Ice Diving, Quebec, 1961
Gaétane after the dive, a little bit frozen!
A bunch of us: Michel Giasson, Michel Cônté, Paul Marquis, Yvon Gignac, Cyril Bignel, my wife and myself.
Myself with my wife, Gaétane. She was wearing a Totes dry-suit, a pair of 1/8? Goodrich gloves, a Waterlung Sportsway mask, an International Divers bellows snorkel, a Malibu reg. on a 50 cu.ft. Sportway orange steel cylinder with a J-valve. I was using a Heinke suit, an Aqua Lung face mask with an International Divers bellows snorkel with a Heinke reg. and 70 cu.ft tank.
Gaétane after the dive, a little bit frozen!
Winter 1961, Lac St-Joseph, Québec
It was a clear winter's day in 1961 when Roger Boissy and some friends went ice diving at Lac St-Joseph, Québec. The ice that day was 39 inches (1m) thick, the air temperature -20° F (-28°C) and water temperature 30°F (0°C). The water depth was 48? (15m). Exposure time was approximately 30 minutes.
There is speculation that Gaétane Boissy may have been the first woman to dive scuba under the ice in Canada. If any Historical Diver reader has additional information on this, we?d love to hear from you.
Special thanks go to HDS'er Roger Boissy of Bo-Lan ("Spécialists en plongé sous-marine") in Québec for his generosity in sharing these great photos.