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Why does nobody talk about how a 20 minute surface interval chat can change your whole dive plan
I used to think surface intervals were just time to dry off and eat a sandwich, nothing more. Then a few weeks back on a job near Port Fourchon, an old hand named Ray sat next to me on the deck and started asking about my dive plan for the next bell run. I told him I was going to push straight to the flange and work back, and he just shook his head and said "you'll fight the current the whole way, turn it around." He pulled out a napkin and sketched the tidal flow from the last three days, showing me the window I'd been ignoring. I flipped my plan, finished the inspection in 35 minutes instead of the hour I'd budgeted, and my bottom time never got close to the limit. Ray didn't have any fancy cert or new gear, he just knew the water. How many of you actually sit and talk through your plan with someone before you splash?
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blaker755h ago
Buddy checks before a splash have saved my butt more than once, especially on tidal jobs where local guys know the water way better than any forecast. The trick is actually asking someone who's been on that site recently and shutting up long enough to hear what they say, cause most of us just want to run our own plan. Sit with the old hands for ten minutes and you'll find the hole in your plan before the water does.
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