Navy Diver sets Record with 2,000 foot Dive August 8, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : News, OceanDiving , trackback
2,000 feet (600 mtrs approx) is a looong way down, and Chief Navy Diver, Daniel P Jackson, recently dived to that depth in a new Atmospheric Diving Suit (ADS). It took 11 years to plan, design, and test the suit, which is known as the Hardsuit 2000. As far as the dive goes, Daniel said it was the best ride of his life! This from military.com;
Lehnhardt said the project was a collaboration of so many different organizations, such as DSU, Submarine Squadron 5 and Diving Systems Support Detachment.
Jackson said, “I was just a guy tied to a rope. It was the ADS team that made it all possible. They were incredible.”
Developed by OceanWorks International from Vancouver, British Columbia, the Hardsuit 2000 was designed to withstand underwater pressure at 2,000 feet. Current models have only been able to go down as far as 1,200 feet.
“The suit worked incredibly,” said Jackson. “It did everything it was intended to do. I always heard that around 1,300 feet, the joints of the Hardsuit 2000 would work even better, and it worked exactly the way they said it would.”
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Jackson was “randomly selected” to certify the suit for use. While I’m sure that the years of testing elimnated most people’s fears of using the suit, I’m sure some people were relieved they WEREN’T the ones selected.
Actually, there’s only seven people in the world qualified as “pilots” for this suit. and all seven wished it was them going under the surface. It was an incredible thing to witness. (I was the Navy Journalist on the scene doing videography.)
I am sure it was an incredible event Matthew. Thanks for commenting.