Our first order of business was to take a ferry across to Bell Island and then dig the entrance of the mine out of the snow. Fortunately in Newfoundland, every expedition is equipped with their own personal snow plow. Rick Stanley plowed with his truck while John Olivero and Jack Wood dug the doorway out of the hip deep snow. The entire team packed the gear into mine and we set up our rebreather station, medical center and dock area. The infrastructure is well thought out. We are able to use an electric golf cart to get equipment and people down the slope 750 feet to the water. It makes the medical testing and logistics possible in a warm, dry location up top. As soon as we exit the water, we need to rush out of our gear and check in for blood tests, ultrasound and spirometry tests. These tests are repeated every 20 minutes for two hours. At that point we are able to return to gear and camera maintenance.
We had a successful dive mission with 7 divers installing line, working on surveys and documenting the mine. For a first day, we accomplished a lot and we were still laughing at the end of the day.
