Called out for 300+ Adam Henry's

[Gary D.]

I’m just getting ready to get into the shower when my cell starts playing “The Entertainer”. I look and it’s one of our deputies who we always play jokes on each other. So I answer with “WHAT!!!!” She chuckles and says you’re going to get a dive call out.

SOOO after a couple of minutes of her trying to convince me we’re getting called out I hear her radio in the background. Dispatch says something about a one of the Cruise Boats having a jumper. %&*(*^$&() I hang up get ready and head to the car. I was in service and in route within two minutes.

I get about a mile from the house when the pager goes off. “DIVE TEAM CALL OUT FOR MAN OVERBOARD FROM CRUISE SHIP SILVER BEACH AREA DIVE TEAM MEMBERS RESPOND TO BOATHOUST TO GET A BT. 09:40PM 080207”.

By 2144 I’m at the boathouse loading my gear. We had a team that was on duty already so they are just leaving the city docks on the regular patrol boats. I get another boat ready and wait for any remaining diver to show up.

Now to make a long story short, we searched the area but someone FUBARED the GPS numbers. Not by much but enough to throw us off by about 2 miles south.

We had the boat go into the city dock and get a GOOD “TRIPPLE” head count. Well the drunk monkeys didn’t want to cooperate and a few went overboard and swam to the dock. How many we don’t have a clue. But it didn’t matter anyway. There was something like 303 that boarded and even not counting the jumpers the count was like 312 exited. :shakehead

So we searched what we could. The water is 165 to 183 feet deep in the suspected area which is about a square mile. If we did have someone go in “AGAIN” they won’t be lonely. We have three more already down there in that area.

So now we wait for a missing person report to see if we really had a jumper.

The OT is stacking up this weekend.

Gary D.

 

[Gary D.]

Last night when I got to the boathouse I put on my PFD and grabbed my suit and dive bag for the first trip. I run down gangway to the door, drop everything and unlock the door.

Some guy yells: “You want some help?” I say no, go inside and toss my gear into the remaining boat we don’t normally dive off of. Outboard and no platform or dive ladder make for a lousy combo but we use what we’ve got.

I start the boat and run back to my car for more gear. This guy says something I can’t understand so I just keep going. Now with my tank set up on my shoulder and a 30# weight belt in my other hand he yells, “I’ll be right there to help”. I say no thanks.

I make another trip to the car to get some rope bags, I need a truck, and once again this guy yells something. Then he gets off his boat and come towards our boathouse when I slowed down after getting advised two other boats and a team were on scene. He says “My card is on the boat but if you loan me some gear I’ll help you dive”. DUH.

I’m polite and tell him no thanks it doesn’t look like we’ll be diving because the area is too big and it runs between 160-185 feet deep. He pops off with, “I can do that, I’m a Certified Rescue Diver so I know what you guys do”. I politely bite my lower lip and tell him we are PSD’s, not Rescue Divers. He responds with, “Well you should be then you would have better success with these things”.

Thank god people started showing up because he was getting close to showing me how well he could swim. What a flippin idiot. I think we breed them up here.

Anyway the news just reported that the Cruise Boat is missing a White Chair so it looks like we got called out for a chair. Like I said earlier 300+ Adam Henry’s.:shakehead

Weird year, are we being tested for the big one?

Gary D.

 

[Gary D.]

Here is the paper article.
http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2007/08/04/news/news02.txt

Gary D.

 

[ReefGuy]

lol. You gotta love 'em