DIVE TEAM

FOR THE SHERIFF’S DIVE TEAM,

2021 was a busier year than the previous one. Due to COVID-19 restrictions lifting, Sheriff Dive team members were able to start training again.

Throughout the year there were 11 training sessions, and an annual administration meeting. In addition, three out of the 6 community outreach programs the team normally participates in were up and running. There were three call-outs during 2021, which resulted in one recovery.

The Dive Team is made up of 27 members, including one commander, one sergeant, 7 deputy sheriffs, one reserve deputy and 13 civilian volunteers. Due to a retirement, the team was assigned a new sergeant.

CALL OUTS

The first call-out was to assist another agency’s call for San Luis Police Department. In August, Dive Team Members excavator, and front-wheel loader. The boat was then demolished and then taken to the landfill.

The third call-out was to assist State Parks off the coast of Estero Bluffs in Cayucos. A hiker on a cold December morning was hiking along the bluffs when she noticed a portion of a sailboat lying on shore amongst the rocks and crashing waves. She also found several articles of both male and female clothing. The Coast Guard and Morro Bay Harbor Patrol searched offshore while the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue teams scoured the shoreline for other debris as well as possible victims. Upon locating the rest of the submerged vessel approximately 200 yards offshore the Sheriff’s Dive team was called out. Arriving on the scene by boat, two of the team’s members conducted a free dive down to the wreck and determined that there were no victims in, on or around the wreck. The case is still under investigation by State Parks.

responded to downtown San Luis Obispo for a transient found floating in the creek under the Broad Street bridge. The subject drowned, and the incident was not declared to be suspicious. It is believed that the man went into the water, possibly had a medical event take place, and was unable to self-rescue.

The second call-out was also to assist another agency’s call. During the month of November, 12 Dive Team Members spent two days, and 50-man hours underwater, helping Morro Bay Harbor Patrol salvage a derelict 40-foot-long fishing boat from the bottom of the harbor. The “Lady Maxine” weighed 40,000 pounds, and the craft was located less than 100 yards from the Morro Bay public launch ramp. Dive Team Members attached a dozen lift bags capable of exerting 20,000 pounds of lift to the vessel with chains and come-alongs. The bags were inflated with air through 600 feet of compressor hose, and a manifold brought the vessel to the surface. “The Lady Maxine” was then towed to the launch ramp where it was pulled up onto shore by an