Suiting up for a dive is a team effort. Steve and Britt are helping Christian get in his suit. The winds were building and, as you can see, the snow is coming down.
Spoiler Alert: This job is only partially finished...
Working under some pretty harsh conditions, the divers and above water crew did an amazing job getting in the first part of a new boat ramp completed. We stayed at Palmer an extra 5 days so they could wrap it up. Remember the divers from earlier in the journals? These guys had to battle brash ice, some pieces were pretty big. They had to endure less than warm water being pumped in their suits when a problem with the hot water generator acted up due to weather or other unpredictable circumstances. Construction diving is a true skill. Think about dealing with hydraulics and welding and still deal with buoyancy.
Bill McCormick and Christian Clark get the hot water heater ready for the dive. If you remember, this machine pumps warm water into the diver's suit so he can stay under the frigid water. They can work underwater comfortably for about 3-4 hours!
Steve Rupp is showing you how the water streams through his suit to keep him warm. It's better not to have these suits really tight fitting so that the water can flow freely.
Here is the final product. This ramp is designed to make it easier to launch the zodiac boats.
The final night was pretty spectacular and dramatic. The winds were 56 mph and it was snowing. Enjoy these pictures and I’ve added a little video bonus at the end. The team that was working above water, didn't have the luxury of warm water rushing across their bodies. They braved the weather and the odd hours like champs.
Dale Rivers and Mark Eisinger were working above ground. Mark, on the right, is the food artist from my earlier journal on the art show.
Jon Charczuk and Matt Hoye represent more of the terrestrial crew.
At the completion of the underwater portion of the ramp and after A LOT of hard work everyday in pretty nasty weather conditions, Steve was clearly a happy guy as he finished the last bit!! Watch close, this fun doesn't last long...