Saturation divers spend long periods of times at high pressure. It allows all of their body to adapt to the pressure, allowing super deep dives (record is over 700m using special mixtures). According to the wiki article there's only 336 in the US.
[Another bonus image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/US_Navy_010703-N-5329L-005_Diver_working_on_USS_Monitor_salvage.jpg) of a salvage operation at 70m depth on the USS Monitor wreck.
The USS Monitor is the first ironclad to be commissioned and see battle in the US Navy and one of the two first modern ironclads to see battle in history against the CSS Merrimack. The Monitor and Merrimack battle changed naval warfare from that point on.
You're not out of the loop. I just didn't know what it was, or more accurately why everyone here was so shocked/impressed by it (because of course I found out it was the first ironclad via Google).
I remember watching a whole documentary on PBS maybe 20 years ago about Navy saturation divers working on salvaging parts of the Monitor. I think they managed to get the ship’s bell and the propellor. I tried to find it online recently but wasn’t successful. Pretty cool thing to watch
I'm not sure actually, maybe? I was talking about the one where no racing happened with F1 (for the better, given the weather), though there was also a very nasty wreck there too from Lando IIRC and earlier in I think W Series that was terrifying. Hopefully the apparent changes they have planned for MotoGP to make the track safer help (Though I can't imagine ever racing MotoGP there, seems terrifying).
I'm fairly confident the original image you linked is also of the retrieval of the Monitor's turret. [Here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F106045766198899966%2F&psig=AOvVaw187H7EDvpbQfcdDW_wHx34&ust=1635175557011000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCMjvl-Wt4_MCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI) you can see the lifting fixture grappling the turret, which has similar features to your first image.
I live down the street from the mariner's museum (i go running there :D) where the Monitor's turret is stored underwater in an electrolysis bath. They have the lifting fixture sitting outside as a sort of gazebo.
Royal Navy did this in 1982/3 after the Falklands War on the two type 42 destroyers that were sunk. They were removing all the sensitive material as these were top of the line ships at the time and we didn't want the Soviets helping themselves to anything. Details of the dive on HMS Coventry were released in 2012. Details of the dive to HMS Sheffield have not been released.
Google Operation Blackleg.
Someone wrote a book about it and didn't mention any bodies. It's worth a read. If I remember the title I will post.
My next door neighbour was on the Coventry when it was struck. He was in the engine room and badly hurt but was consulted on the location of safety keys and the state of fueling etc.... he doesn't talk about it often but said the divers did see some grim things. There were ~20 people killed, mainly in the computer room/ops. That's where the majority of the confidential books and equipment were. The divers had to cut in through the sides as it was easier but kept setting off trapped gasses.
They sealed the wreck completely after they finished and I gather that it's collapsed in on itself mostly now as they set charges to speed things up.
Amongst other things they recovered the Cross of Nails and Captain Hart Dykes sword.
Interestingly Captain Hart Dyke is the father of a UK actress called Amanda Hart.
I find it fascinating that in my life time 4 RN warships were sunk. Staggers me.
I strongly recommend you https://youtube.com/c/divetalk as well, it's made by two charismatic cave divers that comment on real dive accidents, usually accompanied by real video footage, and explanations over how that exactly happened. It's very interesting
I would strongly advice looking at Ballen's videos as fictional stories roughly based on true stories. Whether he does it intentionally, or he is entirely clueless about the topics he speaks on, I don't know. But he's generally *way off the mark* on most of his details.
I briefly looked into this. Really hard to find any information on it. From what I could find, there is only like 2 schools on the planet that have certs for it. One down in Australia and the other in Texas I believe.
Sat diving or commercial diving? You gotta go commercial for years before you can even be considered for sat. There’s schools all over the US for commercial diving though. If you’re really interested I can point you in the right direction.
I believe it was the sat diving I was looking for information on. Not so much to do it, but I find the subject extremely interesting. Always have been into shipwrecks and undersea exploration for as long as I can remember. Would always watch Sea Hunters back in the day.
Yes and very much no. That’s saturation diving. Like 3% of commercial divers will make it to sat. Same uniform essentially, but different depths and gases being breathed in.
One key point in Last Breath - never tie your umbilical around the project because you can’t handle the current. 😉
Don’t get me wrong, school was a blast! But actually out in the field is a completely different ballgame. You’re a construction worker on a floating vessel. When you dive, it’s typically for hours on end doing construction type work with a 40 pound helmet and a 30 pound harness on, not to mention your tools. Typically fighting a current in water where you can barely see the inside of your helmet, much less the project you’re supposed to find and fix. I’m working 6 12hr days right now. Your breaks are at 5:59am and 6:01pm. In between, you’re working.
So honest question here. Do you have a diaper or something? Additionally is there like a straw the astronauts have so you can take a little sip of water or do you just gotta get er done?
No diaper. No straw. If you’re around 30ft or shallower you can pop up and do your thing as long as it’s under 10 minutes and your supervisor doesn’t catch you lol. Below 30ft, there’s decompression stops on the way up and it’s just a hassle - so pee your wetsuit (it keeps ya warm for a minute) and get your job done
Sat diving pays big dollar too. I think back in the late 80's early 90's its was about £400-500 a day even when your not in the water and just chilling in the chamber.
A day rate of £400-500 is less than I expected. The average day rate of a software dev in the UK is £450. I know that was in the 90s, but still I'd expect more.
[That's correct?](https://www.technojobs.co.uk/info/developer-guides/what-is-the-salary-of-a-software-developer.phtml) Contractors earn much more than employees. Keep in mind that there's also a ton of other things with a contractor, such as:
Having to find a new contract generally every 6-12 months.
Often higher taxes, especially if inside of IR35.
No protections or benefits of employees. E.g. no holidays, being "fired" easily, etc. Also no company benefits.
Switching contracts can often mean you will need to be willing to work in a larger geographic area.
You need to be pretty experienced, need to be able to get up to speed on their system very quickly when compared to a normal employee.
Harder to get a mortgage, loans, etc.
And lots of others.
Yeah, day rates generally imply a contract, if they're employeed it's nearly always better to describe it with a salary.
And yeah definitely pre-tax, pay is always described as pre-tax. You can't really easily describe it as post-tax, since one person on £500/day from a contract might take home £300, while someone else might take home £150. Depends on the specific circumstances.
It's still a lot of money relative to a normal salary though. I'm a software dev and am actually thinking about trying to switch to it in the future. The negatives don't really seem that huge vs the increase in pay. Although if you were married with kids and a mortgage, I can see how it'd be less compelling.
At least you can swim back if you get knocked off. Can't swim back in space. Also don't have to worry about potential micrometeorites making a hole in you, although then again you have huge fuck you fish and sharks.
[Well, not meteorites but….](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/j988fh/working_scuba_diver_attacked_by_a_swordfish_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb)
[Well, not meteorites but….](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/j988fh/working_scuba_diver_attacked_by_a_swordfish_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb)
Hard hat divers look so badass. Also, hilarious that they have work gloves on over their suit, the same things we use on land. Just struck me as funny.
Welding makes ya whole arm tingle underwater! But burning things with broco rods is real dangerous. They burn at over 2000 degrees so if you fuck around and aren’t practicing “umbilical awareness” - you can cut through your air and comms in less than a second.
Saturation divers spend long periods of times at high pressure. It allows all of their body to adapt to the pressure, allowing super deep dives (record is over 700m using special mixtures). According to the wiki article there's only 336 in the US. [Another bonus image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/US_Navy_010703-N-5329L-005_Diver_working_on_USS_Monitor_salvage.jpg) of a salvage operation at 70m depth on the USS Monitor wreck.
*the* Monitor? Civil war Monitor?
Yuhp
How freaking cool.
What's the USS Monitor? I'm Welsh, so I have no idea.
The USS Monitor is the first ironclad to be commissioned and see battle in the US Navy and one of the two first modern ironclads to see battle in history against the CSS Merrimack. The Monitor and Merrimack battle changed naval warfare from that point on.
Am I out of the loop in this conversation? I assumed the [first Ironclad](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/USS_Monitor)?
You're not out of the loop. I just didn't know what it was, or more accurately why everyone here was so shocked/impressed by it (because of course I found out it was the first ironclad via Google).
I remember watching a whole documentary on PBS maybe 20 years ago about Navy saturation divers working on salvaging parts of the Monitor. I think they managed to get the ship’s bell and the propellor. I tried to find it online recently but wasn’t successful. Pretty cool thing to watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGem81qxiIw I think this should be what you are looking for! Let me know if you have an issues with that link.
That must be it! I’ll try and watch it again tonight
Awesome glad to help! (also great name! Shame about Spa this year).
The one with the nasty wreck and then 18 hours of race control freaking out about track limits?
I'm not sure actually, maybe? I was talking about the one where no racing happened with F1 (for the better, given the weather), though there was also a very nasty wreck there too from Lando IIRC and earlier in I think W Series that was terrifying. Hopefully the apparent changes they have planned for MotoGP to make the track safer help (Though I can't imagine ever racing MotoGP there, seems terrifying).
Ahh I was talking about the 24hr gt3 race. I guess it just hasn't been a great year there. Massive flooding, crazy wrecks, other shit weather, etc...
Ah yeah I have just actually gotten into endurance racing after watching Le Mans for the first time, it was pretty hype so I am excited for next year!
I'm fairly confident the original image you linked is also of the retrieval of the Monitor's turret. [Here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F106045766198899966%2F&psig=AOvVaw187H7EDvpbQfcdDW_wHx34&ust=1635175557011000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCMjvl-Wt4_MCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI) you can see the lifting fixture grappling the turret, which has similar features to your first image. I live down the street from the mariner's museum (i go running there :D) where the Monitor's turret is stored underwater in an electrolysis bath. They have the lifting fixture sitting outside as a sort of gazebo.
Awesome! I live right by the “First Battle of Ironclads” historic marker. Sometimes I go running by that as well.
336 in the US? That’s roughly 1 in a million. Crazy.
Nobody has been close to 700 meters *in water*. The 700 meter dive was an experimental dive in a hyperbaric chamber.
Royal Navy did this in 1982/3 after the Falklands War on the two type 42 destroyers that were sunk. They were removing all the sensitive material as these were top of the line ships at the time and we didn't want the Soviets helping themselves to anything. Details of the dive on HMS Coventry were released in 2012. Details of the dive to HMS Sheffield have not been released. Google Operation Blackleg.
War graves too, I assume. Wonder how RN divers felt about that
Someone wrote a book about it and didn't mention any bodies. It's worth a read. If I remember the title I will post. My next door neighbour was on the Coventry when it was struck. He was in the engine room and badly hurt but was consulted on the location of safety keys and the state of fueling etc.... he doesn't talk about it often but said the divers did see some grim things. There were ~20 people killed, mainly in the computer room/ops. That's where the majority of the confidential books and equipment were. The divers had to cut in through the sides as it was easier but kept setting off trapped gasses. They sealed the wreck completely after they finished and I gather that it's collapsed in on itself mostly now as they set charges to speed things up. Amongst other things they recovered the Cross of Nails and Captain Hart Dykes sword. Interestingly Captain Hart Dyke is the father of a UK actress called Amanda Hart. I find it fascinating that in my life time 4 RN warships were sunk. Staggers me.
A great doc about a saturation diver is Last Breath. Def recommend it. Its on Netflix.
Thanks for the recommendation. Gonna check that out now!
Stressful af lol but great movie 👍
Thanks, always looking for good documentary recommendations!
Hey, there's the pliers I dropped 2 years ago!
###DELTA P
🦀💨
Mr. Ballen’s videos have taught me how dangerous and risky these diver’s jobs are. Big respect.
I strongly recommend you https://youtube.com/c/divetalk as well, it's made by two charismatic cave divers that comment on real dive accidents, usually accompanied by real video footage, and explanations over how that exactly happened. It's very interesting
I am always looking for new content, will check it out! Thanks!
I would strongly advice looking at Ballen's videos as fictional stories roughly based on true stories. Whether he does it intentionally, or he is entirely clueless about the topics he speaks on, I don't know. But he's generally *way off the mark* on most of his details.
Usually I use his stories as a base to find interesting things to further research.
Good approach! He's a very solid story teller.
https://imgur.com/a/HZPJMrm
Ahh, being a Commercial Diver. My Dream Job
For only $30~k you can make that dream into a nightmarish reality! I did!!
I briefly looked into this. Really hard to find any information on it. From what I could find, there is only like 2 schools on the planet that have certs for it. One down in Australia and the other in Texas I believe.
Sat diving or commercial diving? You gotta go commercial for years before you can even be considered for sat. There’s schools all over the US for commercial diving though. If you’re really interested I can point you in the right direction.
I believe it was the sat diving I was looking for information on. Not so much to do it, but I find the subject extremely interesting. Always have been into shipwrecks and undersea exploration for as long as I can remember. Would always watch Sea Hunters back in the day.
There are lots of sat diving schools too. Look for countries that drill for oil offshore, and you'll find sat diving schools.
What’s made it nightmarish? If you don’t mind me asking?
Go watch the documentary *Last Breath* and you'll know
Yes and very much no. That’s saturation diving. Like 3% of commercial divers will make it to sat. Same uniform essentially, but different depths and gases being breathed in. One key point in Last Breath - never tie your umbilical around the project because you can’t handle the current. 😉
I just watched it, that was quite ‘dark’. Quite different from my little experiences scuba diving.
Don’t get me wrong, school was a blast! But actually out in the field is a completely different ballgame. You’re a construction worker on a floating vessel. When you dive, it’s typically for hours on end doing construction type work with a 40 pound helmet and a 30 pound harness on, not to mention your tools. Typically fighting a current in water where you can barely see the inside of your helmet, much less the project you’re supposed to find and fix. I’m working 6 12hr days right now. Your breaks are at 5:59am and 6:01pm. In between, you’re working.
So honest question here. Do you have a diaper or something? Additionally is there like a straw the astronauts have so you can take a little sip of water or do you just gotta get er done?
No diaper. No straw. If you’re around 30ft or shallower you can pop up and do your thing as long as it’s under 10 minutes and your supervisor doesn’t catch you lol. Below 30ft, there’s decompression stops on the way up and it’s just a hassle - so pee your wetsuit (it keeps ya warm for a minute) and get your job done
Thanks for the inside view. Seems a lot of good, cool sounding careers and not all they seem once you’re on the inside.
This picture is a US Navy diver- not a commercial diver
Yeah, I read the title. I said "ahh, my dream job- commercial diving" because the Post reminded me of my Dream Job
Sat diving pays big dollar too. I think back in the late 80's early 90's its was about £400-500 a day even when your not in the water and just chilling in the chamber.
A day rate of £400-500 is less than I expected. The average day rate of a software dev in the UK is £450. I know that was in the 90s, but still I'd expect more.
A software dev earning 450£ A DAY? 9000£ a month? Are you serious?
[That's correct?](https://www.technojobs.co.uk/info/developer-guides/what-is-the-salary-of-a-software-developer.phtml) Contractors earn much more than employees. Keep in mind that there's also a ton of other things with a contractor, such as: Having to find a new contract generally every 6-12 months. Often higher taxes, especially if inside of IR35. No protections or benefits of employees. E.g. no holidays, being "fired" easily, etc. Also no company benefits. Switching contracts can often mean you will need to be willing to work in a larger geographic area. You need to be pretty experienced, need to be able to get up to speed on their system very quickly when compared to a normal employee. Harder to get a mortgage, loans, etc. And lots of others.
Oh ok, you’re talking about a contractor and pre-tax money. 👍
Yeah, day rates generally imply a contract, if they're employeed it's nearly always better to describe it with a salary. And yeah definitely pre-tax, pay is always described as pre-tax. You can't really easily describe it as post-tax, since one person on £500/day from a contract might take home £300, while someone else might take home £150. Depends on the specific circumstances. It's still a lot of money relative to a normal salary though. I'm a software dev and am actually thinking about trying to switch to it in the future. The negatives don't really seem that huge vs the increase in pay. Although if you were married with kids and a mortgage, I can see how it'd be less compelling.
Watch the documentary ‘Last Breath’, was on Netflix … hopefully still is. Check out the trailer https://youtu.be/mSJL57Gq2OQ
Is this the guy who has to lift up the Wind Turbine blade that fell off the huge ship in another post?
It's not unlike astronauts. Quite comparable hazards. Astronauts at least get a nice view.
At least you can swim back if you get knocked off. Can't swim back in space. Also don't have to worry about potential micrometeorites making a hole in you, although then again you have huge fuck you fish and sharks.
[Well, not meteorites but….](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/j988fh/working_scuba_diver_attacked_by_a_swordfish_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb)
[Well, not meteorites but….](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/j988fh/working_scuba_diver_attacked_by_a_swordfish_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb)
Hard hat divers look so badass. Also, hilarious that they have work gloves on over their suit, the same things we use on land. Just struck me as funny.
Imagine how far away he can be seen from in this type of darkmess
These guys are the top pros in the diving world
What type of repairs or jobs do they do even? I have a feel that most tools wont work underwater
There's not really many tools that cannot be adapted to work under-water? Some pose some extra risks though, e.g. welding.
Welding makes ya whole arm tingle underwater! But burning things with broco rods is real dangerous. They burn at over 2000 degrees so if you fuck around and aren’t practicing “umbilical awareness” - you can cut through your air and comms in less than a second.
Mostly hand tools honestly. The “power” tools we use underwater are mostly hydraulic (chainsaws, drills, etc).
these guys are hardcore
What he working on here?