“Finley?” Nicole questioned, answering the call on the second ring.
“Hey. Caitlin’s fine, but I wanted to tell you she was involved in a small accident this afternoon.”
“What!” Nicole’s voice changed drastically. “What do you mean accident? Where is she? What happened?”
“Calm down, she’s okay. She was with my neighbor and her daughter, and they were in an accident. Everyone is fine.”
“Oh my God, no!” Finley could hear Nicole begin to cry.
“Listen to me, Nic. Our baby girl is fine. There isn’t a scratch on her. It scared her more than anything.”
“How could you let this happen?” Nicole cried.
“I didn’t let anything happen. It was an accident. She could have easily been in the car with me or you. The point is…she didn’t get hurt. No one did, actually.”
“Where is she? Are you sure she‘s okay?” Nicole sniffled.
“Yes. I promise. She’s downstairs on the couch, but you need to get it together before you talk to her.”
“I’m fine. Please let me talk to her, Finley.”
“Okay. Hold on.” Finley walked down the stairs. “Here, it’s your mother,” she said, handing Caitlin the phone. Then, she went into the kitchen to pour herself a drink.
As soon as Caitlin hung up the phone, Finley joined her on the couch. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Mom’s a little upset, but I told her I was all right. We talked about Uncle Mike’s car accident. She said that’s why she was so upset.”
Finley nodded. “We love you so much, Caitlin. We don’t want to lose you like we lost him.” Finley wrapped her arm around Caitlin’s shoulders and kissed the side of her head. “You seem okay, so I think you’re flight ready.”
“Really!” Caitlin’s eyes lit up.
“Why not.” Finley smiled.
“Yes! Thanks, Mom. You’re the greatest!” Caitlin wrapped her arms around Finley and squeezed. “By the way, what took so long? Marilyn went nuts when you didn’t answer your cell. I had to call the base for her.”
“I left the operations office phone number for her. Anyway, I was in the air on a training mission, then out on a call. After someone talked to her, they diverted us back to the base. That’s when I got the message.”
“Oh, what was the call for?”
“A sinking sailboat with two people on it.”
“Cool.” Caitlin smiled.
Chapter 6
Finley pulled through the gates of the air station and parked her SUV in the usual spot. Caitlin was sitting next to her dressed in jeans, one of Finley’s USCG t-shirts, and sneakers.
“Come on, kiddo.” Finley stepped out of the truck and put her baseball cap on as she walked towards the main hangar. Caitlin fell instep beside her.
CDR. Douglas walked out of his office, dressed in the dark blue BDU pants and matching button shirt of his daily work uniform. He had a matching baseball cap on with his rank insignia in the center. He looked from Finley to Caitlin and back again.
“She looks just like you, Morris.”
“Thank you, sir.” Finley smiled. “This is my daughter, Caitlin Morris. Caitlin, this is Commander Douglas. He’s the Senior Operations Duty Officer for USCG Air Station Merritt Island. He oversees all of Search and Rescue.”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Caitlin said.
“Likewise.” He smiled. “How old are you?”
“Thirteen, sir,” she answered.
“Welcome to Air Station Merritt Island,” he said, holding his hand out. Caitlin quickly shook it. “Your mother is one of the best Helicopter Rescue Swimmers I‘ve ever seen. She’s well respected around here. I’d trust her with my own life.”
“Thank you, sir,” Finley said.
“She’s going to need a flight suit and full gear to go up in the helo. I have your aircrew scheduled for Training Mission 025 this morning.”
“Great. I’ll get her suited up.”
“Morris,” he said, pulling Finley aside. “If you guys get a call while you’re out there, you’ll have to take her with you as if she were a training cadet. I’ve already briefed your crew.”
“I understand,” Finley replied. “I’ll go over everything with her.”
As soon as they walked out of the operations office, Tracy and Greg appeared. Finley felt bad for not telling them, but then again she hadn’t told them much about her personal life.
“Caitlin, this is Lieutenant Gregory Ballard. He’s a helicopter pilot. And this is AMT Petty Officer Second Class Tracy Pollack. She’s a Flight Mechanic. Guys, this is my daughter, Caitlin Morris.”
“Hi,” Tracy and Greg said together.
“It’s nice to meet you both.” Caitlin smiled and walked closer to the large orange and white helicopter parked nearby.
“God, Fin, she looks just like you,” Tracy said.
“Yeah, she’s a great kid.”
“This is a surprise. I had no idea you had kids. How old is she?” Greg said.
“She’s the only one, and she’s thirteen. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys. I don’t talk much about my life, or that side of it anyway. Caitlin lives with her other mother in South Carolina.”
“Wow,” Tracey murmured.
“She was having some problems at home, so she came to spend the remainder of the summer with me. It happened out of the blue. She’s been here about a week.”
“That must suck. I don’t know if I could live that far away from my child,” Tracy said.
Finley turned her head to look at Caitlin. Greg had walked over to tell her all about the helo, something that would take days if anyone gave him enough time. He also gave her an old flight suit and searched around until they found a pair of boots that would fit her. Caitlin loved every minute of it.
“I was kind of forced to let her go when her mother left me and took Caitlin with her.”
“Aw, Finley. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago, and we’ve all learned to deal with it, I guess.”
Tracy watched Greg with Caitlin. “It looks like he’s recruiting her,” she laughed.
“She just joined the ROTC at her school.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Finley smiled. “Pissed her mom off pretty good.”
Tracy laughed. “Is she a swimmer?”
“Yes. She’s won some awards. Now that she’s about to start at my old high school, she’s going after my records,” Finley chuckled.
“Do you think she’ll beat them?”
“I hope she does.” Finley smiled.
*
After going over the helicopter safety instructions, Finley outfitted Caitlin with a helmet and an aircrew survival vest, similar to the one Rescue Swimmer’s wear with the integrated harness attached, except the aircrew vest is black and the swimmer vest is orange. Then, she changed from her own flight suit to the orange, shorty wetsuit for deployment. After that, she stuffed her mask, fins, and snorkel into her flight bag, and pulled on her survival vest and harness. She checked the radio on her vest to make sure it was fully charged, then grabbed her helmet and headed out to the helo.
“Today’s training mission involves swimmer deployment. We’ll do a couple of hoists down and back up. If the seas stay calm, we’ll move in so Finley can jump out and hoist back up,” Greg stated.
“Roger,” Tracy acknowledged.
“Caitlin, your job for today is to stay in your jump seat with your seatbelt on. You’ll be able to hear us talking on the radio in your helmet. If you need to say anything, make sure you speak loud and clearly so we can understand you. It’ll be noisy up there. If there is a lot of turbulence, it can get bumpy as well.”
“Yes, sir,” Caitlin replied.
“Lock and load,” Greg said.
He and the co-pilot, LTJG. Dan Kloss, walked to the front doors of the helo, while Tracy opened the cabin door. Finley climbed in first, showing Caitlin where to sit. She helped her get strapped in
and put her helmet on. Then, she and Tracy took their seats and pulled their helmets on.
Greg flipped the switches and started the twin turbine engines.
“Closing cabin door,” Tracey said.
“Roger,” Greg replied, still going through his pre-flight list as the engines warmed up. “Crew report. Ready for departure?” he asked.
“Roger,” Tracy and Finley both said.
“Sector Merritt Island…Search and Rescue 6516. We are ready for departure. Over.”
“6515…Sector. You are cleared for takeoff,” the dispatcher replied.
Finley glanced over at Caitlin who had one eye on the pilots and the other on the window. A huge smile spread across her face as they rose off the ground, causing Finley to grin as well. There was nothing like going up in a helo. No matter how many times she’d done it, she still got the same ball of nerves and excitement in her gut. When they were headed out for a call, that ball of nerves was doused with adrenaline.
The land around them quickly disappeared as they headed out over the Atlantic Ocean. They made a few passes over some fishing boats, then continued further out.
“How are you doing?” Finley asked, looking at Caitlin.
“Great!” she beamed.
Tracy laughed. “She’s a natural.”
“Must take after her mom,” Greg added, giving her a thumbs up.
It took another ten minutes for them to reach the designated coordinates for their training mission.
“Sector…Search and Rescue 6516. We are on the mark. Commencing with TM025. Over,” Greg radioed.
“6516…Sector. Copy.”
“Here we go,” he radioed to the crew.
“You stay there unless Greg or Tracy tell you otherwise,” Finley said, grabbing Caitlin’s shoulder.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“The seas are one to two feet. I’m going to take us down to a ten foot ceiling. Finley, are you good to jump?”
“Roger,” she replied.
“Opening cabin door,” Tracy said.
Finley buckled the gunner belt around her waist for safety as she sat down and swung her legs outside of the helo.
“Ten foot ceiling and holding,” Greg announced.
Tracey tapped Finley on the chest and Finley gave her a thumbs up.
“Swimmer is ready.”
“Sector…6516. Deploying swimmer for TM025. Over.”
“6516…Sector. Copy.”
“Deploy swimmer,” Greg said.
Tracey tapped Finley on the shoulder three times.
Finley released the gunner belt and pushed off. She held one arm over her chest and the other over her head as she prepared to hit the water.
“Swimmer is in the water,” Tracey said. When Finley threw her arm up with her palm facing out, Tracey added, “Swimmer is okay.”
Finley swam out of the rotor wash as the helo rose up to fifty foot above her head. Then, treaded water as they went through the maneuver to hoist her back up.
Tracey walked over to Caitlin and unbuckled her seat belt. Then, she clasped a gunner’s tether to her harness and brought her to the edge of the open door.
“Wow!” Caitlin exclaimed as she peered down at her mother, bobbing in the sea below.
“Be careful,” Finley radioed, waving up at her.
Tracey helped Caitlin back to her seat, then went to work hoisting Finley back up. They went through the same drill two more times, then began lowering her on the hoist and bringing her back up.
Finley had gone in the water and been retrieved half a dozen times when Greg’s radioed crackled to life.
“Search and Rescue 6516…Sector Merritt Island. A missing diver has been reported fifteen miles east of Melbourne Beach. Divert to the area and commence aerial search. Over,” the dispatcher said.
“Sector…6516. Copy on the diversion. Be advised, we are fifteen minutes out. Departing for Melbourne Beach. Over.”
Tracey closed the cabin door and the helicopter headed towards the missing diver.
“Sector…6516. How long has the diver been down? Over.”
“6516…Sector. We are unsure at this time. She had a two hour tank with thirty minutes reserve and has not been seen since she went in three hours ago. Over.”
“Sector...6516. Copy.”
“We have no idea what to expect if we find her,” Greg radioed the crew.
“She could be bent,” Finley added, referring to diver decompression sickness.
“True,” Greg replied. “Sector…6516. How far is the nearest recompression chamber, in case the survivor is bent? Over.”
“6516…Sector. Melbourne Medical Center, approximately thirty minutes from the last known location. Over.”
“Sector…6516. Copy. Be advised, we are ten minutes out. Over.”
“6516…Sector. Copy.”
As soon as they were within five minutes of the last known location, Tracey opened the cabin door. She and Finley strapped on gunner belts that tethered them to the helo in case they fell out as they leaned over, peering down at the water. More than likely, the diver was wearing a black diving suit, which would prove extremely difficult to find in the dark blue mass of the Atlantic Ocean.
They passed over the dive boat that had sent the mayday call and kept going, following the current further out to sea. The waves were one to two feet and a small headwind was blowing at eight to ten knots. Essentially, the conditions were quite calm and ideal for diving.
“Do you want to drop a drift buoy?” Tracey asked. They usually put a buoy in the water to see the rate and direction of the current when they were looking for someone who had fallen off a boat, but sometimes they also used it to help locate missing divers.
“No,” Greg replied. “I’m going to take us to a thirty foot ceiling and start passing over a grid in the direction the current is flowing. If she hasn’t surfaced by now, she got hung up on a wreck or something. If she has come up, she probably drifted pretty far.”
Finley pushed her helmet shield up and began scanning the water with a pair of binoculars. Tracey did the same thing.
“6516…Sector. The boaters radioed that the woman is wearing a dark, shorty wetsuit, but has a hot pink tank with her gear. Over.”
“Sector…6516. Copy. Guys, we’re looking for a bright pink scuba tank.”
“Mark, Mark, Mark!” Finley yelled. “She’s at your four o’clock, Greg!” she added, tossing the binoculars to the side as she grabbed her mask, snorkel, and fins, preparing to go in the water.
Greg quickly spun the helo around to vector into position. He noticed the woman was floating in an odd position.
“Sector…6516. Diver located. Deploying swimmer. Over.”
“6516…Sector. Copy,” the dispatcher replied.
“Swimmer is ready,” Tracey said.
“She doesn’t look good. I’m going to take us down to twelve feet so you can jump. I want to keep her out of the rotor wash,” Greg said to Finley, who gave Tracey a thumbs up. “Twelve and holding. Deploy swimmer,” he added.
Tracey tapped Finley on the shoulder three times to signal she had the go ahead. Caitlin watched as her mother quickly pushed off from her sitting position at the cabin door and disappeared.
The salty water was warm when Finley splashed down. She quickly held her arm up, indicating that she was fine. Then, she swam towards the diver as fast as she could.
“Swimmer is in the water. Swimmer is okay and away,” Tracey said.
Greg put the helo in an autopilot holding pattern while he waited.
The woman was on her side with her head barely out of the water. She was floating because the auto-inflatable vest she was wearing had inflated.
“Ma’am, can you hear me? I’m Chief petty Officer Morris with the Coast Guard.”
The woman’s eyes fluttered open. “My whole body hurts,” she murmured. “It’s so bad,” she cried.
“I’m going to help you,” Finley said, grabbing her from behind and removing the dive equi
pment, letting it fall to the ocean floor. “Are you having any difficulty breathing?”
“No,” the woman said. “I have a massive headache and all of my bones hurt like they’re broken.”
“6516…rescue swimmer. Be advised, survivor is bent. Over.”
“Swimmer…6516. Copy.”
Finley signaled for the sling and began swimming the diver towards the helo’s rotor wash as Tracey lowered the hoist. When they reached it, Finley put the sling around the woman, securing it tightly. Then, she connected it to her harness.
“Okay, we’re about to get picked up. I’m going to hold onto you from behind. We’re both attached to the cable, so it is going to lift us together. Are you ready?” Finley asked.
“Yes,” the woman murmured, barely opening her eyes.
Finley gave the thumbs up signal and Tracey started the hoist. When the cable started to spin, Finley spread her fins out wide to counter balance and stall the spin. Once they were inside, Tracey helped Finley get the woman strapped into the litter to keep her from getting tossed about in the helo. Then, Finley quickly put the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and started an IV line to give her fluids in case of dehydration.
“Alert: three; Injury: seven,” Finley radioed, giving Greg the status report.
“Sector…6516. Survivor has been retrieved. Alert: three; Injury: seven. She is bent. Repeat: survivor is bent. Diverting to Melbourne Medical Center. Over.”
“6516…Sector. Copy.”
Greg flew them at near maximum speed. Finley checked the woman’s vitals, then she gave her daughter a quick pat on the knee before strapping into her jump seat. Caitlin gave her a thin smile, then trained her eyes back on the woman lying in front of her.
“Melbourne Medical…Search and Rescue 6516. We are inbound with a bent diver. ETA: three minutes. Over.”
“Rescue 6516…Melbourne Medical. Copy. Standing by.”
“Crew report. Ready for approach?” Greg asked.
“Ready,” Tracey and Finley said.
“Wheels down,” Greg announced.
Tracey slid the cabin door open and Finley jumped out, pulling the head of the litter out with her. Tracey climbed out, grabbing the foot of it as hospital personnel raced towards them with a gurney. They worked together, moving the woman off the litter and onto the stretcher. Finley updated them on the woman’s condition while Tracey climbed back into the helo to store the litter.
Never Let Go Page 6