Below Freezing: The Antarctic Dive Guide (2nd Edition)
By Lisa Eareckson Trotter; paper,128 pp.
ISBN 978-190365728-7
Not many people have dived in Antarctica, and most of those have been involved in government-sponsored Antarctic research programmes. But in recent years the number of recreational scuba divers has increased, and the author says that Antarctica is fast becoming the world's number one extreme dive destination.
This simple but highly practical guidebook is the first to cover Antarctica. Trotter deals with all the necessary information, such as how and when to get there, what to expect, what to bring (suggesting dry suits instead of wet), what wildlife you are likely to see, and underwater photography in the region. She warns that this is a challenging environment, where there are no hyperbaric chambers, and is no place for the inexperienced diver.
The heart of the book consists of detailed descriptions of 27 dive sites in the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia. In each case there is a location map, and information on depth, ice, and what you may see. These pages are copiously illustrated with photos, mostly of very high quality.
The author also mentions some of the hazards. Around South Georgia fur seals can be very numerous and inquisitive, and the males are very territorial in the breeding season, so care should be taken at that time. The other species which may be a problem is the leopard seal. There was one fatality in 2005, but Shona Muir of the British Antarctic Survey says that the occurrence was most unusual, and that if the diver is vigilant, and does not panic, all should be well.
This subject is also addressed by Swedish diver Göran Ehlmé in a fascinating account of his experiences in which he developed "a kind of love affair with the species". One summer, he says, a large female leopard seal "liked to keep me company while I was filming other seals, and would often tickle my neck with her whiskers. Once she started to kill penguins for me, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 a day, surrounding me with their poor carcases, but thankfully she eventually lost interest in that, and continued only being an observer". Not many of us are likely to have - or want to have - such close encounters .... but what an experience!
Lisa Trotter hails from upstate New York. She graduated with a degree in health education and human biology, but after a radical career change went to sea on the National Geographic Endeavour of Lindblad Expeditions, where she has worked as an undersea specialist, divemaster, and expedition leader. Scuba divers will welcome this essential source-book, while armchair divers will also learn much about Antarctica's underwater realm.
What a fascinating book. I can't put it down. I've been underlining all the places to dive and what the depth is and all the details of each dive to know what to look for. I love ship wrecks and finished reading about a Norwegian Whaling Transport Vessel which burnt and sank in 1916, which is a spectacular dive site.
I surely hope our ship will stop and see this place. What a find! What a great book to have for all interested and non Antarctica Divers the world round. I'm so grateful you sent me this fine book and the way I've marked it so far, I'm sure I will need to buy another, just for my diving friends to read so they won't mess my well marked important information. I've even put down the meters into feet, which I'm used to for depths. That's what I've been using through out the book for my interest on how deep things are.
How fortunate I am to be one of the few to have the opportunity to be able to enjoy the 7th wonder of the world. So glad Lisa and all the others put together this wonderful book. Every diver should own one. What a treasure!
Below Freezing: The Antarctic Dive Guide is the first and only dive guide to the Antarctic, full of practical information about submersing oneself in the "weird and wonderful" - 1.8 degrees C underwater world of the Southern Ocean as well as details about 25 dive sites on the Antarctic Peninsula and at South Georgia. With Antarctic diving becoming more popular each year, this very useful book will become a must-pack for under-ice visitors. The dozens of terrific colour photographs of marine life also make it fascinating for non-divers.
The author learned to dive in Antarctica - perhaps the only person yet to do so, and she has gone on to do "over 300 hours of Antarctic underwater exploration" in her work as an assistant expedition leader, undersea specialist and dive master aboard Lindblad Expedition's tourist vessel Endeavour.
Below Freezing includes a nine-page section on underwater photography by David Cothran, an expedition leader and undersea specialist for Lindblad Expeditions, with several beautiful examples of his work, testament to his authority on the subject. There's also a 3-page history of Antarctic diving.
A sobering 6-page "Special Note About Leopard Seals" is written by Shona Muir, who undertook a 12-month research project about interactions between divers and leopard seals, supported by the British Antarctic Survey, after a snorkelling marine biologist was killed by Leopard seals in 2003. Not much is yet known about leopard-diver interactions: the guidebook can only caution that the seals "can display predatory behaviour towards humans".
