Now it's clear why the Equites team dived in the Dnieper?
The location is the capital's Hydropark, «Venetian Channel». As always, full of people, as always, Ukrainian-African drums are droning, as always... (however, this adds more intensity to the action) the extreme situation is aggravated by an unscheduled water release from the dam, and we witness a mini storm in a mini river.
Masha – the permanent host – this time in a difficult situation. The main heroes of the show, along with the team, will be two jeeps, and Igor Molyar – the Ukrainian auto-guru – is not around. But no problem – as they say, women feel both people and cars with their souls. And this helps the host to continuously deliver portions of technical information. And it is as follows. A production Nissan has been prepared for underwater driving. Its «equipment» – two vertical 3-meter pipes (air intake and muffler). The main electrical equipment, heating elements and doors have been removed from the car. The car must drive along the riverbed, completely (!) submerged under water. That, in fact, is all.
All? – those who know what underwater driving of a tank is will be surprised. When all cracks and crevices are sealed with grease, the operation of the motor pump is checked, oxygen cylinders and insulating gas masks are prepared for evacuation. And special metal ramps are laid on the bottom of the reservoir. Add to this two boats with rescuers and two paired tractors on both banks...
In our case, the initial conditions are as follows. A team of professional adventurers: Goltis, Alexander Komarov and Bogdan Vlasenko (club «4x4 Extreme Motorsport»), the jeep itself (see above), a boat with rescuers and a couple of guys in wetsuits on backup from the shore. Plus – a turbulent river with a sandy bottom, plus 70 meters of path, plus visibility – zero.
A small digression. Those who regularly follow our reports have noticed that for the second time the third team member, Konstantin Mogilnik, is not participating in the action. During the previous training, he seriously injured his arm and temporarily ended up in a hospital bed. On the day of the «swim», he had a serious operation, and as we were told, it was successful. Soon the team will appear before us in full force. Meanwhile, Bogdan Vlasenko is behind the wheel of the Nissan. It was under his leadership that the car was prepared, and who else but him was destined to replace the temporarily absent team member.
So, Equites are in place. The jeep's diesel revved up for the last time in its usual environment and... the first waves run onto the hood. Slowly and reluctantly, the car goes along the bottom into an unfamiliar, hostile element. Now the roof has disappeared, and only the pipes now indicate the location of the «submarine».
Two «Hercules» scurry along the shore, holding ropes tied to the jeep. Thus they «insure» the 2-ton car, which is enveloped like a toy by the murky waves of spring water. Now the Nissan surfaces for a second, as if to take a breath, and again burrows under the water. Only 70 meters... Or as much as 70 meters?.. But, as they say, everything ends someday. The wheels are turned toward the shore, and in a few seconds: «It will boil, raise a howl, rush onto the empty shore, Unfold in a swift run and find themselves on the shore...». Oh, on the «shore», as if nothing had happened, the same jeep appeared, from which, as they say, from all holes... And even diving masks stretched over the guys' satisfied faces. The unprecedented drive-swim was successful. Conclusion: on a good jeep, you can not only drive up a vertical wall, but also along the seabed.
...If only along the bottom. And as a boat? The water had not yet drained from all the cracks, the crayfish had not yet equipped cozy nests under the hood and in the trunk of the car, when Goltis is already running with a 200-liter plastic barrel and giving orders to the other guys. Aha, now they are going to make a glider out of the poor «submarine». Having tied it with barrels, Equites distributed duties: Goltis, like Ichthyander, nimbly swam across the river with a rope in his hand (or teeth?) and no less quickly pulled the heavy cable to the other bank. Meanwhile, Sasha on the command Toyota joined him. Together they will manually pull the jeep to their shore. And Bogdan again found himself behind the wheel (helm) of the «vessel» named Nissan. If only the Japanese could see how they are mocking the pride of their jeep building!
And again stormy waves and strong current. And again the irrepressible trio took up the fight against the elements. The jeep's wheels, like the wheels of a steamboat, drive the car toward the goal, while on the other bank Goltis and Sasha flex their muscles. The cable either slackens or tightens, but it is already clear to everyone that Equites have coped with this task as well. Hurray! – shout the fans, and we along with them (in our souls – at work, after all).
And Masha, jumping for joy, shouts into the microphone: «What you saw today is not a show, not a performance, and not a circus trick. It is an experiment, a training. After all, Equites are not professional stuntmen, scuba divers, or aeronauts. They are travelers and researchers, all-rounders who «simply» know how to do a lot...»
Well, well... And I thought it was a show. I turned around and... saw. On the concrete support of the bridge, at a 45-degree angle, stood another jeep from the club «4x4 Extreme Motorsport». It just stood there, contrary to common sense and gravity. Probably, the guys from there had a better view...
And one more piece of information for animal rights activists and fishermen. Goltis said (and he can be trusted) that during the underwater drive, not a single fish was harmed. Despite poor visibility, Bogdan drove around those that were slow to move.