August 13, 2010-Lost Tank Adventure, Take 2

     Remember how I said we were not going to give up on finding that tank? Well, today we headed out into the deep blue sea once again on a mission to find that tank. We marked our spot from yesterday on the GPS and based on our underwater observations from that dive, my astute dive partner suggested we try to anchor on the coral head we found less than 100 feet from our first dive spot. Luckily, one of our anchors appeared to hook right on that coral head on the first toss.
     As we headed down into the same murky dark blue water, I felt a tinge of nervous energy, just as I always do when I can’t yet see what’s below and around me. When our ears were appropriately cleared, and we reached our searching depth, I looked to my partner for instructions. We set our compasses and took off. Being a bit rusty at my underwater navigation skills, I kept bumping into my dive buddy and was having a hard time focusing on the task at hand. Then, right as frustration at my own lack of skills was setting in, I heard my buddy yell through his regulator and take off across and in front of me heading toward the bottom and pointing. Amazingly, he had found the tank and only about 50 kicks and 110 feet deep from where we anchored and headed down into the water.
     Getting it up was another chore as I don’t think either of us really believed we’d find it that quickly or easily, so we hadn’t really planned out fully what we would do if we did. Fortunately, my ever prepared dive buddy brought a lift bag down with us, and he simply tied that to the tank and the loose anchor rope, filled the bag with air from his regulator and let it all lift up to the surface while we watched safely from below. The tank didn’t travel up the rope as we both thought it would, but it all went to the top, and that’s all that matters. Next, my buddy untangled the second anchor from the coral it was hooked on at the bottom and then we carefully held on to the line and followed it back up to the surface.
     I still can’t believe we found it!! On a day when there’s no milk or Bonine (sea-sickness medicine) at the store, it’s Friday the 13th, and I miss my kiddos like crazy, it’s good to have a mission and succeed at it, even if I am just the sidekick and not the hero. I’m looking forward to the next adventure, on land or on sea or wherever it may be.