That time my comms went dead at 90 feet off the coast of Louisiana

I was doing a pipeline inspection near Port Fourchon last August, about 90 feet down in some nasty murk. My Kirby Morgan hat just went totally silent mid-job - no topside, no nothing. I got that cold feeling in my gut because you're basically blind down there without comms for depths that deep. I slapped my helmet with my glove a few times to check if it was a loose line, no dice. I switched to my bailout bottle and followed my lift bag up slow, signaling with my hands that something was wrong. Turned out the comms cable had a nick in it from rubbing against some exposed rebar near the rig. Cost me a half day and 450 bucks for a new cable, but better than being dead. Anyone else ever had comms fail at the worst possible time?

2 comments

2 Comments

patb8611d ago

Cost me a half day and 450 bucks" - felt that one. Had mine die 40 feet under a frozen lake once.

the_hannah11d ago

Did you figure out later if that nick in the cable was from that particular shift or had been worn down over a few dives? Because a 450 dollar surprise like that is brutal, especially when you're already dealing with the cold sweat moment.