Hello Alumni,
I graduated under the College of Oceaneering name in June 1992. I did the commercial sat diving program plus, additionally trained as an EMT/Dive Medicine Tech/Hyperbaric Chamber Operator. Transferred in my other college credits and graduated with AS in Marine Technology.
Upon graduation I was immediately hired by Global Pipeline and Divers in Louisiana and started in the Gulf July of 1992. Worked my butt off as a new tender plus throne an occasional bone for a deep bounce dive for the extra $$. Stuck running the chamber alot on hotshot projects for bounce dives.
Got a little stressful for a period with multiple industrial work accidents I had to support with other contract companies either on the work barges or platforms. Rush project 1 day killed a man on a barge at the dock by crushing him with the crane counter weight - I provided treatment until helicopter arrived, but he was already deceased. Sheriff and Coroner were done with investigation in about 2 hours after incident so we could get underway to the offshore project. Their company flew out counselors to meet the staff for grief counseling, but needed all hands to focus on the rush project. …Another following incident I was a passenger on a crew boat and a deck hand swung on a tarzan rope at a refuel platform so the captain could tie off in bad weather - poor guy smashed his leg into the platform upon swing and opened his shin up to the bone and fractured his leg. Minimal kit on board. Captain had a bottle of Jack Daniels and asked I not mention to his employer or he would get sacked. I had the deck hand drink several shots for pain, immobolized his leg, used the Jack Daniels to clean dissinfect the wound and closed his 8" gash up with butterfly stitches. It was midnight and I couldn’t a helicopter out until sunrise, so poor guy was nursing Jack Daniels all night for pain…Week wasn’t done, 18 year old rigger lifting pipe shoved his arm right under a hot welded pipe on the barge and immeiately cooked his bicep and skin, bad 3rd degree burn. Treated his would, doped him up on pain meds and had him airlifted. Oh yeah, I also had a dive team member decompressing in the chamber at the same time.
Had some fun assignments also like catching and relocating sea turtles for NOAA around the oil platforms. Also some crap jobs like walking the pipelines from offshore to onshore pulling a Jon boat while your partner sits in the chair with a shot gun watching for gators. Cold working offshore fall weather and standing in engine room vents for the warm air,
Things slowed down and company was going to send some teams over to Asia to work some contracts. There was a major safety issue where some sat divers doing deco drowned after their barge flipped and sank in a typhon while under tow . It was another company, but word of bad safety practices/issues in that arena led some of us not to go.
Had a change of scenery and took a job with an aviation museum recovery company. Went to South America for a museum salvage operation in a lake for a P51 Mustang. Worked with a company using side scan sonar to locate the plane that crashed 40 years earlier and a great dive team as we located, identified and raised for shipping back to Washington state.
Moved back to LA and started a commercial dive company. Supported LA and San Pedro harbors. Lots of work doing salvage, hull work and pier inspections. But all good things come to an end and back to school I went to complete my Bachelors went to work in aerospace and IT industries.
Fast forward to the diving world in 2022, I have my wife and twin 10 year old daughters SCUBA certified and enjoy diving the wonderful reefs in South Florida while I also get to dabble in some tech diving for fun on the side.
I appreciate the other alumni sharing the experiences and hope mine wasn’t too boring.
Everyone stay safe and God Bless,
Cameron Harrell