Diver’s suit

Ship maintenance was a critical task during the whaling era in South Georgia. All land stations in South Georgia had facilities for keeping catchers running through the summer. Many stations had maintenance crews working over the winter to more extensive maintenance to the stations and ships.

Divers were tasked with performing ship maintenance in cases where the ship could not be put in drydock.  Divers wore canvas suits like this one along with weighted belts and boots to keep them under water. The boot pictured below alone weighs 6.8kg (15.3lbs).

It would have been difficult to get a replacement suit down to South Georgia if the suit was damaged. This suit has been repaired multiple times to keep it in working condition.

The diver’s air was pumped through to the suit with a manual air pump attached to a hose. This meant that the diver relied on his assistant to keep him breathing while he was working underwater.