This past weekend I got to do something “new” to me. That isn’t unheard of, as there are many things I have not yet had a chance to partake in, but the list gets much shorter when it has to do with diving.
I got a chance to work as an UW grip (and ‘behind the scenes’ camera) for the UW portion of a music video. This in itself is cool and all, but here is where it gets interesting. The shoot lasted ~18 hrs start to finish, and it turns out the UW crew is first in and last out (as would be expected). The crew and talent were amazing, it was an all around fantastic experience.
This post isn’t about that though, other than “you’ll have to wait for the release, and I promise you it will be total awesomeness”
This is about a unexpected side effects of being on scuba for that long (easily 8-10 hrs breathing underwater) and other things of note.
Most unexpected: You have breathing muscles, and they, just like any other muscle can be overworked and be sore for the next few days.
Not so unexpected: Chlorine for any duration is kind of annoying, for 15 hrs (counting the floating around time) it is downright caustic. For the first couple days its like a really really bad sunburn that stings when you put any cream on it. Now I just feel a bit like a lizard with a bale of hay on my head.
Kind of unexpected: you learn where your regulator or rebreather loop is unbalanced and hangs funny by the pressure bruises on random places in your mouth and face.
Not unexpected: My incessant gum chewing finally came in handy. The one part of me that didn’t get physically fatigued to some degree was my jaw. Yes, i know there are a few crass jokes in there somewhere.
On the bright side: It was awesome. It reminded me a bit of a great day in trauma surgery, where you have to have the RED LIGHT ON for the whole duration, but you don’t mind because you look up at the clock 5 min later and 3 hours had passed.
Kit I used: 3 single 80’s, standard DIR kit with Halcyon BC/Regs, 1.25 canisters of 5.5lb radial scrubber in Cave Meg with Infinity BC system no weight, T16 scooter, 5mm wetsuit, regular pink jetfins, a couple lift bags for moving weights around, UEMIS computer for OC and Shearwater for CCR. 5DMK2 in Subal housing for behind the scenes photo/video. Basically all my standard OW kit.
Of note, having the 7′ hose proved to be quite a bonus when it came time to work with the talent underwater. Although air integrated backup is a nice clean package, the 7′ hose really shined when it came to versatility.