04/27/2025
Day 1: the hunt begins!
We start our day off consuming copious amounts of calories to fuel our bodies for the arduous work that is to come. Our crew members are creatures of habit and the menu is not needed for most. I grab the menu, since this morning my appetite is lacking, and decide to eat lite so I am not puking through my regulator on the first dive. The waitress rattles off our order like the back of her hand, even though it’s been months since we last feasted at this fine dining establishment. I make a slight adjustment to my order and decide to forgo the extra side of bacon. We are hoping that, one day, they will name some breakfast specials after us to forever immortalize us in their Hall of Fame.
We consume every morsel of the feast and, between bites, talk of past adventures that are burned into our psyches. Each diver shares their hopes for this expedition and the treasure that may lay awaiting us in the depths of the murky Carolina waters. One by one, we fire off our desired finds. Some guys get really specific like, “I want to find a 6 inch green and orange spear point” and others, “I want to find a half pint South Carolina Dispensary bottle from the late 1890’s in blue.” The funny thing is, a lot of times, once those words are spoken, the pie in the sky relics and fossils appear on the bottom of the river like they were conjured from a dream. Sometimes they are found by the dreamer, sometimes they are found by your dive buddy. The reality is, these items didn’t magically appear in the river. They were laid to rest hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years ago by early-colonial Americans, Native Americans, or prehistoric monster’s feast. Our paths intersect with these ancient beasts and humans at the depths of the rivers. We collect the treasures left for us when we venture into the unknown. We scrape our plates, pound our remaining drinks, and head to the vehicles to get this party started.
Each vehicle has their assignments before rallying at the boat launch and each member pitches in to lend a hand, helping to lighten the load. This is not an easy trip and can hardly be classified as a vacation.
We quickly load the boat with fresh supplies, tanks, and personal gear to hit the water as fast as we can. The excitement has our blood pumping and the cold spring air bothers no one. This time of year, we expect the water to be in the 50's but, to our surprise, it is like bath water coming in at 72 degrees. This temperature is cold enough to give you hypothermia without a dive suit on but feels amazing when diving suited up.
After a short boat ride, we drop anchor. Divers suit up quickly and race to be the first one in the water. One by one, we splash into the cool waters of the river and descend into darkness. On my descent,I always imagine it feels akin to floating in outer space as I freefall weightlessly into the abyss until you hit the river bottom with a hard thud. Each entry into the river brings a new surprise and not knowing what you might land on is part of the fun. I have landed chest first onto a large boulder, large unknown aquatic creatures, and even mating horseshoe crabs, which were all disturbing in their own right.
I land in a mixture of gravel and aquatic plants and go straight to work scouring the river bed for lost treasures. I start hand fanning sediment, flipping boulders, grabbing handfuls of gravel, and frantically feeling around the bottom like I dropped my glasses and desperately need to find them. As the search continues, my heart rate begins to steadily decline and my breathing slows. I become accustomed to the darkness, the pressure of the depth, and the unknown. The water inside my suit warms, my exposed skin becomes numb, and I start to relax into my usual search rhythm. I am feeling at home. This is going to be another epic adventure!
