Shipwreck of the Home, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

We loaded up the cars in dense fog out of Sheboygan Harbor — fog usually means calm lake conditions, and it did. The lake laid down for us as we set out to the shipwreck of the Home. About an hour to the location. Chris and I buddy up and enter the water after Walter, Leo, and Ellery. Crystal clear and very cold at the surface — colder and clearer than yesterday. At around 100ft the stern of the Home and bottom emerged from the haze. I always get a kick out of descending as a historic shipwreck emerges — like a foggy cemetery at dusk surrounded by a desert of sand and silt.

I noticed Walter making circles around the anchor line — gave him an OK signal, he responded but it didn't feel solid. I circumnavigated the remains of the Home at 165ft. Decided not to penetrate the wreck — conservative schedule, saving gas for the Walter B Allen next. My camera housing fogged up in the moist motel room so photos didn't turn out again. Back at the surface — no oxygen bottle dangling at 15ft where it should be, and Walter's gear already tied to the boat. Adjusted to 50/50 nitrox decompression instead of oxygen. Prepared for the worst on ascent.

Dave informed us Walter had surfaced unconscious — eyes wide open, unresponsive, cyanotic, breathing in water. Jitka pulled him to the boat, Dave dragged him out. He woke up and started to recover. Coast Guard arrived from Two Rivers in under 10 minutes. Walter packaged in a sled and transported to Appleton hospital for hyperbaric treatment, blood gas, Doppler, and DCI evaluation. His rebreather loop was flooded and the canister mixed. Why he didn't bail out to open circuit remains unclear. His dive was under 12 minutes — nitrogen compartments not loaded heavily. Dave and Jitka's response was the primary life saver. Walter self-selected to stay overnight and was released the following day. LESSON: Training hard under pressure so you dive slow and smooth creates decisive decisions when it matters. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. When in doubt, the bailout must be a pre-defined threshold — not a last resort.