TowBoatUS San Diego travels to Lake Powell to raise boat from the depths before spring thaw

The deep water vessel recovery team at Vessel Assist San Diego, led by Captain Robert Butler, was tasked with raising a 21’ vessel from almost 200’ of water before the record spring thaw filed the lake. The Vessel was on the remote side of Lake Powell near Bullfrog Marina. The 15 hour drive, for the three truck and trailer caravan, was slowed by winds in excess of 40 miles per hour.  Two 28’ salvage vessels and a towable RV trailer were required to accomplish the wreck recovery. Vessel Assist San Diego had to bring living quarters and supplies, as most of the summertime facilities were still closed for the season and Bullfrog Marina is in a remote part of Lake Powell. The first objective was to locate and inspect the vessel. A mark was placed near the wreck during a failed attempt to recover the vessel by another company. Captain Greg Rood skillfully maneuvered “BOB”, the Seabotix 150 ROV (Remote operated Vessel), to the general area of the reported sinking. Within a few minutes the sunken vessel was located and a survey of the boats position as it lay on the bottom. After marking the exact spot of the wreck, “BOB” returned to the surface to be rigged for the salvage line attachment. Captain Rob Butler and Captain Greg Rood spent endless hours designing a specialized system to attach the clip to the bow of the boat in near zero visibility. Captain Greg Rood made short work of the attachment procedure attaching the salvage line in just a few short minutes following the attachment plat to the tee. Once attached, the salvage dive team of Augustine Malfavon and Captain Shane Thompson attached float bags lifting the boat 40’ at a time. Because of the altitude of Lake Powel l (Over 4000’) authorities have very strict rules about commercial diving at deep depths on the lake. By attaching the line in deep water with the ROV the divers need to only dive 40’ at a time to attach float bags lifting the vessel in steps. Vessel Assist San Diego has raised several vessels from waters as deep as 450’ using this proven technique, so the process was like clockwork for the seasoned team. With the vessel 40’ from the surface float bags were attached directly to the sunken boat. With float bags inflated and the boat just a few feet the vessel was towed to the local launch ramp. Once at the launch ramp two 6000 lb. float bags were used to cradle the vessel, lifting the vessel to be pumped out and placed on a trailer, then taken so investigators could determine the cause of the sinking. After securing from the job the crew of Vessel Assist San Diego took the day off to explore the unbelievable views of Lake Powell before driving back to San Diego. Rainbow Arch was the highlight (the longest natural arch in the world.