Lamar Hires and Brian Sganga are going where the sun shines all day, reflecting off icebergs dropping into depths of some of the coldest waters in the world. It is in those waters, on the bottom of the earth, this pair will dive in search of sea leopards, seals, penguins and marine life indigenous to the Antarctic Peninsula. "It's going to be a wild adventure," Hires said. "We're just going down to experience what very few people have experienced. Most divers don't get to dive in temperatures below freezing." It's summertime in Antarctica, so temperatures should reach near the 30-degree mark on most days. To cope with this icy forecast, Hires, 46, and Sganga, 36, will layer themselves in thermal undergarments to insulate body heat, then wear a dry suit with boots attached and seals around the wrists and neck. A leak or puncture in the suit could lead to shock, so the two have been checking and re-checking their equipment throughout the past year. Hires said an exposed human body falling into the waters of Antarctica, "would have minutes or else they would die from hypothermia. There's no way you can enter this kind of frigid water without protection." Hires and Sganga leave this afternoon to join 48 other daring vacationers from around the world, eight of which will dive in the peninsula. Those who aren't diving will walk the surface of Antarctica, ice climbing and exploring. They will return home Dec. 22, just in time for Christmas. Hires is the owner of Dive Rite, a business that supplies and teaches the art of underwater sports. He said he is curious to see how well his dry suits function in the extreme Antarctic climate. He has tested the suits in regions across the world, but none so cold as these waters. "I'm commonly known as Lamar's test dummy," Sganga said. The weather can change quickly in Antarctica, so the divers will travel the peninsula, searching for waters compatible with their underwater adventures and sleep cycles. Hires said the boat will stay in protected waters, where the wind is light and the waves still. "Just in case, I have about four weeks of sea sick pills," Sganga said. Hires said he and Sganga would be able to withstand a couple of hours of exposure to the waters, but will only venture into 60 to 70-foot depths for about one hour each day. He said that should be enough time to spot a couple of underwater creatures and experience the "crystal clear" waters off the peninsula. "I wouldn't mind seeing a sea leopard from a distance," Hires said. "It's like a monster seal that's very aggressive." "They feed on penguins, they feed on other seals," Sganga said. "They'll feed on anything," Hires said. The sea leopard has been known to grow more than nine feet long, weigh close to 1,500 pounds and has only one natural enemy, the killer whale. Preparing for the trip Sganga said it's ironic that he and Hires will be chasing blubbered animals but have been on such a rigorous exercise regime, "we don't have nearly as much as we had a few months ago. We've both been working out like fiends to get ready for this." Besides jogging and weightlifting, Hires and Sganga have been diving at Ginnie Springs outside High Springs with the same undergarments and suits they plan to wear in Antarctica. "We tried to recreate it here, but we started to overheat, because it's too much for here," Hires said. "We make short dives to test it for leaks and make sure it'll function, but we can't spend a lot of time in the water. It's too hot." Sganga has done most of his diving in northern Florida springs, so the heavy equipment needed for Antarctica has taken some getting used to. He said in addition to acclimating himself to the weight of the suit, oxygen tanks and stabilizers, he has been working on his speed as a swimmer. He is motivated by the mental image of a sea leopard attacking him with hungry fangs. | | "I'm working out so I can at least swim as fast as he can. I don't want him to outswim me," Sganga said. He said Hires is the fastest underwater swimmer he's seen. "I can use 80 percent of the air that I carry in my tank by the time I'm done with my dive. He'll travel the same distance and he may use 35 to 40 percent." Safety comes first, Hires said, especially since medical treatment in the area will be sparse. This has led to another difficult saga in their preparation for the adventure. Both men have wives who question the intelligence of traveling to the Antarctic, especially in the weeks before Christmas. "It's cost me," Hires said. "Yes, yes, yes," Sganga said. "She permitted me to go on this trip under one condition and that condition is that I did not ask her to go with me. I think she is a little apprehensive about this. More so than Lamar's wife because I don't do this as often as Lamar does." Brain Sganga (left), Lamar Hires Waiting finally over Hires and Sganga have been diving together for about three years, but have never gone together into waters as fierce or exotic as the Antarctic Peninsula. Sganga, a local attorney, said he's waited for this day since he was a teen. "I remember seeing pictures of it in National Geographic as a child, and I thought, that's where I want to be,' " he said. Since 1979, Hires has been around the world cave diving in waters virtually unexplored. He goes each year to a new place, from Australia and the Dominican Republic to Japan, Italy and Mexico. He said cave diving is being underwater and having a ceiling overhead that you can't escape. He said he enjoys squeezing into caves and mapping out their paths. "I enjoy it. It's relaxing to me. The smaller the space, the tighter the squeeze, the more relaxed I am." Hires' ability as a cave diver saved a woman a couple of years ago at Thunder Hole, a sinkhole off the Suwannee River. The woman, Linda Richardson, of Ohio, lost her partner inside the cave and Hires' expertise of its tunnels was called on to guide her safely back to shore. "The girl had been underwater for six hours," Hires said. "They had started a dive and got separated in zero visibility. She was unfamiliar with the site, so because of that, she couldn't find her way out." Anticipating his next adventure is easy to do, considering the natural beauty he and Sganga will experience over their seven days of diving. The men said they look forward to the struggle against the elements and wildlife only Antarctica could behold. "It's very interesting to explore the places most people don't go or don't want to know about," Hires said. SOURCE - Lake City ReporterSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
