Had a close call with a silt cloud at the Port of Tacoma last Tuesday

I was working on a basic hull cleaning job, visibility was already low, and I stirred up a huge silt cloud that completely blinded me for a solid two minutes. My umbilical got snagged on a piling because I couldn't see to manage my slack. Now I always carry a small, high-visibility marker buoy on my belt to drop if I ever lose sight again, so I have a fixed point to work back to. Has anyone else set up a specific 'blind procedure' for zero-vis situations like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

thead4420d ago

Holy cow, two minutes blind down there? That's a lifetime. Good call on the marker buoy, that's smart. I'd have been too busy panicking to think of a plan.

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mason36120d ago

Remember that guy who got lost in a cave system? He told me he dropped his light and it went pitch black for what felt like an hour. He said the only thing that kept him from losing it was forcing himself to count slowly and feel along one wall. He swore it was the longest five minutes of his life before his buddy found him. Makes you realize how fast a simple plan falls apart when you can't see your own hand.