Diving underneath the ice is not that much different than diving in open water, said Maine State Police Underwater Recovery Team Commander Matt Grant.
“Working on the surface is what’s different,” said Grant.
Grant was on the surface of Rangeley Lake last Wednesday with members of his dive team and members of other New England dive teams, testing their search and recovery skills in the frigid conditions over and under the ice.
The purpose of the annual two-week training session is to ensure dive team members are ready when called, regardless of the season or conditions. Last Wednesday, those conditions included sub-freezing air temperatures, almost-freezing water temperatures and wind so strong the team had to dismantle the shelter it usually erects around the hole in the ice.
Under those conditions, preparation — always a critical element — is paramount.
Maine State Trooper Steve Morrell and Sgt. Colin MacDonald of the Maine Marine Patrol both dove beneath 14 inches of ice on Rangeley Lake on that Wednesday and nothing went wrong. That was the plan.
“Slow is fast. Fast is slow,” is how Grant described the process of making sure everything is working perfectly before sending divers into the 34-degree water.
“You need to be paying attention to business,” said Grant.
The process of setting up for an ice dive is laborious, said Det. Michael Chavez of the Maine State Police. The amount of time spent diving compared to caring for equipment and getting divers ready is minimal.
“Lots of set-up time,” said Grant. “It’s very labor intense.”
Once divers go under, they are down for good. Their heads will not surface until the dive is finished, simply because the wet dive gear will freeze once exposed to the cold air. Wednesday’s temperature was 27 degrees above the ice, seven degrees colder than the water below.
“In theory, you should not have a drop of water touch your body,” Marine Patrol Specialist Matt Sinclair said about the specialized dry suits worn by the divers.
Each ice diver is tethered to a “tender” by a hose that provides air. The twin cylinders on each diver’s back are called “bail-out bottles” and are used for reserve air only.
“If you need to switch to your reserve, you know something is wrong up top and you get to the surface,” said Grant.
Chavez, of Turner, served as dive supervisor and medic during the Wednesday training session. Grant was a tender for MacDonald; Sinclair was a tender for Morrell.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Patrick Foley served as communications specialist, talking with the two divers through a voice activated “hot mic.”
Divers MacDonald and Morrell talked to each other during Wednesday’s dive. “They are constantly checking on each other,” said Foley. “Who’s turning left, who’s turning right. That way they can keep those umbilical cords (air lines) from hanging up on each other.
Foley said he pays special attention to the tone of the diver’s voice. “I have a good sense of where they are at through their tone.”
State police teams from Connecticut and Massachusetts made the drive up to Rangeley to also take part in the training. Grant said teams across New England train together because states do not have the resources on their own to accomplish what needs to get done if a large-scale operation were needed.
By training together, a baseline of ability is established so that if individual dive teams need assistance, the team commander knows the ability of those he calls to help in an emergency.
In any given year, the Maine State Police Underwater Recovery Team spends about two-thirds of its dive time searching for evidence and one-third searching for bodies, said Grant.
“Some years we get 40 to 50 calls,” said Grant.
Guns, knives, safes and evidence from burglaries are often zeroed in on by members of Grant’s team.
During training on Tuesday, a boulder resting in about 20 feet of water was raised with inflatable bags through a work hole in the ice to simulate a possible recovery of a safe.
“Recovery work is what we do,” emphasized Grant, not rescue. Rescue efforts are performed by local fire departments because they can get to a scene much more quickly than the state dive team.
Ten Maine state troopers and three members of the Maine Marine Patrol comprise Grant’s team.
Grant said the marine patrol members are stationed along the coast and their knowledge of the Maine coast from Kittery to Lubec is extremely valuable. Because of that knowledge, the Maine State Police Underwater Recovery Team focuses on navigable tidal waters, while the Maine Warden Service Dive Team primarily searches inland bodies of water.
“That does not mean that we do not work together on occasion,” said Grant.
Tides, especially the extreme difference in high and low tide Down East, are the biggest difference in diving in fresh versus salt water, said Grant, adding, “Tidal movements do present a lot of challenges.”
The water quality of Rangeley Lake was a big plus during training the last two weeks. Visibility was about 20 horizontal feet, even with six inches of freshly fallen snow on top of the ice, blocking sunlight.
“That is considerably better than what we are use to,” said Sinclair.
Despite good visibility, divers did not see much other than the hard rock bottom. “Game fish such as salmon and togue tend to scatter when they see us coming,” said Grant.
Eels, cusk and nesting bass are seen beneath the surface during warmer seasons, but rarely under the ice, said Grant.
“It really isn’t at all cold,” said Morrell shortly after surfacing Wednesday. Dives that are 30 to 45 minutes are tolerable. Anything longer tends to result in cold toes and fingers, he said.
After being assisted up and through the triangle-shaped hole in the ice on Rangeley Lake Wednesday, Morrell and MacDonald were whisked quickly by ATV to a heated trailer on shore.
There, they peeled back latex gaskets and removed their thick rubber hazmat dry suits before heading back to base camp at the Rangeley Fire Station.
“I met my goal today,” said MacDonald. “I stayed dry.”
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