I fell into a false bottom of a pond once. No diving gear. Silly mommy trying to catch tadpoles.
Boy, my kids got a kick out of me emerging from the pond looking like swamp thing.
Oh, Diver, here are your bubbles, take them with you :)
Don't ever volunteer to do anything? Am I not reading this correctly?
I don't write 'em... just repeat 'em. :)
Don't think I can really agree with that swabbie's comment.
I volunteered for diving duty and had great time doing it.
re: Don't ever be the first... Now there may be some merit to this one. Allow me to share a sea story with y'all.
The call went out for volunteers for Navy Divers due to some upcoming transfers from some of the guys in the diving locker. Four of us volunteered and three were chosen.
The first "test" was to see if we could swim. The diving crew took us out in the boat, dropped us off at the end of the pier and told us to swim to the other end. Don't know the exact length of the swim, but the pier was long enough to two 600 ft ships tied up with lots of room to spare. We weren't allowed to break the water with our hands or feet, so it was breast-stroke all the way.
The next "test" occurred once we got to Yokosuka, Japan. Each one of us was dressed out in a deep-sea diving suit (hard-hat rig), one at a time and lowered over the side of the pier. Once on the bottom, we were to follow the Chief's instructions that was relayed via speaker in the helmet. As luck would have it, I was the first to make the dive out of the three of us.
My first instructions were to "Back straight out." I was able to move backwards about 5 ft. before I sunk to my waist in the mud and silt on the bottom. All the while I'm thinking I'm moving backwards, but in reality, I standing in one spot trudging away like crazy, only to sink even further into the mud.
With the deep-sea diving suit, you have a constant supply of air coming to you through an airhose from the surface. At the same time the air is coming into the suit, it is also being expelled through the exhaust port with the bubbles rising to the surface.
Once again the Chief's voice comes over the intercom, "Back straight out." Procedure called for me to repeat what I hear and execute the command. After hearing the command several times, I answered back, "I am backing straight out!"
The next sound on the intercom... "Well take your bubbles with you cuz they're staying in the same spot."
After returning to the surface, amidst much ribbing and laughter, we found out about a "chin button" within the helmet that allows the diver to inflate the suit by hooking his lips over the button and pulling the button towards himself. The button is a valve and shuts off the air escaping the suit. As the suit fills with air, the diver becomes bouyant and can lift himself to the point that he can actually walk across the top of the mud.
A simple lesson learned by "Going First."
I fell into a false bottom of a pond once. No diving gear. Silly mommy trying to catch tadpoles.
Boy, my kids got a kick out of me emerging from the pond looking like swamp thing.
Oh, Diver, here are your bubbles, take them with you :)
LOL! That's funny. Love your sea stories, Dave.