Cinderblock Recovery

By Capt. JT

We were diving a wreck known to give up an artifact or two. I as I normally do tell the divers that anything they cannot get up to put it by the anchor and I will send it up on a lift bag.

After descending down to the wreck the vis was bad, maybe 2-4 ft. Next to the anchor I saw an object and took a closer look at it. It was a cinderblock with rope run through the holes and then concrete was used to fill them in. This was a fisherman's disposable wreck marker.

After returning from my dive I was question by a diver "did you get it?", I reply "get what? ". He tells me the box , the wooden box by the anchor. I laugh and tell him its a brick. He gets a bit upset and again tells me it is box with a rope handle and I again tell him its a brick.

In disbelief he ask to use my lift bag , he wishes to go get it. I give it to him and he goes down after his "wooden box". I wait and shortly the lift bag pops to the surface. It comes right to the boat and I reach over and pull it in. It is a cinderblock.

I wait for him to return and as he comes up he is yelling "did you get it?",did you get it?" and I yell "yes wait till you see it" and he swims fast to the back of the boat and climbing in he sees it is a cinderblock. So I make him hold it up like Gary Gentile does in his books and take the photo.

Victor with his cinderblock, uh, I mean wooden box.