kaid59•5d ago

Question about a sudden silt-out in a harbor inspection

I was doing a hull inspection on a tugboat in the Port of Mobile last month, visibility was about 10 feet. My umbilical got snagged on a submerged piling and when I pulled it free, it kicked up a huge silt cloud. I couldn't see my gauges or my hand in front of my face. I immediately stopped moving, grabbed my umbilical to feel the direction of the pull from the tender, and signaled for a slow, steady lift. They brought me up about 15 feet and we waited a full five minutes for the cloud to clear before I went back down. What's your go-to move when you lose all visibility like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancybailey2d ago

Heard a guy say his best move is to hum a tune to keep calm and track time.

the_hayden5d ago

Wait, you waited a full five minutes? I would have been counting every second. That cloud must have been massive. Good on your tender for keeping the line steady.

grace_allen5d ago

Man, that's a solid move. I got caught in a total blackout once, not from silt but from a seal that panicked and bolted off a platform right next to me. Just a wall of stirred-up muck. My instinct was to freeze too, but I also reached for the hull right away to get a solid reference point. Feeling that steel under my glove was the only thing that kept me from getting turned around.