Was doing a pipeline inspection off Corpus Christi and my whip check let go at 150 psi, whipped right past my helmet before I could kill the valve. Anyone here run dual whip checks or just stick with one?
Last year on a wreck job off Jamestown, Rhode Island I had to pick between hauling my own compressor or renting bottles from the local shop. Took the compressor. Figured it would pay off after a week of dives. Big mistake. The barge crew had no pad for it, so I lost half a day rigging a mount. Then the diesel pump acted up every morning. Bottles would have cost $340 more but zero headache. I still think owning gear is right long term, but that call cost me time and stress. Anyone else stuck with their own gear on a site that was not set for it? What do you do, rent or bring?
He said 'tape costs 50 cents, a shredded hand costs a week of work' and after I ignored him for 3 months, I finally tried it on a job off Freeport and now I won't even do a harbor hull scrub without it, anyone else have a safety habit they resisted until it saved them once?
For years I cranked my Kirby Morgan band mask super tight on every dive in Seattle. Thought a leak meant I wasn't cinching it down enough. Then a buddy on a bridge job showed me his mask seals fine with way less tension, and I realized I was causing headaches and face fatigue for no reason. Anyone else get told tight is always right and find out the hard way?
Turns out he was clearing 40% faster on the bottom time because of the lower gas consumption, and now I'm the one looking foolish - anyone else ever had a piece of gear they dismissed totally flip your opinion?
I was doing hull cleaning on a barge in the Port of Seattle and my second stage started free flowing like crazy about 20 minutes in. Thought it was just ice at first since it was 45 degrees down there but it kept getting worse. Ended up having to abort the dive and swap to my backup reg which saved the job but killed my bottom time. Got back up and found a tiny piece of rubber gasket had torn off inside the regulator body. Has anyone else had issues with the newer Kirby Morgan parts failing like that? I'm thinking about switching to a different reg setup but not sure what's worth the money.
I remember staring at a 12 inch crack in a concrete pillar 80 feet down with a dull flashlight and a dental mirror in 2005 - took me 45 minutes to figure out the rebar was exposed. Now I just strap on a GoPro and a good light and get the whole thing in 5 minutes with video proof. Do you guys still bother with the old-school inspection methods or has everyone gone digital by now?
I was down in Port Fourchon last month and hopped on a charter that clearly skimped on the comms setup. They had one backup radio that was dead on arrival and the deckhand just shrugged when I asked about it. During our first dive to 90 feet on a rig jacket, the current picked up and we lost visual on two guys for a solid 5 minutes. If that radio had failed we'd be waving at passing shrimp boats. Am I wrong for thinking this is getting worse, or has anyone else noticed corners getting cut since the oil patch slowed down?
I always said full face masks were for guys who couldn't handle a regular regulator. Last week I had to do a hull inspection in some nasty murky water near the Corpus Christi ship channel. Visibility was maybe 2 feet and I kept getting water in my mouthpiece from the current. My buddy let me borrow his Kirby Morgan for one dive and I actually finished the job without cussing once. Now I'm looking at prices online but man they are expensive. Anyone else change their mind about a piece of gear after trying it once?
I was working a saturation job in the Gulf about 2 years ago and got paired up with this guy named Gene who had been diving since the 80s. We were doing some valve work at 200 feet and he grabbed my arm hard, made this weird fist over his chest. Turns out he was signaling that a line had snagged on my tanks and I was about to get yanked. Spent the next hour learning his whole set of custom signals. Has anyone else picked up unique hand signals from an old diver that aren't in the standard training?
I was at a trade show last month in Houston and they had an old Kirby Morgan 37 on display. I picked it up to check the hoses and nearly dropped it because I thought it would be way lighter. The guy running the booth laughed and told me the 37 is actually one of the lighter helmets they made too. Has anyone else been surprised by gear specs that don't match what you expected from pictures?
I've been diving off Port Fourchon for 6 years and always just dealt with the cold until I hit 50 feet for 3 hours in January. A buddy swore by his thermal undersuit, but I tried a heated vest last month and it made a huge difference. Anyone else find that electric heat beats gas recirc systems for long bottom times?
Last week I was loading gear at the Port of Anacortes and overheard this older diver telling a new guy he stopped using his drysuit for shallow pipeline work in 45 degree water. He said the drysuit made him slow and he felt safer being able to feel the cold creeping in rather than getting complacent. It stuck with me because I always figured dry was the only way below 50. I still think he's nuts but it made me question if I'm overdoing it for certain jobs. Has anyone else made that switch for cold water?
Just got back from a 3 week stint on a rig off Aberdeen. Water temp was 6 degrees C. Gotta say, the cold is brutal but the currents there are nothing like what I deal with in the Gulf. Down in Louisiana we got murk and alligators but way warmer. Old timer told me the North Sea will kill you faster with hypothermia but the Gulf will drown you in a tangle of lines. Who here has done both? Which do you think is the tougher work environment?
Was working a salvage job in San Diego and the D-ring on the bag let go. We had to send a tender down with a backup bag and re-rig the whole thing before we could even surface. Has anyone else had a D-ring snap on them unexpectedly?
We had a 10-day window off Port Fourchon to repair a riser on a platform, and the weather cooperated the whole time. Usually I'm fighting 3-foot swells and zero vis, but we had calm seas and 15 feet of visibility every single dive. My supervisor said it was the best stretch he'd seen in 5 years. Has anyone else ever had a job line up perfectly like that, or am I just jinxing my next one?
I was at a shop in San Diego last week picking up some o-rings and this kid, probably mid 20s, was talking about how he only uses wireless intercoms. Made me think about all those years I spent cutting my teeth on a KMB 18B with that clunky hardwire setup off the Louisiana coast in 2007. Sure, wireless is nice and all, but I still carry a backup hardwire reel just in case. Anyone else keep old gear around for peace of mind?
My old Suunto D6i just blanked out on me during a routine inspection dive on a platform leg. I was alone at depth checking a weld when the screen went black. I had to abort the dive and do a controlled ascent, which messed up my whole schedule. My backup was in my bag on the boat because I got lazy. Do you guys always carry a backup computer on every jump or do you roll the dice like I did?
She said 'you're fighting what you can't see instead of working with what you can feel' and now I've started trusting my hands more in zero vis situations, has anyone else shifted their mindset like that after a conversation?
Bought a set of 4 50lb lift bags off eBay for $120, figured they'd do the job for salvage work on a wreck near San Diego. First dive with them at 60 feet and one blew a seam on the second lift, lost a good chunk of a day. Anybody had better luck with a specific brand that won't leave you stranded?
I was shooting the breeze with this guy Gary who's been diving since the 80s, he was telling me about how he still packs his own valve o-rings because the factory ones are junk. That hit different because I've been fighting a slow leak for months and just assumed it was the suit itself. He said to pop the valve apart and regrease everything, told me most guys never touch them until they fail. Has anyone else found a simple fix like that that saved you a huge headache on gear?
I was pulling chain off a wrecked barge off the coast of Louisiana and my depth gauge ticked right past 200. That extra 50 feet of bottom time wrecked my deco schedule and I sat in the chamber for almost 4 hours after. Has anyone else pushed past their usual working depth and gotten surprised by the hit it takes on your body?
I was gearing up by the water and that little thief just swam right over, grabbed the strap with its mouth, and took off toward the pier - has anyone else had marine life swipe their gear before you even got wet?
I was out on a job near the Galveston jetties last Tuesday, inspecting a riser at about 90 feet. Noticed the anodes were bolted too close to the weld zones, like within 6 inches. Anyone else run into this on offshore pipelines and have to decide whether to flag it or just let it slide?
I went with scuba on a job in Port of Seattle last month cause the boat was small, but the current almost pulled me under, so I'm wondering if surface supplied gear with a harness would have been safer for a 2 hour shift - what do you guys use for shallow water work like this?