Patio Chair Search & Recovery Mission (Newport Beach — 3 ffw)

Given the storms this week, I figured there was no way I was going to get into a drysuit anytime soon.

But then I got a call from central dispatch (aka the wife) about a search and recovery mission!

The conditions at the San Pedro Buoy are pretty grim right now and calling for 11 foot swells with 8 second intervals and some pretty fierce winds.

And, we had a flash flood warning in effect and a small craft advisory

But, when the boss calls, you answer!

I went to the site to conduct a survey before getting into the water. Looks like it should be a pretty easy recovery but it would definitely require getting wet. The cover was still on the chair hence it wouldn’t be easy to send in a ROV to hook it up and drag it out.

Luckily, the victim was in shallow and relatively calm water given the outside weather. Visibility was surprisingly good.

It was time to put on the drysuit and get to work. I haven’t worn the DiveRite suit in a while so I figured it was a good time to test it. I didn’t think I would need a rebreather for this one (or even a single tank) so I just went for a free-dive recovery.

Luckily the supervisor was close by to record the recovery.

The victim was a bit water logged but doing well. I expect a full recovery.