Point Pleasant Dive Team Looking Forward To An Icy New Year

POINT PLEASANT, NJ - The forecast for New Year's Day is pretty brutal.

The skies will be sunny, but the temperature won't get past 20 degrees and winds will be from the northwest at 17 to 20 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

And members of the Point Pleasant First Aid Dive Team couldn't be happier. The frigid weather is just what they need for ice training to save potential victims who get caught under the ice.

What's the secret for diving in such bitter cold? Chief Chet Nesley has the answer.

"Dress fast, get in the water where the water is warmer then the air," he said. "After the dive get back to the building as fast as you can."

Ice diving requires far more precautions than if you were in the water on a balmy summer day.

Line communications are essential. Each diver is tethered to a line while under the ice. Divers communicate with support personnel on the surface with different line pulls to let them know of their current situation or needs, according to the group's blogspot.

And being under the ice is not for everyone.

"It is easy to get lost and you just can’t just pop to the surface," the blogspot states. "You have to be able to find the hole you went in. This is why no divers go in without a line and a tender on that line. The tender can guide the diver using line pulls and search an area looking for a missing victim."

Dive team members practice themselves and a victim out of the water, not an easy task when the edge continues to break under the weight of two people. Often the team uses a human chain or a tethered backboard to do that.

"You never know what you'll get a real ice call, but we feel better prepared to respond," according to the blogspot post.

Photos: Courtesy of Point Pleasant First Aid Dive Team blogspot.