The car keys fell in at the dock yesterday at 5 pm while closing up the boat for the weekend. That's the $300 electronic keys, one for each car. It was about 75 degrees with water temperature about 70 degrees, an incoming tide about a quarter of the way up its usual 10 foot change, and the sun about an hour over the horizon. My slip is shaded next to a 60 foot Carver and was at 17 feet with murky water. We are thick with jelly fish. Thinking fast, I needed a anchored drop line. I though about using the anchor, but the keys were at the stern, so getting the anchor and all its chain to the stern was going to be a big project. What to use? I needed something heavy. I had two spare props in the bilge. so I grabbed one of those. It probably weighs 50#. I dropped that to the floor of the harbor using a dock line, changed into my bathing suit, grabbed a flashlight and a mask, and climbed in. The water wasn't too bad. I took a breath and started down the line. About 4 feet down, I attempted to equalize my ears and I lost my breath. Up to the surface for another try. Back down again. This time maybe 6 feet. I could not see my hand 2 feet from my face. I did see a lot of jelly fish and the color of pea soup. It was really dark. Without the line I would not know which way was up. I tried equalizing my ears again and I ran out of breath. Up I went. A third try and I realized that I must have been experiencing some kind of anxiety. I'm not afraid of the water. I'm a great swimmer and a certified and experience diver. I can swim the length of an Olympic pool underwater. But, I could not get down to the floor. I gave up and called on the radio to the marina to see if they had a magnet. They did not, but lucky for me someone at the marina with a magnet was monitoring their channel 69 and heard my call. After less than 5 minutes of fishing with the magnet, I got the keys. I immediately put them in a sink full of fresh water while I cleaned up. I then opened them, removed the batteries, flushed the inside several times with fresh water, shook them out, and put them in a zip lock bag with rice overnight.
Guess what? They work. I think I'm going to get a strong magnet to keep on the boat.
Guess what? They work. I think I'm going to get a strong magnet to keep on the boat.
