Had a real call on a bridge piling job in Savannah that forced a gear choice

We were doing a visual check on some concrete spalling, maybe 40 feet down in the Savannah River. The current was picking up faster than the tide chart said. My choice was to stick with the standard Kirby Morgan hat I was in, or switch to the full face mask with coms that was on the boat but I hadn't used much. I went with the full face, thinking talking to topside clearly would be safer if things got hairy. Good call. About 20 minutes in, the viz went to zero with stirred-up silt and I got a line snagged on rebar. Being able to just talk and not fumble with a slate while working blind let the tender talk me through the tangle. Took ten minutes, but I got free without having to cut anything. Anyone else had a situation where switching to a different comms setup mid-job saved your skin?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_thomas6d ago

Ever think about how much that extra gear costs versus the price of getting stuck down there? You made the right call, but does your company push back on using the more expensive setup for routine jobs? Seems like a lot of shops would rather risk it.

mila_craig45d ago

Companies always cut corners until they're paying for a rescue mission.