Dive of the Month
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada.
November, 2009
Water temp 0
Air temp – 25 C (- 13 F)
Wind Chill – 40C (-40 F)
Advanced Sub Sea Dive team: Murray Mackay, Paul Wild and James Conner.
Gear: Whites Hazmat Suit with Whites Superlight 27K neck chimney.
Whites MK3 underwear combined with base wicking layer.
Si Tech Dry Gloves.
Whites MK3 thermal socks with neoprene over sock.
Advanced Sub Sea, one of Canada’s leading commercial dive companies headed north this November to perform maintenance on the fresh water supply system at Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada. In extreme cold, the dive team worked 14 days straight averaging 2 – 3 hours of bottom time per day.
“The Whites Hazmat was our go to suit for these extreme cold conditions. The smooth finish on the Whites suit sheds water eliminating icing when the diver exits the water. The material also remains supple in the extreme cold. We've tried using traditional rubber, and neoprene suits in these conditions, however they tend to freeze stiff when the diver exits due to trapped water in the inner and outer fabrics.”
said Murray Mackay, CEO of Advanced Sub Sea.
"When your working at a remote job site, you need easy and fast repair and maintanance. If we suspect a suit leak, we pressurize the Whites suit on the spot with the diver still inside. With the dry adhesive heat activated patch system we can fix a hole immediately with the diver still dressed. No downtime!"
Thawing out after the dive. "Although the suit remains ice free, valves, zippers, helmet, tools,hoses,...everything wet freezes instantly. Thawing out après dive using a hair dryer! This is the same hair dryer that can be used to patch a suit if required!
An aerator located over the pump system keeps the area free of ice during the job.
What are they wearing under the Hazmat? Base wicking layer, and then the Whites MK3. Whites MK3 socks are combined with Heat packs for foot warmth. Dry gloves are used, with additional heat for heat packs.
