Chat with an old saturation diver changed how I see my career

I was on a job up in Port Fourchon last month, and during a break I sat down with a guy who did saturation diving back in the 80s. He told me about a 30-day job he had at 600 feet where they lost comms for two hours and had to hand signal everything. He said the biggest change he saw was how diving went from being all about physical grit to managing gear and paperwork. That stuck with me because I got into this for the physical challenge, not sitting through safety briefings. Now I wonder if I am missing the point of what this trade has become. Has anyone else had a chat with an old timer that made you look at your own work different?

2 comments

2 Comments

ward.jamie1mo ago

Grit means something different now than it did back then" - that line hit me right in the gut because I was literally complaining about a 45 minute safety briefing yesterday. I told myself I was too tough for that stuff, but then I thought about those two hours of hand signals in the dark at 600 feet. Truth is my version of grit is mostly just whining about paperwork while sitting in a climate controlled room. At least the old timer had a real story about losing comms - my worst day was when my coffee got cold during a pre-dive checklist.

eva_adams681mo ago

That old timer nailed it though - the gear and paperwork part is what keeps you alive when comms go quiet and hand signals are all you've got. Makes you wonder if grit means something different now than it did back then.