Dive call out North Idaho.
We were just finishing setting up Saturday afternoon for our first annual pancake feed (for Sunday morning) named after Gary Fox (Gary D and I dove on last spring, a recovery), anyway we were paged out for two kids capsized a coneu and they were in the water. We had one of the dive boats setup for the next morning for a display so the Sgt hooked up to the boat and I put my dive gear in and we were off. We only had about a seven minuet drive to the boat launch and by the time we had the boat ready to go, one of the other divers arrived and we were off. It took about ten minuets to get across Hayden Lake.
Wile the Sgt was driving we were putting on our gear. This was my first time putting on gear wile we were bouncing across the water. After arriving the Sgt was talking to some people in a little boat that kind of knew some of the information we needed, and I hit the water. I gave my OK sign and the Sgt told me about where to start and down I went, only about 7/8 feet. The other diver was about one to two minuets behind me. I was down for five minuets and came up to see where I was. I was off my pattern about 50 feet so I corrected it and continued on. I was down for five more and came up and I was off again 50 feet and again I corrected it. I went till I was about 30 feet from the dock (where the kids were swimming to) and turned around and headed back out. The closer we got to the shore line the vis was down to one/two feet and with crossing back over parts we had already covered the vis was 0. I was down for about seven minuets this time when I found a heavy shirt. I brought it up and got the Sgt attention in the dive boat and he came over took the shirt and we dropped a marker. After we marked the spot where I found the **** I continued back to the south (out away from the dock) and now the vis was about six to seven feet. I was down for three/four more minuets when I found him. I grabbed him and up we went.
When I hit the surface, the first thing I saw was a small boat with an adult and two small kids (six and maybe eight) and I thought these kids dont need to see this. So I put my back to the kids and put some more air in my dry suite and put my hand up in the air and called for the Sgt to come pick us up. The man in the boat with the two small kids asked me if he could come over and help me out ..??? WHAT? I was thinking, what in the hell are you thinking with the to small kids with him. I told him I wanted him to leave. They were only about sixty feet from me. When the dive boat arrived one of the other Sgt jumped in with me and I told him can we get that boat out of here with the kids in it before we pull this boy up. The Sgt told me they had a bird on the way and it was going to be here any minuet. So we rolled the kid in a blanket and onto the dive boat. The Sgt climbed on the dive boat and asked me if I wanted on, I was too tired and did not want to waste the time so I told them to go.
I swam back to shore and when I started taking my gear off I noticed that I had lost my dive light and my knife that my dad had given me twenty years ago before he passed away. He had gotten it when he was in the Marine Core. So what had happened is the two 17 year old kids were out fishing (no PFDs) and one of them went to put the anchor down and it slipped and they lost balance and capsized. The water was only about 7 feet deep with about 3 more foot of muck under that. The water temp was around 52 degrees (I think) and they were out around 300 feet from the dock. They started swimming to the dock and one of the boys took off his heavy shirt and swam a little more then took off his pants. He was yelling at the other boy (you can make it, keep going, you can make it). When he came back up from taking his pants off the other boy was gone. The boy that took off his pants made it in. When I found the other boy, he had a vest lying right beside him. To me it looked like he tried to get the vest off when he went down. I believe the Sgt told us the boy was down for 1 hour and about 17 minuets. My hart goes out to the boys family.
I also feel bad that I lost my dads knife. We went back out four days after the recovery to find some thing that the one boy said was in the boat and we found two of the three things. Sgt found my dive light but no knife. Maybe this summer we will find it.
I did learn some things about what I could do better next time.
Gary M,
"The Fire Guy
We were just finishing setting up Saturday afternoon for our first annual pancake feed (for Sunday morning) named after Gary Fox (Gary D and I dove on last spring, a recovery), anyway we were paged out for two kids capsized a coneu and they were in the water. We had one of the dive boats setup for the next morning for a display so the Sgt hooked up to the boat and I put my dive gear in and we were off. We only had about a seven minuet drive to the boat launch and by the time we had the boat ready to go, one of the other divers arrived and we were off. It took about ten minuets to get across Hayden Lake.
Wile the Sgt was driving we were putting on our gear. This was my first time putting on gear wile we were bouncing across the water. After arriving the Sgt was talking to some people in a little boat that kind of knew some of the information we needed, and I hit the water. I gave my OK sign and the Sgt told me about where to start and down I went, only about 7/8 feet. The other diver was about one to two minuets behind me. I was down for five minuets and came up to see where I was. I was off my pattern about 50 feet so I corrected it and continued on. I was down for five more and came up and I was off again 50 feet and again I corrected it. I went till I was about 30 feet from the dock (where the kids were swimming to) and turned around and headed back out. The closer we got to the shore line the vis was down to one/two feet and with crossing back over parts we had already covered the vis was 0. I was down for about seven minuets this time when I found a heavy shirt. I brought it up and got the Sgt attention in the dive boat and he came over took the shirt and we dropped a marker. After we marked the spot where I found the **** I continued back to the south (out away from the dock) and now the vis was about six to seven feet. I was down for three/four more minuets when I found him. I grabbed him and up we went.
When I hit the surface, the first thing I saw was a small boat with an adult and two small kids (six and maybe eight) and I thought these kids dont need to see this. So I put my back to the kids and put some more air in my dry suite and put my hand up in the air and called for the Sgt to come pick us up. The man in the boat with the two small kids asked me if he could come over and help me out ..??? WHAT? I was thinking, what in the hell are you thinking with the to small kids with him. I told him I wanted him to leave. They were only about sixty feet from me. When the dive boat arrived one of the other Sgt jumped in with me and I told him can we get that boat out of here with the kids in it before we pull this boy up. The Sgt told me they had a bird on the way and it was going to be here any minuet. So we rolled the kid in a blanket and onto the dive boat. The Sgt climbed on the dive boat and asked me if I wanted on, I was too tired and did not want to waste the time so I told them to go.
I swam back to shore and when I started taking my gear off I noticed that I had lost my dive light and my knife that my dad had given me twenty years ago before he passed away. He had gotten it when he was in the Marine Core. So what had happened is the two 17 year old kids were out fishing (no PFDs) and one of them went to put the anchor down and it slipped and they lost balance and capsized. The water was only about 7 feet deep with about 3 more foot of muck under that. The water temp was around 52 degrees (I think) and they were out around 300 feet from the dock. They started swimming to the dock and one of the boys took off his heavy shirt and swam a little more then took off his pants. He was yelling at the other boy (you can make it, keep going, you can make it). When he came back up from taking his pants off the other boy was gone. The boy that took off his pants made it in. When I found the other boy, he had a vest lying right beside him. To me it looked like he tried to get the vest off when he went down. I believe the Sgt told us the boy was down for 1 hour and about 17 minuets. My hart goes out to the boys family.
I also feel bad that I lost my dads knife. We went back out four days after the recovery to find some thing that the one boy said was in the boat and we found two of the three things. Sgt found my dive light but no knife. Maybe this summer we will find it.
I did learn some things about what I could do better next time.
Gary M,
"The Fire Guy
