which was a balmy 36-37 F. I also noted that my regulator had not started free-flowing, unlike two years ago when nearly everyone's regs did that. (The water temperature then was 32 F.) Eventually the rescuer's line came around, and we got hauled back to the hole. This was a very relaxing, enjoyable dive. I got to be a buddy diver once more, and Peter also got to dive twice. On his second dive he flipped around and practiced standing upside down on the underside of the ice.

Meanwhile, back on top of the ice, even though the sun was shining, it was definitely colder than being in the water, probably because of the wind. While the students were completing their rescue dives, a reporter and photographer from the Boston Globe came by and interviewed the instructor, as well as a number of us divers. So maybe there might be an article about the MIT Scuba Club in the Globe someday soon!

All the students did great, and the certification class was done by around noontime. Bill and Chris(?) decided to do an extra dive, which seemed like a grand tour of the pond to those of us tending their lines. Even so, we had all the gear put away by 13:00, and everyone headed off to a nearby Mexican restaurant to top off a great weekend of ice diving. So now I know ten MIT divers who are ice certified!! I think that's an amazing statistic...not sure what it says about MIT though. Oh yes, one final thing...since this was clear, fresh water, no gear rinsing was necessary!

- Robert G

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