Rant: A cold water job in Alaska taught me to double check my heat trace

We were on a salvage job near Ketchikan last October, pulling up some old pilings. My suit heater died about twenty minutes into the first dive, and I had to surface early. Turns out, the heat trace wire on my umbilical had a tiny nick from getting pinched in the dive door a week before. I never noticed it during checks. Now I run my hand down the whole length of the umbilical before every splash, feeling for any bumps or cuts. That extra thirty seconds has saved me twice since. Anyone else have a simple pre-dive check that caught a big problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony_fox9019d ago

That "extra thirty seconds" is just busy work for people who didn't set up their gear right the first time. A proper visual check when you stow it should catch any damage, so feeling it again is a waste. You're just adding another step to forget.

sean_foster5219d ago

A quick feel can catch hidden damage a visual check misses, anthony_fox90. It's a cheap safety net, not busy work.