TRINITY'S 1st Annual 2010/2011 Icing/ Anchoring Challenge

[tullibee]

as a "junior g-man" of the stouter variety I'll "weigh-in" too about hole dimensions...  I figure I'm just a junior g-man since I've only managed to actually drop in once this winter and cramped up before finding any anchor treasures! - but it has been fun to be support and conversation crew a couple other times!  The guys do cut fairly minimalist holes, but even I was able to squeeze in without much trouble.  a little wiggle of the pony to get lined up as I was sliding into the hole was all it took.  coming back to the hole is quite easy - just swim up to it and line your tank up wih a point and you just fit in pretty naturally.  one nice thing about a smaller hole is that it makes it a little easier for the surface guys to assist the diver up - you can get two guys closer to the diver for making an easier lift.  I did feel as a diver that it was harder for me to help them lift me out since I couldn't get my feet braced as I was coming up, but it wasn't a big deal. 

here are some pros and cons I see on smaller holes:
smaller block to man-handle
less cutting - doesn't wear out your sawman as bad - good for multiple holes in a day
helps support crew manhandle the divers in and out
may require a little pony wiggle to dropping in
sometimes a little tight when diver is trying to hand out multiple finds!
in the unlikely event of sending in the second diver for a "rescue" of some sort - it could definitely be an issue trying to get a potentially unconscious diver  back out - trying to coordinate  pushing a diver into the hole and communicating  between rescue diver and surface guys could be a problem.

it boiled down to this for me - if I hadn't been comfortable dropping in, Terry would have been willing to fire the saw up to make the hole bigger!  so it wasn't a real problem, just a perceived one!  Team G talks big about being lean and mean and leaving smoking holes in the ice from recovering anchors at mach speed, but they can be talked into a slower approach if they are asked to do so!   

it's all about what we as divers are comfortable with.  if you're not comfortable about something, you either call your dive or you speak up and things get adjusted!  it's all good!