Ten Women – One Sea Goddess – 3000 Kilometres – 100 Days – One Vision – One World Record.
With Women’s Dive Day just gone, I wanted to find women making an impact in the world of scuba. I found the Sedna Dive Team and their Epic Expedition.
“Women Wanted: For hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long days of complete sunlight, constant danger, safe return hopeful, honour and recognition in case of success.”
They are a bunch of truly gutsy women! Lead by expedition founder Susan R Eaton, in the northern summer of 2016 they plan on snorkeling the Northwest Passage to bring attention to the disappearing Arctic Sea Ice and the impact this is having on the aboriginal people’s way of life. This will be a 3000km, 100 day trip from Pond Inlet on Baffin Island, through the treacherous Northern Passage, to Nunavut in Canada’s Northern Territories.
Dividing into two made for TV teams – Team Beluga and Team Narwhal, each member will take to the waters prepared to face challenges such as stinging jellyfish, tusked walrus, polar bears, and pods of orcas, not to mention icebergs, gale force winds, and maybe the toughest of all: -2° waters. The women will be taking turns in the water, using special drysuits with heating undersuits and mitts. Rather than swimming, each snorkeler will use a scooter or diver propulsion vehicle which can travel between 3 – 5km/h and the plan is to continue the relay non-stop as long as they have sunlight.
Hopefully these challenges will translate into a 10 part television series showing the lead up period and all the preparations required and then into the relay itself.
The team is made up of geologists, biologists, oceanographers, award winning videographers, environmental lawyers and much more – all with a passion to make a difference. They see the expedition as a ‘Call to Action’, a chance to provide aboriginal and scientific knowledge to public and governments on impending issue of global warming and its impact of the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem.
Their expedition boat will double as a portable aquarium, while the women are snorkeling they hope to collect small animals, seaweeds, invertebrates and other sea life to display to the local people at each stop before returning their finding back to the sea.
Following the relay, Team Sedna plan on translating its findings into education and awareness programs for the Inuit and Inuvialuit people situated along the northern passage. Team Sedna will aim to serve as role models and hope to inspire Inuit girls and young women they meet along the way to think ‘big’ and follow their dreams.
To get a glimpse at how incredible these women really are, watch this video!