“Despite the 30-degree water, I
was never cold. It could have been my
adrenaline that kept me warm, but I
think it was the drysuit! After 25 years of
diving I’ve learned how to conserve air to
maximize my time underwater and enjoy
each dive. It’s no fun having to come up
early, because it’s cold sitting in the zodiac
waiting for the rest of the group.”
“We had to pay close attention to
our equipment, especially our regulators,
which are a diver’s lifeline. At 28-30 degree
temperatures the equipment is on the edge
of its ideal functioning range. We always
carried an extra set in case one froze.”
“With each dive, we had to suit up,
climb from the ship into zodiac boats, put
on our tanks, and then back-roll off the
92
zodiacs into the water below. After each
dive we had to disassemble our gear and
stow it back on the ship until the next dive.
It was a lot of work because the gear had to
be stowed on three different levels. After all,
we were on an icebreaker, not a dive boat.”
“After our dive, we went ashore for
some sightseeing. From the Falklands, we
travelled to South Georgia Island. During
our dive there we explored the ocean floor,
pushing aside the Ribbon Kelp to find
all kinds of marine life hidden under-
neath. The South Georgia landscape was
outrageously beautiful and there were
hundreds of thousands of king penguins.
We spent hours observing them as they
climbed up, slid down and dove off the
ice and hitched rides on the icebergs.”
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MAY/JUNE 2016
Remembering
Ernest Shackleton
Making the trip in 2016 held a special
signifi cance for Laura because it marked
the 100th anniversary of the end of Ernest
Shackleton’s third expedition to Antarctica
(1914-1916). That expedition could easily
have ended in tragedy when Shackleton’s
ship, the Endurance, became trapped in
ice and had to be abandoned before it
sank. Stranded for nearly two years, drift-
ing on ice fl ows with only a few lifeboats
and dwindling provisions, he and his crew
survived. Historic accounts show that it was
largely due to Shackleton’s courageous lead-
ership that not a single man’s life was lost.
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