My comms went dead at 80 feet on a bridge job

It happened Tuesday morning on the Ohio River crossing. I was checking a pier when my surface line just stopped talking. I gave it a minute, then did the old tap on my helmet twice like we all know. Nothing back. I surfaced slow and found a kink in the cable where it rubbed a sharp edge on the barge. Has anyone else had a comms fail that deep and what's your backup plan?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric_murphy361mo ago

Wait a squall off Long Island? You nearly lost comms with a tow boat right there in the soup? That's absolutely wild man. I've been in some hairy weather on the water but losing your only line to the boat when you can barely see your hand in front of your face is a whole different level of scary. I gotta hand it to you though, learning that lesson on a squall instead of on a deep bridge pier is a hard way to get smart about backups. How long were you floating out there before you got their attention?

elizabetht562mo ago

We keep a spare handheld VHF in a dry bag clipped to the downline for exactly that. Saved my bacon on the Mobile Bay bridge last year.

reed.eva2mo ago

Used to think a spare handheld was overkill until my main unit died in a squall off Long Island. Couldn't hail the tow boat that was right there. Now my spare lives in a dry box clipped near the companionway. Your bridge story just proves it's not overkill at all.