I'm sorry. I thought you said it's a...

As you probably know from earlier posts like: That water is deep...almost as deep as those misconceptions; that I find a lot of entertainment in what I do. A certain January evening was no exception.

I was out with some SRD divers who were training with me down here in Miami, at a canal that we frequently find cars in. It was late afternoon and the searching was coming to an end for the day. I checked in with the last team at the end of the canal and asked what they had discovered in their search area.
The team had been doing a parallel search, so there had only been one diver in the water. The diver then proceeded to tell me about all the random garbage and nick-knacks he found on the bottom. He got to the end of his list of findings when he hesitated for a moment and then said, trying to sound confident, "I also found a Jet-ski............with wheels."

Now I have learned that when someone tries to explain something that is out of the norm to others who have never seen it; those that have never seen said item, become instant experts on it. It's basically a sport. People start forming teams by recruiting others to their view. Wild ideas are now simple logic, and suddenly the only person who has actually come in contact with the object of interest, is the only person who is wrong.
So pretty much with the divers comment, this was shaping up to be a big enough event that ESPN2 should probably send out a van and crew to cover it.

"I'm sorry. I thought you said it's a Jet-ski with wheels." I said this thinking he was just making up something for all of us to have a good laugh at. After all, that's my kind of humor. "Um, yeah...it's a Jet-ski...with wheels."


I have a rule with my company. There is to be no shouting at the surface between divers and surface support while on an operation. Even if you're at the other side of the lake, you handle all your discussions close enough to whisper if need be. It's just plain professional. There is no need to be yelling all over the place, especially if you're dealing with a sensitive situation like a body recovery.
So this being the rule, I called the diver to the waters edge and asked again what he had found.

The audience at the time was myself, the Lieutenant from the auto theft division, and an special agent from an insurance firm. So, in the interest of not having the diver embarrass himself, I called him over close and asked what it was he saw. He repeated his answer doing his best to sound like he wasn't second guessing himself. "I'm not crazy Jordan. It's a jet-ski with wheels." I told him to go down again and confirm his claim.
Now while he was down, another unit pulled up and two officers joined the discussion of the mystery vehicle. Some said it was on it's trailer. Others said it was probably a go-cart. The Lt. said it was a Quad (Four wheeler) because they would come out in that area and ride around. I was the team captain for the "On a trailer" team.

After about 5 minutes, the diver surfaced and came over to an eager group of experts just waiting for their moment to tell all the non-believers, I TOLD YOU SO!
Unfortunately the story was the same, and the diver was more confidant now. He explained how he had investigated the USO (unidentified sunken object) and described again in more detail about how it was a Jet-ski with wheels.  

Ok, I'm sure there is a simple explanation for this. Like that it's on it's trailer and it has two wheels and a tongue and straps tying it down (Go team Trailer!).
So with my new found assurance that I was right, and with the encouragement of my newly drafted teammates, I told the diver to go down once more and look for the trailer. I then gave him a quick lesson on how to tell if it's a trailer underwater and off he went.

Now the above water scene is down right hilarious. We have the original characters, plus those 2 officers, plus another 3 officers. Also the tow truck is on it's way. Unnecessary you say? Well we can't just leave all those people in suspense!
So once more the diver surfaces, spit's out his regulator, and just starts smiling! "I knew it! I was right! It's on it's trailer." I said to the Lt. as I nudged him with my elbow.

Ok, this guy is on his own now!!! No more trying to bail him out of embarrassment! He will just have to learn his lesson the hard way! Some diver he'll turn out to be. Can't even identify a trailer underwater!!!

The tow truck showed up. Bet's were placed and battle lines were drawn. The moment of truth had arrived.

And here it comes...

It's on it's trailer I tell you...

A little further...

It's a...it's a........What the....

   

Well then. It's a Jet-ski....................with wheels.
I know the picture is as blurry as one of Sasquatch, but it's real. That right there my friends is why I love my job! You just never know what you might find!

Apparently, the engineer who created this beauty, had taken out the motor and everything else inside, and installed something similar to a go-cart frame. There was no seat and no engine, but I bet that thing rolled down hill like a champ!

This has gone down in my memory books as one of my favorite recoveries. It's also the favorite of all those "experts" that were on scene as well. It's times like these that remind us that we only know what we know. And I know now, there was no trailer. Maybe next time team. Maybe next time.

Search negatively my friends,

Jordan

It started with a Z. (Guest Writer Edition)

 If you have ever wondered where and when police diving began, you are in luck. Because I know the who, what, where, when, why and how. WOW! That sounds like an investigative technique. But before you can arrive at the correct answer you must first have a proper question. You must define police diving and establish the criterion for that definition.

There are many individuals and agencies that could lay claim to police diving beginnings but there is only one individual and agency in which the claim is valid. Before we go there however a brief history overview is necessary.

·         Hard hat (Helmeted) surface supply diving began in the 19^th century

·         SCUBA diving began in 1943 when J. Cousteau and E.Gagnan developed the regulator

·          Z served in the US Navy from 1948-1957 as a salvage diver/surface swimmer SCUBA diver

·         “The Silent World” by J. Cousteau published in 1953

·         Swimming pool owners associations offer skin diving training 1957

·         Sea Hunt aired on television in 1957

·         Z joined the Dade County Sheriff’s Office in 1958 and was assigned to the rescue squad

·         Z begins training other rescue squad members and establishes a police diver standard

·         Connecticut State Police Send volunteers to US Navy dive school in Groton Conn. 1959

·         YMCA begins skin diving instruction in 1960 with PADI and NAUI close in the running

·         Michigan State Police begin training for police divers in 1961

·         Z conducts graduation ceremony for first police divers in March 1961 (Police Diving Curriculum)

·         NYPD begins using police divers instead of commercial divers in 1967

·         Dive Rescue International coined the phrase Public Safety Diver in the 1970’s

Z who is Edwin Blaze Zehnder left the US Navy and joined the Dade County Sheriff’s Office in 1957, and because of his SCUBA diving knowledge, skills and abilities (attitude), when he graduated from the police academy in 1958 was assigned to the Rescue Squad. Z began the proper training of the other members of the rescue squad and it was soon apparent that his knowledge skills and abilities (attitude) aided in advancing the capabilities of the whole squad.

In 1959 Z and another deputy recovered a drowning victim and administered mouth to mouth resuscitation. Several days later both he and his partner were diagnosed with spinal meningitis. The other Deputy died, while Z was left more or less deaf with only 10% hearing in one ear. While recovering in the hospital Z was approached by his Bureau commander and asked to create a training standard and manual for underwater search & recovery. 

Writing a manual was a daunting task for Z, who had to leave school after 8^th grade to help in his family’s business. He later earned his GED in the US Navy.

Z took the challenge and was able to produce a first rate Police Diver training manual with hand drawn illustrations and a standard of training. Something to consider is the fact that there was no PADI, NAUI, YMCA or any recognized Diver training agencies at this point. He had to draw from his US Navy training and skills he developed as a police diver.

In March 1961 the Dade County Public Safety Department (formally Sheriff’s Office) graduated six police divers who were trained totally in house utilizing a Police diving curriculum and standards. One of those Police Divers was Joseph N Johnson, who remained on the Underwater Search & Recovery Squad as a full time Police Diver until he retired in 1992.

Z continued to serve as officer in charge and lead diver until he retired in 1989 when he passed the mantle to the National Academy of Police Diving. His dream was that one day all police divers would be trained to a common standard and methodology in underwater search and recovery. The NAPD which began in 1988 with Z as a founding member continues to share his vision.

Remember, it began with a Z.

Edwin Blaze Zehnder (Police Diver 1958-1989),

The Father of Police Diving

Today's post was written by Michael Gast.

Michael retired as an active police diver from the Miami-Dade County Police Dive Team in 2007. He has extensive experience, with over 25 years as a full-time police diver. He has personally been involved in more than 5,000 underwater recovery and investigation operations. Michael is the founder and president of the National Academy of Police Diving.

Jordan and the guy that had no idea what was going on.

In the early stages of my company...also known as the learn the hard way stages...I received a call from a man who had lost a propeller off his boat. He had a thick Haitian accent, and was a bit hard to understand over the phone; so we agreed to meet at the waters edge on the day I was available. So I got all my gear ready and brought one of my divers out, and we met the gentleman and his brother on the edge of the Miami river in downtown Miami, Florida.

Now I had prepared my gear and my mind for a small propeller recovery. Evidently small is a relative term.
What this guy called small I called big. Like a propeller off of a freighter ship big. Well it's a good thing I just happened to have the 2000 pound lift bag in the truck!

We then started to get more info from the two guys and learned that the were not actually around when said propeller and ship decided to go their separate ways. We also learned that the captain nor any crew were available to question, being as they were in Haiti. And to add to the fun, they were not entirely sure this was the right place on the river! Perfect. I have a 300 yard by 60 yard search area that might not even be the correct search area. Anything else? Oh yeah; there will be continuous boat traffic that will make our searching something like Frogger.

Ready, set, go at a very methodical pace. We started out doing Arc searches working from the Last Seen Point, and working up river. The ship had been waiting on the draw bridge to go up when the propeller came loose. So we judged where a ship that size would wait, factored in the length of the ship and what side the prop was on, and worked back to it's starting destination. We spent about 2 and a half hours searching, when we finally located the object. Ok. Step one done. Now for step 2...get this bad boy up on land. We informed the brothers that we had found it and asked what they had planned as a recovery method. I was expecting a tow truck, or a crane, heck I would have been happy with a tractor. This big hunk of brass was not going to jump over that seawall on it's own!

It was at this moment I realized how underestimating people are of raw materials and there weight. These guys wanted to pull this propeller over the seawall with 4 men and a rope. Negative ghost rider. We needed something bigger."Well we have a forklift at the wharf!" I told them, "Great! How are we going to get it there?"

Anyone who decides to hire a random fisherman to tow an 1800 pound propeller that is attached to a 2000 pound lift bag up a river, is probably not the kind of person that should be making decisions. Well like I said before, this was in our learn the hard way stage of growth.

We finally made it to the forklift and got the propeller out. We seriously almost died twice. We also learned a lot of lessons. Like planning every detail of your mission before you start. If you are doing a hired job for a client, you need to clearly define what that job encompasses, and make it clear that you make the final decision. It is ultimately your safety. These guys had no clue what goes into recovering something like this.

In life you learn. In learning the hard way you learn a lot.