TRAVEL continued
will need to wear much thicker undergarments than you have used in warmer waters, and that in turn increases your buoyancy. Some people wear 40 pounds or more of lead when diving in polar seas. Once again, pre-trip dives will likely pay big dividends. Two Regulators and an H-Valve: Diving in water that is hovering around freezing (28.4 F in saltwater) means using regulators that are not environmentally sealed, which many are not, and employing improper techniques can cause a regulator to freeze up or develop an unmanageable free flow. Divers require two environmentally sealed regulators and an octopus to make a dive. In addition, divers need to bring or have access to an H-valve, a tank valve that allows two regulators to be attached to a single tank at the same time. A diver also needs to learn how to configure their H-valve set- up. A two-regulator, octopus, H-valve system add expense and weight when handling gear before, during, after a dive, and when traveling. The expense, required pre-trip preparation, added weight, and limited number of dives that can be made on a single polar expedition (one dive a day with two on some days is the rule) causes a significant number of polar explorers to snorkel while foregoing scuba diving. Much of what can be seen can be enjoyed at the surface. A diver will miss seeing icebergs from underwater and will likely miss out on some animal encounters, but snorkeling instead of diving saves a lot of expense, time, and energy on location, while still pro- viding some wonderful in-water experiences. On the Plane: To my knowledge, the more popular heating systems for drysuits and dry gloves use lithium-ion batteries. On planes, all lithium-ion batteries need to be packed in carry-on luggage. Travelers want to be sure they can pack all batteries, medicines, their passport, credit cards, money, etc. in carry-on luggage while complying with the carry-on rules imposed by various air carriers. The cost, required pre-trip equipment familiarization, and the long plane rides and boat trips make some divers pass on joining a diving expedition to polar waters. But I’ll promise you that for many the inconveniences will be exponentially outweighed by the experiences of polar exploration. Clearly, this piece is an introduction to polar diving. There
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is much more to learn. But one thing you can be sure of is that interest in diving and snorkeling in both the Arctic and Antarctic is a growing part of the recreational diving.
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