While working for an Emergency Medical Service, I completed my training for the Dive Rescue Team (DRT). The technical training for the DRT is not very difficult if you can retain an understanding of the math, the proper usage of the equipment and the safety precautions. The fear is what you have to overcome.
Diving is inherently confining. The gear you wear can cause feelings of claustrophobia even if you have never had a fear of confinement. I did well during training while diving in lake water, off the coast in the ocean and even our simulated cave dives. Each of these pass/fail field course required the completion of tasks in various environments. I easily completed my training in each of the scenarios. I only had one fear related to diving and was thankful it was not included in our training requirements. River water dive training was considered covered by our dives in the murky lake water. It should have been done in actual river water.
As if by fate, my first actual dive required that we search a river spillway for a submerged vehicle. A man had lost control of his small compact sedan and broken through the barrier. His vehicle had rolled into the river beneath the open spillway. The tributary spillway was open and the rushing water quickly pulled the small car under.
The driver was lucky to have escaped through his open window and was rescued miles down stream. But his vehicle had not reemerged. You can't simply drag the spillway for the vehicle. It could become dislodged and enter into the Mississippi to snag itself on a shallow region of the river bed. A passing vessel could be damaged by it. It was up to us to go down and secure a line to the vehicle and recover it.
Our dive planning suggested the riverbed beneath the spillway had been wallowing out by the massive amount of water rushing through over the years. We speculated this caused a swirling updraft of currents that simply tumbled the small vehicle into this depression in the river bed preventing it from washing downstream.
River engineers agreed and we set a date to search the area beneath the spillway. As we suited up in the early morning hours, the spillway had been shut as much as possible. This would allow us to dive the area more safely but it could not be shut completely. The tributary spillway must remain open to prevent the river level rising above the spillways safe pressure limit.
I had hoped the water rushing over the spillway would be calmer than it was. Even closed, 60 percent of the tributary rushing over the spillway was a raging waterfall thundering down into the water only a few hundred feet from where we were to dive. The current boiled and twisted like huge black snakes just beneath the surface. Black water has always been my greatest fear. It has been the source of my nightmares since childhood. Now I was voluntarily diving down into its depths.
We rode out to our first designated search zone and anchored the boat. This was only a tributary which fed into the 3 mile wide Mississippi River downstream. But our search area was still wide enough to dwarf the tugboats on the scene prepared to drag the vehicle out. I was mildly reassured by the nervous faces of my fellow divers. I wasn't the only one frightened near out of my wits by the thought of entering the turbulent water.
We stood by as the thick cable fed into the depths. We would be tethered to this cable and free to slide up or down along its length during our search. Our tether line could be fed out or reeled in as needed. We would have no communication once submerged. Our only methods of signaling each other were via our powerful high beam dive lamps, and tapping the guide cable with our grappling tools.
In the past, the bottom diver was selected by drawing straws. But this was now regulated by a more safety conscious system. One would think the most experienced diver and least likely to panic would be at the bottom. But it was actually the most experienced that would be the top diver on the guide cable. He would be the one most qualified to retrieve us should we get into trouble.
I was the least experienced and selected to enter the river first. The guide cable had rolled out 40 feet before touching bottom. I turned on my lamp and directed it downward. I only had about 10 feet of clear visibility in the churning black water. When I let go of the support railing my weighted belt pulled me under. I sank like a stone.
I could only hear the roar of the water rushing over the spillway and the sound of my own breathing. I peered into the murky depths with my lamp directed downward. My ears popped and I used a technique of forcing air in my throat to cause a positive inner ear pressure. My dive watch indicated I was 30 feet. I locked my tether and struck the guide cable three times with my grappling tool tied to my belt. I felt the guide cable give me a gentle tug as the next diver descended.
The current was pulling me from the guide cable and I felt the gentle tug at the end of my tether. I fed myself out 3 feet at a time until I was about ten feet from my cable. I began peering into the murky grayish blackness surrounding me directing my lamp in all directions. I was searching for a reflection of metal or glass that would indicate the location of the vehicle. I peered off to my left. After 20 minutes of searching I heard the sharp tapping on the guide cable. We were moving to another location.
Again we entered the water and I was more comfortable now. I felt relieved to have conquered my old childhood fear of the river. We had laughed and joked in our excitement after each rotation. Our initial fear had turned to jubilation and we couldn't wait for the next dive. We each felt a bit of pride as the boat crew stared at us like we were crazy. We were diving nearer to the bank now.
I caught a glimpse of something to my left in my high beam. I swam over and saw it again. It was a small reflection but could possibly be the side mirror of our vehicle. Perhaps it had gotten lodged in the submerged drift wood. I fed my line out and was shocked as the thing came into view. It was a massive river catfish sitting on the river floor. I had caught the reflection of its eye in my high beam. The fish was at least 4 feet long from nose to tail and nearly two feet wide at its center. I had seen large catfish hauled from the river but none this large. They were too massive to move once they got to this size and caught their prey by simply opening their large mouths in the passing current. I recovered myself and reeled my tether back. I shared my fish story with my fellow divers and we joked about how good it would be to secure one of the big cats and haul it up.
Our last dive was very close to the spillway. The thundering current was deafening and we bounced precariously on our tethers. It was a struggle to keep our balance this close to the spillway. Again I saw a reflection in the water directly in front of me. I felt certain I had found the headlight of our vehicle. I fed tether about 4 feet and reached out to remove the muck from the object. I was still too far from it. I directed my lamp at the object and first saw the massive opened jaws gaping at me. Its mouth was large enough to fit my entire head inside. Only moments earlier I had my arm outstretched to it. As the current bounced me at the end of my tether its jaws widened to catch me. It was the largest river turtle I had ever seen. I panicked.
My thrashing began to snatch at the guide cable and I could hear my fellow divers tapping at the cable. They were signaling me to reel myself back in. I managed to get back to the guide cable in the strong current while keeping my lamp on those massive jaws. I was certain it was coming after me. I had recovered from the shock somewhat but my heart was still racing. It was getting difficult to breathe. I tapped the cable twice quickly and then once again signaling I needed to come up.
I explained to my bewildered team what I had seen. The older boat crewmen said a turtle that size had been spotted over the years but no one had ever gotten close enough to it. It must have been feeding on the large river cats unfortunate enough to get trapped in the current. We speculated the turtle to be well over a hundred years old to reach that size. My fellow divers were intrigued but no one wanted to go down and see for themselves. A voice issued over the radio. The vehicle had been found by the second dive team down stream.
As we packed our gear and headed toward the bank we recounted our river adventure. We tagged the massive turtle with the name Old Man River, providing him the respect he deserved. My healthy fear of the river had returned stronger than ever.
Previously Posted on FullofKnowlege.com
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