Safe and Sound...

We're back at CI Shenanigans Dry Docks, and our goal for this dive is simple: to locate and lift the safe that we had found on a previous dive here. Dane and I had worked an AOW PPB class earlier in the evening and hung out around Les Davis for the arrival of the crew that would make up our "midnight" dive team. Although a midnight splash was the plan, a couple arrival delays put us back an hour or so. After getting our bearings, and agreeing on the entrance, based on our recollection of where the safe was located last time out, we were in.

We dropped in off the western-most dock and descended right on top of the safe. As we all gathered 'round, it became evident that someone had found the safe since our last visit here, and even more clear - they REALLY wanted in the thing. It no longer had the pristine look of being freshly dumped, but rather now looked like a victim of the "jaws of life". No matter, it was difficult to tell if it was successfully plundered from the silt now surrounding the safe so we decided to raise it anyway.

I took out my 75lb lift bag and the polypropylene rope we'd brought down for the occasion and went to work on the logistics of lifting this thing. The cleat shaped handle on the safe made securing the rope all too easy, and in short order we had the bag attached and ready for air. I commenced the filling and with a little persuasion the safe was upward bound. Instead of calling the dive at this point to lift it completely out of the Sound, we tied the bag off at the dock and made a dive of it.

We had some newbies to the night diving scene, so we toured them around the shallow dry docks and checked out the scene for a short while. The marine life highlights of course being the masses of Plumose Anemones that engulf the docks, and a single long-nosed skate, which is rarely seen around here.

Alyssa and I teamed up on the back end of the dive and so it was on us to find a way out. Instead of taking her out the familiar rock wall climb, which can be precarious at best, I decided to exit via the dock itself. Now that's a little work, but it turned out to be the exit of choice for the entire group. With our gear scattered all about the dock now, we went to collecting the safe. Chris and I managed to muscle the thing out of the water and we all checked out what we had in front of us. Whatever might have been in it was clearly gone by now. So in the end it's a successful search and recover mission, if nothing else. Dumping the empty safe back in the Sound was just not an option, so we packed it to Chris' truck for its journey to A2Z. By this point it was nearly 3am, and a long day called for a long nap. We were homeward bound.

Dive Buddy Group: Dane, Chris, Steve, and Alyssa (43fsw for 27min.)