Lost comms 120 feet down in Puget Sound and had to rely on hand signals

Was doing a pipeline inspection near Seattle last month, water was like 45 degrees and dark as hell. My comms unit just died on me mid-job, no warning, just static. I was 120 feet down checking a flange and suddenly I couldnt hear the tender at all. Had to switch to rope tugs and buddy breathing signals with my partner, which we practiced maybe twice during orientation. We fumbled through a full inspection cycle with just pulls on the line and taps on the tank. Took forever and my heart was pounding the whole time but we got it done. Still bugs me how quick we skip over emergency comms drills. Anyone here run drills on hand signals regularly or just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix9811d ago

Hand signals saved us during a low-vis job in a quarry last year, definitely drill them more now.

elliot_king11d ago

Hand signals saved us" - yeah I bet, but honestly hearing you say that in a quarry makes my stomach drop. @felix98 I gotta ask, what kind of low vis are we talking? Like dust cloud thick or full on fog where you can't see your own boots? I had a buddy who worked a quarry job and he said one time they had to stop everything because the dust got so bad you couldn't see the guy next to you. He said they drilled hand signals like crazy after that.