Read an old report that said a diver in the 80s did a 300 foot bounce dive with just a hose and a bucket for comms

Honestly, I was going through some old project files from a bridge inspection job in Mobile, Alabama. I found a typed report from 1984 stuffed in the back of a folder. It mentioned a diver who had to do an emergency repair on a piling at 300 feet. The wild part was the comms system failed completely. The report said the topside crew rigged a weighted bucket on a rope and lowered it down. They'd put notes in the bucket and pull it up to talk. The diver would write back. They did the whole job like that, including decompression stops. Tbh, it blew my mind. I can't imagine doing a bounce dive that deep with zero voice contact, just passing notes in a bucket. Has anyone else ever heard of or seen a crazy makeshift comms setup like that actually being used?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jennifer12d ago

Yeah, we had to use a bucket once when the comms went out on a salvage job. Just keep the notes short and clear, and always send a blank one down first to confirm they got the last message.

umab3512d ago

That blank note step is a total waste of time. If they didn't get the last message, they'll just ask for a repeat. Adding extra trips for a bucket system just slows everything down when you're already behind.