by | May 10, 2015 | Daily Updates
Hola Frothers!
Landed !
I am now in Chile, and drove down to the coast straight away, to Pichilemu.
Those of you who follow the Big Wave comps would know, or at least would have heard about the place. The place can hold big surf. I mean BIG !!
The Chilean coast line is as pretty as it is hostile: cold water, cliffs, rocks, strong currents, seaweed (XXL format)…but wild and raw. And, like the whole of South America, the place is Goofy’s paradise! Only lefts, wherever you look.
If you’d wake up at 5:30am for a surf here, you’d be the first one for sure. You’d actually be surfing in the dark. I mean pitch black. The sun only rises here at about 8:30am. Perfect for me this morning: I could sleep in to recover from the jetlag of an express trip around the world, and catch the first surfers paddling out!
All those shots were taken at Punta de Lobos (Point of the Seals – haven’t seen any though): an amazing left. Long. Looooong.
The charts are forecasting a pretty decent sized swell…Let’s see if the forecast is more reliable in this part of the World. I’ll keep you posted soon !
Cheers !
Franck
For more of my adventures on instagram: @franckgazzola
by | May 7, 2015 | Daily Updates
Hi Frothers!
That’s a wrap-up for me in the Arctic.
After close to 2 months walking on a frozen Ocean whilst I am usually used to gliding on it, regardless of the toy chosen, I will be back to warmer temperatures very soon…in South America. But first, I have 6 days straight of travelling. Ikerasak crossing the sea-ice to Uummannaq (sleepover)- helicopter to Qaarsut – plane to Ilulisat (sleepover) – Plane to Kangerlusuaq – Then Copenhagen (sleepover) – Paris – Dubai – Sydney (sleepover) – Santiago de Chile, final destination. Frequent Flyer points written all over it !
As I leave behind the Arctic Ocean, the Sun doesn’t go to bed anymore, the temperatures are slowly rising to -5 degrees, making it feel like Summer when I compare it to the -25 degrees when I arrived.
I’ve met great people. I’ve been diving in the coldest waters I’ll ever be diving into, I’ve seen more life under the ice than I ever expected to. I’ve seen the most amazing landscapes that I have ever been blessed to see. I’ve done so many things that I never imagined I would do. I’ve had ups. I’ve had a few downs. But the taste of this Adventure is forever a sweet one.
Bye Bye snow and ice. Hola America del Sur. Off to see what the Chilean & Peruvian coastlines have to offer in regards to liquid water this time, and beaches made of sand and rocks.
Till then, hasta luego.
Franck
All shots’ copyright to Franck Gazzola & Under The Pole
For more of my (polar & current) adventures on instagram: @franckgazzola
by | Apr 28, 2015 | Daily Updates
Hi Frothers!
A record has been broken: 102 meters deep dive under the ice!
It’s a first, and the Under The Pole Team did it.
This is the story of their day, in images.
Try to picture it: you and your mate slide into a hole of 2m x 1m, get into -2 degrees water, get as deep as a 25 stories high building. It’s pitch black, you only have a couple of torches, and you can only come back to the surface through that tiny little hole.
Diving that deep in such an hostile environment requires not only top diving skills for the divers themselves, but a great collaboration as a Team. It took us approximately 4 dives, just to figure out the best way to manage something as simple as the life-line (the rope that is the divers’ only chance to ever come back up through the hole). Then the equipment needs to works seamlessly and be set-up on the divers in a way that they need it to be. With all the gear necessary, and the big blue gloves of a dry-suit, there is no way that an ice-diver can get equipped by him/herself. So we have to work as a Team, just like the formula 1 drivers trust the guys at the pit-stop. A bolt not screwed properly on the car will lead to an incident/accident. Same thing here.
The challenge is also in the fact that this is no recreational diving where you can park your car, walk 20m with tanks on the back, and jump in the water. Before and after the dive, there is a lot of pushing/pulling involved. The sledges are heavy. Kilometers of sea ice covered in snow to cross with all the equipment and safety devices + heaps of hot water to thaw all the frozen equipment. Far from the casual Sunday dive!
Ghislain and Martin did reach the 100 Meter mark, with 102 Meters. Since then, they did it again: 111 Meters. It’s not about pushing the limits for the sake of it, but it is about being able to replicate, to validate all the procedures and hard work that they’ve done to get there. And it’s working!
I’m proud to have been a part of this record, even at my modest level. Those guys are some of the most ultimate Frothers I know…
Cheers,
Franck
For more of my polar adventures on instagram: @franckgazzola
by | Apr 10, 2015 | Daily Updates
Hi Frothers!
I hope you had a great Easter weekend!
Here in the Arctic, we keep working away with the exploration diving and scientific program. We are making the most of the amazing water clarity as it will not last: the absence of snow on the sea ice is an issue for what we do here. Snow is the sunglasses of the seaice. Without snow, a massive amount of the sunlight goes through the thick ice, and planktonic & algae growth happens a lot faster and easier that usual, deteriorating the water clarity. Instead of pure crystal clear water, with a white/blue overhead of ice, you can see now a lot particles in suspension in the water, and the ceiling become green(ish), as if grass was growing upside down on the ice. We need snow to slow this growth process down, but in the meantime, we need to explore as much as we can. Long days, and busy ones too.
BUT, we get eye candy at night: some pole dancers, better known as the Northern Lights. They move around, they dance fast, and then slow…They light up the sky in all colours and shapes. A natural wonder that leaves you speechless when you experience it for the first time.
Throw in a frozen sea, some rocky mountains, and the absence of light pollution: you get the most amazing show that your eyes can see.
And the best part: it’s free and totally organic (I know we like ‘’organic’’ in the Eastern Suburbs:)).
The nights are getting shorter, so our chances to see our pole dancers are getting slimmer. Off to a scout outside to check it out before going to bed.
I know 1 thing though: I will never complain again that it is ‘’cold’’ in Sydney. Never ever.
Cheers,
Franck
For more of my polar adventures on instagram: @franckgazzola
by | Apr 8, 2015 | Daily Updates
| Hi Frothers, Beau here today. We had a great February for waves but March failed to come to the party. I thought I’d share some shots from the last decent swell and also what I’ve been up to. It was an amazing day for the ‘One Wave Is All It Takes’ 2nd birthday a couple of weeks ago. Such a great thing these guys are doing for mental health. It looks as though Easter in Sydney wasn’t too crash hot for waves. With four days off work, I hope you packed the car full of boards and your mates for a road trip to Victoria. Did you check out the Rip Curl Pro? Hope you had a great long weekend! Beau Instagram: @beaupilgrim for more ocean-inspired adventures. |
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