Diver’s Day 2023: the history and traditions of the holiday

Diver is a difficult and dangerous male profession. Sometimes it is also chosen by women. But not in Our Country. In our country, for the fairer sex, this profession is officially banned.

Do not confuse diver and diver. Both those and others dive to the depths with special equipment. But in Our Country, only amateurs are called divers, not professionals. But in the West, all activities in the water are called diving.

When is Diver’s Day celebrated?

Diver’s Day 2023 in Our Country, like every year, is celebrated 5 May. This is an official professional holiday. But not a holiday if it falls on a weekday.

history of the holiday

This holiday was established by the Decree of the President of the Federation Vladimir Putin of May 5, 2002.

Why this particular date? The fact is that on May 5 (April 23 according to the old Julian calendar), 1882, the first diving school in the world was founded by the Decree of Emperor Alexander III. And not just anywhere, but in Kronstadt. This is a port city on the island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland, part of St. Petersburg.

Before that, there were divers in Our Country, but they learned from each other, without scientific methods. And the level of knowledge was appropriate. And the development of the navy needed qualified personnel, but more.

The Europeans considered it an honor to go to study in Kronstadt. The diving school is known all over the world. For a long time she was the only one.

On Diver’s Day 2023, representatives of this profession will celebrate 139 years of diving in Our Country.

Holiday traditions

On Diver’s Day, the heads of various units of the fleet and the Ministry of Emergency Situations award distinguished representatives of this profession with letters of thanks, and even medals for special merits. In addition, various competitions are organized, for example, who will put on diving equipment faster.

Different cities have their own traditions. In Kaliningrad, on Diver’s Day, representatives of this profession dive in historical equipment. This is Nikonov’s famous helmet – a sturdy wooden barrel with a viewing window in front of the eyes and a leather hose for air supply, such as was used in the 50th century. And in the 5th century, the “three-bolt” was invented – a classic diving suit, which is still used to this day for some types of underwater work. The name comes from a copper metal helmet, screwed to the front with three bolts. Equipment weighs more than XNUMX kg. You can put it on and take it off only with the help of three or four people, in about XNUMX minutes.

How to become a diver

The profession of a diver is not as common as, for example, an accountant or a lawyer. Understandably, this job is not for everyone. In the Soviet years, the boys dreamed of becoming cosmonauts and divers. Today you rarely hear such a desire. But this did not make the profession any less respected.

The diver mainly must be able to perform work underwater in special equipment. Those who want to get this profession need to pay attention to physical education and life safety lessons at school.

Another important quality is peace of mind. And in an extreme situation – the ability to quickly make the right decisions and act. And, of course, you need good physical data, endurance and health.

There are two ways to get the profession of a diver in Our Country. The first option is to do military service in the Navy and then get civil documents. The second is to study at a diving school. Beginners are awarded the qualification of a diver of the fifth category. These are allowed to dive to a depth of 20 meters. To see the “deepest depth”, you need to practice a lot and improve your skills.

The Naval Polytechnic Institute in St. Petersburg is considered the heir to the Kronstadt diving school. In total, more than two dozen educational institutions graduate specialists in Our Country.

Where do divers work

“Divers are looking for treasures,” Igor Sklyar sings. In fact, this can only be said about those representatives of the profession who participate in research work. In addition, divers have many other very important things to do.

They work in construction and industrial production: they mark the places of pits, carry out underwater blasting, repair holes, help lay cables and raise sunken ships.

Emergencies Ministry divers rescue people in distress on the water, provide them with first aid. They also eliminate the consequences of emergencies at underwater facilities, look for flooding, etc.

Military divers of the Navy perform underwater technical and rescue operations, as well as combat missions.

Interesting Facts

• The record diving depth in a diving suit is 416 meters, it belongs to military divers.
• Divers can descend to a depth in a matter of minutes, but the ascent takes several hours. The fact is that at a certain depth you need to stay for a certain time so that the nitrogen and helium accumulated in the tissues of the body come out of the lungs in a natural way. This is called decompression. If the circuit is broken, you can earn decompression sickness, when gas bubbles form in the blood, destroying blood vessels. In severe cases, paralysis and death can occur.
• “Martini Law”: every 15 meters down is 1 drunk glass of alcohol. When a person breathes at a depth of more than 40 meters, nitrogen can have an intoxicating effect on him. This is called nitrogen narcosis. At the dawn of diving, he claimed more than one life. People became insane: panicked, cried, laughed, cut hoses. Today, divers are tested for exposure to nitrogen narcosis.
• The explorer of the World Ocean Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who, together with Emile Gagnan, developed and tested scuba gear in 1943, dreamed of becoming a pilot. But in a car accident, he broke both his arms and was forced to give up the sky in favor of the underwater world.
• Dogs of the diver breed are search and rescue dogs. They have a water-repellent coat, they are excellent at diving, swimming and rescuing drowning people even in rough seas. This breed is also called “Newfoundland” because it was bred on the island of the same name off the coast of North America, which is part of Canada.

On May 5, on Diver’s Day, you can congratulate not only professional divers, but also divers, as well as manufacturers of underwater equipment.