Diving for Cucumbers

Cold water seeped from my neck, down my chest, into my right arm, and finally down my legs. Bitingly cold. Sea cumbers were everywhere. I was picking as fast as I possibly could trying to ignore the cold that was quickly taking over my body.

  Mike (the guy I hire to tend my dive boat) and I left Sunday evening to race to our secret spot, drop anchor, and spend the night guarding our opening dive area. When we approached the dive area we were greeted by a wave of anchored boats. “I guess we were not the only ones with this idea, “ I grumbled to Mike as we cruised our way between the boats.

  We found our little niche spot without a boat on top of it and dropped our hook. We enjoyed a meal as darkness fell on the quite ocean world.

  Monday morning we were up at five getting things ready for the dive opening at eight. Boats were jockeying for positions, but all left us alone. A  big tug came through towing a barge and barked on the radio about not having much room to navigate through the dive fleet. “This might get interesting,” we commented.

  Mike counted me down to the final minute of eight while a big Alaska State Trooper boat idled through making sure we did not start one minute too soon.

  I found great picking right off the start and picked five bags in a hurry. Mike tugged my air hose to signal me to the surface. The kicker motor control cable had snapped.

  We spent a good hour repairing the control cable and at last I was back on the bottom searching for sea cumbers. That is when the cold water began seeping into my dry suit.

  Forty degree water saps ones strength in a hurry. I know a lot about hypothermia, and am very careful to keep myself in check. I needed to pick 2,000 pounds of cucumbers in a day and a half to get my quota, but time out of the water makes it nearly impossible to get the poundage. I pick one more bag and send it up. I am shivering like crazy and my teeth are chattering on the regulator.

  “Just a couple more bags and I’ll go up,” I keep telling myself. I pick hard trying to work my body to keep the heat up, but each time I press the equalize air button on my dive suit a new blast of cold water enters to chill my core again.

  At last I cannot feel my fingers. Time to come up.  I inflate the suit and watch my computer to make sure I don’t ascend to quickly and get the bends. My feet hit bottom. I look down, not believing what I feel. I have gone down and not up! I press my air button again. I feel air rush out my neck seal but still I am not heading for the surface.

  My fingers are so numb I am using the back of my thumb knuckle to push the air button, and I’m swimming hard to get up. At 13 feet I come to a standstill. It is crazy. I could drop my bag of cucumbers and get up or I could dump my weight belt and blast to the surface, or I could one hand climb my air hose… Just then I am yanked up by my air hose. Mike is hand over hand pulling me in! Super!

  Mikes eyes are big as he shouts, “ The air compressor belt broke, you have not air!”

  He helps me on board and we shut down the machines. I find my neck seal has blown out completely. I am soaked and freezing cold. I ask Mike to keep and eye on me as I warm up to make sure I don’t become overcome with hypothermia. We decided to sell our meager catch and head to town for repairs.

  Dive one is half over.