After the first day where I located the anchor and attached a marker buoy to it...the 2nd dive that day they passed
a heavy line down for me to attach - but it was just 30 cms too short!!
I had to abort the dive and remove the marker,I just committed the position to memory!! Mmm not that easy
without a compass and not many features but then again I have a nose for this sort of thing remember the ramp.
Anyway after that first day the commercial divers were all having a laugh at us as the grapevine goes (they had also tried unsuccessfully to block our permissions!)...good luck to them as they havent the kit to go that deep except for a quick no deco bounce!
Anyway the ship left and came back yesterday morning...so I go out again and replace the marker on the lost anchor (dive 1 64m) When the ship is ready to leave it pulls up slowly on its other anchor and then drops a thick line down near my marker with a heavy weight on it to make the line sink quicker.... I descend they are 20m away!!! (dive 2 68m) I cannot move the line with the heavy weight...they were supposed to leave 10m of line after the weight so I could theorectically attach and then cut the weight off they only left 3m...typical! OK so I now have to cut the weight off so I can move it...of course after I did this the line was wrenched from my grasp and disappeared... OK so I left the marker attached to the anchor this time and started back deploying my back up reel to decompress with.
So after surfacing the ship is still there...the Captain asks if I can dive again...I tell him I need at least one hour surface interval...they decide to wait....hey - this is great I have a ship with 2500 passengers on board all waiting for me!! Get your own back time for all the times they made me wait for ever!! I'd love to hear what they announced to the passengers!!
Anyway the next attachment attempt...now they have decided to put the weight 20 from the end of the line so as long as they get it within 20m I should be able to attach it..so I get ready with the twin 15s and a 10 liter with 150bar of 50%. As they are manouvering into place they realised they cannot see my marker...off course the ship has drifted over it somewhere...so they decided to go for it and drop the line... off it goes, snaking down with a large shackle on the end and a weight 20m from the end...Just then my red OMS marker appears from under the boat they all shout for me to dive down my marker...(Dive 3 70m) I jump in and start to descend down my line....mmmm no tension!! I get 30m down and the line ends there - it had snapped when the marker was dragged under the boat....OK what to do..this is where Inspired Training cuts in thanks to Mark!! Mainly as it cant be worse that some of his dives and he is still here!!
So I dump everything and descend like a brick to the bottom at 70m. Make a quick 360 and spot the large line they sent down...swimming over to it. The shackle is on the bottom at 68m...I know the anchor is at 64m but which way???
The viz is now bad as they are swinging around on their other anchor creating clouds of silt!
OK be logical - quick search...I know the depth so it can only be north or south...I search north first and come to a very interesting drop of at 70m...obviously not this way so back to the line then the other direction good I find the lost anchor some 15m away through a cloud of silt..back to the large line...no 20m of free line as the weight is still sitting 20m above my head! I try to drag the line in the direction of the anchor and it seemed to be dragging the other way...then it stopped...mmmm aha brainstorm..the whole thing is swinging around on the existing anchor just like Laila One! OK it starts to move very slowly in the right direction...good I hang on to it take the pin out of the shackle ready to attach...we slowly swing through a cloud of silt and there is the lost anchor with the heap of chain....were to attach anywhere I think...but as you know the shackle will only fit into the end link...where is that! Luckily I had tied my marker to the link before this (anticipation!) So I spot the yellow of the reel through the murk. Angle slightly towards it and get the shacke over the link and carefully without fumbling
screw the shackle pin in as only one chance...got it in! PHEW!!
OK check deco my Vytec displays --- on total ascent time which means more than 99 mins!! Oops...check air 50 bar! Depth still 64m!! Eek....Ship manouvering above...noise incredible!! OK swim quickly away then deploy my back up reel, Once deployed get up to 22m so I can switch to the 50%.. Get there still 40bar in the 15s switch to the 50% deco now reduces to 58 mins!
OK Now I am swimming back dragging my smb against the current... using to much air - try to get to the shallows and not watch the gauge....OK I get to 10m feeling a bit light...oops no weight belt! Bad as now even the twin 15s are light with only 40 bar in them.. OK look for heavy objects...I have to stay at 10m thus the deco is not going down quick enough and Im using more of my meagre gas supply...started collect beer bottles in my harness then jammed a big rock in there... get back to the jetty where Im expected now only 38mins deco
left...but the gauge is near zero.. I bob the SMB up and down for a while...Moad jumps into to check me so I point at my deco tank...he gets the message and goes to get me another (cursing myself for not taking it with me!) They bring me a tank with no reg attached!! OK I can switch it over underwater but I only have these two deco regs still working so better not to! I signal I need a reg on to breathe from it they get the message and disappear 35 mins deco left...gas runs out!! OK switch to back gas...switch computer 87 mins deco!! MM now could I do this
with 40 bar in the twin 15s?? That's 80 bar in a single so 1200 liters
15 liters per min - 22.5 at 5m x 87 = 1957 mmm lets hope they return!! Trying not to breathe much!!
OK they come back and drop me another 50 with 150 bar in it...switch back now only 27 mins easy peasy...they also dropped me a weight belt so I could stabalize myself...complete the deco OK... come out to an accolade as they retrieved the anchor...
So other commercial entities totally pissed off as they told them it was too deep to retrieve!!
Lessons learnt..dont forget your weightbelt and take more deco gas!
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