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Been diving in the Gulf for years and just figured out my umbilical routing was all wrong
I was working a salvage job off Pensacola last month, about 90 feet down. My tender kept complaining about slack and I was constantly fighting my own lines. Another diver on the boat, a guy who used to work North Sea rigs, watched me suit up and said, 'You're letting your umbilical drop straight from the diver down. It's creating a huge snag hazard.' He showed me how to run it up my back and over my shoulder first, which keeps it off the bottom and gives the tender a cleaner pull. I've been doing it his way for three weeks now and my jobs are going way smoother. How do you all manage your umbilical on muddy or debris-heavy bottoms?
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anderson.david1mo ago
Running it over your shoulder might work on a clean bottom, but on a muddy site that's asking for trouble. That routing puts the umbilical right across your field of view and it can catch on your helmet or gear. I've seen guys get a line snagged on their own valve because of that method. Letting it drop straight down keeps it out of your way, and a good tender can manage the slack without you fighting it. Sometimes the old way is simpler.
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lauras8325d ago
Stuck with the old method for years myself and I feel your pain on those muddy bottoms. @sandrajackson totally gets it, the shoulder routing can be a mess when visibility is already garbage. I was on a wreck off St. Augustine and my umbilical kept getting hooked on old fishing line and shit, even with careful routing. Having it drop straight down isnt perfect but at least I can see where the trouble is and my tender can work with a clean line. It takes a good team to make either way work, honestly.
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