Nanook divers practise their skills, see the sights in Yukon lakes
Divers are taking in underwater historic site while also honing underwater skills
A select group of military personnel, in the Yukon for this year's annual Operation Nanook exercise, is getting a look at a part of the territory few people see — underwater.
More than a dozen divers, some from the army engineers and others from the naval base at Esquimalt on Vancouver Island, are in the territory.
On Wednesday they went to Lake Laberge north of Whitehorse. One of the dives was to look at the wreck of the sternwheeler A.J. Goddard, preserved for more than 100 years underwater.
It's a protected historic site and the divers were careful not to go on the boat or touch anything, said Master Seaman Jonathan Gendron.
He said other plans for this week include jumping off a Chinook helicopter into a lake near Haines Junction to disable a floating explosive device.
Gendron has been on exercises in Guam and San Diego in recent months. Next month he'll be working in South Korea for 10 days. Some of his colleagues have worked in Afghanistan disarming bombs.
"It's always a different job, it's not a nine to five, you never know what to expect, it's always changing, it's always entertaining and I really enjoy it," said Gendron.
Master Seaman Sara MacAleese grew up in a military family and is also a diver based in Esquimalt. She said they can be sent anywhere in the world on short notice, so it's good to practise.
"Packing up and moving everything from Victoria up to Whitehorse, that's part of the exercise, making sure that we are able to do that, getting all the bugs," said MacAleese.
Strength and endurance are part of the job, said Gendron, so physical fitness is a must.
"Some of our dives can be up to three hours swimming, up to three kilometres in the water at one time, so it's very demanding, and sometimes the environment can be hard as well," he said.