Phone rings…

Hello, this is Martin.

Martin! I just lost my…_______

This is the typical beginning of a phone call we frequently receive after someone drops something valuable in the water. Hope is not lost! We often recover:

• keys
• sunglasses
• wallets
• watches
• purses
• valuable tools
• cellphones

There are important first steps you should take immediately to help us recover things you have dropped overboard. Please immediately:

Mark the Location

A mushroom anchor is ideal for this, but whatever is at hand will serve the purpose. Tie to that a line long enough to reach the bottom, with at least ten feet of slack, with a small buoy. The buoy can be an empty gallon water container, a small fender, or anything that won't sink.

The biggest challenge with salvage and recovery diving in Newport Harbor is finding whatever it is you have dropped. One sweep of the swim fins, or a searching hand probing the bottom, and the bottom sediment gets kicked up. Visibility can approach zero in just seconds. At that point, any finding is by touch only. By immediately placing a marker with float, you help us find your item. We can follow the line down to the weight to search by hand from there. Your placement of the anchor makes a huge impact on how quickly we can recover your item, as well as the ultimate cost to you of that recovery.

Click to our contact information to find whatever you have lost overboard.