The TransPac was born from my expeditions to various parts of the world. The proving ground was an expedition to the remote karst region of Japan in the Iwate prefecture to the small mountain town of Akka. The Akka river flows thru the center of town and there was a cave at each end Akkado and Shigawatarido (-do means cave). There was also another nearby a cave called Rysendo.
These caves Japan required not only diving, but also dry caving and climbing out of tedious sumps. To push the exploration thru the sumps in 38 degree F ( 4 degree C) I had to develop a harness that we could swim, climb and walk a mile thru virgin cave with our cylinders. The last push was over eight hours and the TransPac was born. This also brought about the TransPac promise of ‘If you think there is a dive that the TransPac can’t do, I’ll either tell you how to do it, or if it’s interesting enough I’ll show you myself’.
I recently found the mini DV tapes from the 1998 expedition with the Japan Cavers Club and had them digitized. I put together a short piece to give you an idea of what I do to prove gear will do the job.
Lamar
