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Had a close call with a silt-out in a freshwater intake tunnel last Tuesday | Commercial Divers - Opinions Matter

Had a close call with a silt-out in a freshwater intake tunnel last Tuesday

We were doing a routine inspection on a hydro plant intake in Oregon, about 60 feet down. I was following the guideline back to the bell when my finning kicked up a huge cloud of silt from the tunnel floor I didn't even see. Visibility went from 10 feet to zero in like two seconds. My comms got all static-y and I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I just froze, grabbed the line, and focused on my breathing until my tender talked me through it. He had me feel for the line texture and count my pulls back to the stage. Took about 15 minutes of blind crawling to get clear. Has anyone else had a silt-out hit that fast in an enclosed space? What's your drill for it?

3 comments

3 Comments

wright.jesse5mo ago

See this all the time in life. People freeze up in a crisis and just need someone calm to give them simple steps. That line between panic and action is real thin when you can't see.

viola_reed6mo ago

Man, your brain going straight to the "hold the line" protocol is way better than mine! I'd probably try to swim up and just headbutt the tunnel ceiling. Sounds like you and your tender make a great team when things get murky.

king.aaron6mo ago

That sounds like a real bad day at the office. I had a silt-out in a Florida cave system about twenty years ago that felt just as fast. My drill is pretty much what you did, stop and cling to the line like it's your last friend on earth. The joke in my dive group was always that my first reaction was so perfect, because my brain would just empty out from the panic. Honestly, focusing on the line texture and counting pulls is the only thing that works for me. Getting talked through it by a calm tender is the real key.