The First Dives Beneath The Pack Ice
Published on 02.04.2010 - Under the Pole.com
Already two dives taking place in the five days since Ghislain Bardout's team was deposited in the vicinity of the North Pole. And 18.5 kilometres covered.
The most exciting aspect of this original adventure is obviously to learn as soon as possible how the first dive into the Arctic water beneath the pack ice took place. We'll leave it to Ghislain Bardout to explain: "Here is our position today; we've drifted slightly westwards during the last 24 hours. This morning, we were in fog and this afternoon we had a cloud cover of 2/8. We've been able to dive for the first time today since the expedition began. Alban and Emmanuelle made the first dive, then Ghislain, Samuel and Benoit the second. It was pretty difficult, but we are sure that it will become more manageable if we are better organised and more switched on. On the other hand, the underwater spectacle is superb, the visibility is incredible, there are crystals in every direction, and we've even seen some krill (which I had never seen before): it's truly extraordinary down there. Here, we're in the process of cleaning the diving gear: that takes a lot of time. Tomorrow, we are setting out again on our progression, heading South".
Alongside this extraordinary underwater experience, the team is starting to install their daily routine for the rest of the adventure. For example, not spending more than three hours in the morning between getting up and setting out, and likewise in the evening between stopping walking and going to bed.
On 30 March, the team drew up a short summary of their first days: Number of days on the pack ice: 5 days / Total distance covered: 18.5 km / Total number of dives accomplished: 2 dives / Distance from the Pole: 83 km / Distance from the Canadian coast: 701 km.
