Hong Kong Ice Divers Meeting Point

Ice diving in Hong Kong?

There is a problem - not too much ice in HK even in the coldest winter recorded. Hence, we are welcoming you to follow us to the land where ice and snow are as common as sun and rain are in HK.

Russian taiga, descending to the shore the only freezing sea in Europe. Polar night, when natural light lasts for only 4 hours a day, aurora borealis, stiff silence around, mysterious black water and psychedelic ice ceiling above.
In the middle of all this soundless surrealistic beauty there is a fully equipped dive center with living quarters, Russian banya (steam sauna) and Japanese furo, full sets of equipment for rent, skilled staff and elaborate programs to keep the guests excited throughout the time of their stay.
Needs to be mentioned that this dive center is quite used to receiving groups of international divers. German, Czech, British divers as well as visitors from other countries have been there quite a few times. But - so far no one from SE Asia.

This is the very first time we are going to get an ultimately special troop of Chinese divers to vanquish the place.

We – the people behind this project – are:

Mark Vadim, a Russia-born China-married and Guangzhou-based AOWD, who came up with the idea and remains a main driving force behind it;

Ivy Sze, Owner, L-S Pro Co., Ltd., a.k.a. Ivy Scuba, Hong Kong;

Stephen Au, Owner, Diving Adventure Ltd., Hong Kong, who was the first Hongkongese diver to the Antarctic; who agreed to act our Hong Kong hand and take full care of preparation training of the participants;

Nastya Safonova, Vice-President, Arctic Circle diving center, Moscow (part of Ru_Dive group of companies), who is going to take absolutely special care of us while we are there.

Now, the very heart of the point:

LET US MAKE CHINESE NEW YEAR 2009 AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENT OF A LIFETIME.

Let our firecrackers* split the frozen silence over taiga! Let us hang red lanterns on the hundred-year-old pines! Take incredible pictures and videos to proudly show to our grandkids!
*(firecrackers are not allowed on the aircraft but the dive center will take pains to provide us as many as we can use up; however red lanterns we have to bring ourselves)

Another option is to go in March.

Why so? - because the ice is the thickest in March, and the fantastic shapes overhead - like you can see in the picture below - form about late February to mid March.

Of course there is ice in January as well (about 15-20 cm thick) but if we prefer to go down under 1 m ice armour, then March will be a better option. Everything is open to discussion at this stage.

We are now forming a group of 10-15 brave souls to join us on this trip of courage and grandeur. Want to be the first HKese to conquer the White Sea? Dig this site for more information. Talk to us. Ask questions. Come to meetings Mark is going to hold at Ivy’s shop every now and again for those interested. See the pictures. Open new horizons in diving.

What is the next step?

The farther we go the wilder we get. After we are all ice-certified, we can have a liveaboard safari or - don't faint, I'm serious - have a few days diving at the NORTH POLE. Bloody expensive, I must say. I mean, really expensive. However this year, for instance, the North Pole tour was fully booked and quite a few people had to put their names on the waiting list. But yes, there is still a possibility.

This is the meeting point for Hong Kong ice divers.

Ice diving in Hong Kong?