August 16, 2010by James Phillippe
Hello Team
Illinois River Dive; We left early from the SAR house and drove to Cave Junction and met Sheriff's Deputy Kory Krauss. He led us to the west fork of the Illinois river where the gun safe was dumped in the river. I'm glad Dutch did some RECON as it was very helpful in our readiness. We had to transport dive gear about 1/2 mile to the dive site. We did take an off road vehicle and it was very good that we took it. I would like to make a special thank you to the ground support SAR members Ted Santamaria and Jack Culwell who came with us and the assistance they gave made this recovery easier. The gun safe was at a depth of 18 ft and the visibility under water was about 10 feet. The safe door was separate from the safe case. Max and Neil used two lift bags to bring it up. To our surprise the safe door was almost as heavy the safe itself. Then the 500 lbs lift bag was used by Dave and myself to bring up the safe. The bag was attached closely to the safe and when it was raised it helped us to bring it closer to the shore. The safe was given to the sheriff and transported to the Cave Junction field office. I'm glad we left early as it became very hot that afternoon. Good Job everyone!
Next; We do have a meeting on Tuesday and just a little clean-up on some gear. I'm not scheduling a dive for this weekend (CORSAR, Findley Bend and Gun Safe recovery) as we have all been diving for the month. The Dive Team clothing is not quit ready yet but will be soon. I have not ordered hats yet as the business was not open the day I went there, I'll try again later. Be sure you are keeping a dive log for record submission at the end of the year for renewal of your Public Safety Diver Certification. Another note; I would like everyone to check their shot records to be sure you have had you hepatitis a & b immunizations.
That is all, Jim Phillippe, Dive Team Leader