Scuba diver notches 2000th dive in frigid Prince William Sound

Photos courtesy of Jerry Vandergriff Lisa Vandergriff dives in Smitty’s Cove in Whittier. It was Lisa’s 2,000th dive, most of which took place in the bone-chilling waters of Alaska.

By Jerry Vandergriff
Special to the Turnagain Times

There is a small but close-knit community of Scuba divers in Alaska. A very small percentage of them actually dive in the cold waters here though. Most dive only on warm-water vacations. Lisa Vandergriff of Anchorage is one of the exceptions.
On Jan. 31, she completed her 2,000th dive. Of those 2,000 dives 1,654 have been in the frigid waters of Alaska. 1,559 have been in Smitty’s Cove in Whittier, where she also made her first dive in March 1995. She has averaged over 140 dives per year since certifying.
Smitty’s Cove was where she chose to make that momentous 2,000th dive. Her husband and eight of their close friends joined her in the water, while several others observed from shore. Water temperature was a crisp 36 degrees. The air temperature was 16 degrees. Fortunately, there was no wind. At 35 feet, visibility was great. We gathered on the boat ramp and made our dive plan. Then we dropped under water and toured the northeastern portion of the cove.
On the tour we saw two large wolf eels guarding an egg ball, white dorids and opalescent nudibranchs, lingcod, copper rockfish, kelp greenling and a sea cucumber. The highlight of the dive was a frolicsome sea otter that swam down and wove it’s way between the divers. It is very rare that a sea otter will get close enough for a diver to see it.
Diving is much more challenging in Alaska than most other parts of the world. Because of the frigid temperatures divers must wear much more gear than warm water divers. The average weight of the gear and tank is 100 pounds. Lisa is about 127 pounds. Consequently, her gear weighs almost as much as she does. Getting from your vehicle to the water is the hardest part. Once you are in the water and achieve neutral buoyancy you don’t notice the weight. It is like drifting through space. It is so quiet and peaceful. The only sound is the exhaust bubbles escaping from your regulator. You are able to swim right up to most of the critters. They have no fear of you.
When most people look at Alaska’s dark, frigid waters the last thing they think about is immersing themselves in it. For a few of us doing just that is our passion. We spend our days waiting for the next time we can head south to Smitty’s Cove and dive in to Alaska’s most extreme sport.
Congratulations Lisa and may you have 2,000 more.