Most people spend their weekend catching up on Netflix or mowing the lawn. Me? I spent mine waist-deep (okay, fully submerged) in public safety diver training with the Lees Summit Underwater Rescue and Recovery team — and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
For the past three years, I’ve been a volunteer diver with the team, which means I get the unique privilege of spending my free time suiting up, strapping on tanks, and jumping into lakes, ponds, and sometimes downright questionable bodies of water — all in the name of helping our community. This weekend was a perfect example of why I love it.
🏊♂️ Day 1: Pool Training – Dry Suits and Full Face Masks
We kicked things off in a nice, controlled environment: the pool. (Because you don’t want your first attempt at a dry suit or full-face mask to be in a murky lake where you can’t see your own fins.)
The focus for the first day was getting everyone dialed in on their dry suit skills and completing full-face mask certifications for the guys who needed it. If you’ve never tried diving in a dry suit, it’s… an experience. Instead of getting wet like you would in a wetsuit, you stay completely dry — which is amazing in cold water — but it means you now have another thing to control underwater: the air inside your suit.
Watching new divers figure out how to manage their buoyancy in a dry suit is always entertaining. There’s a lot of “whoa, I’m floating upside down” moments, but by the end of the day, everyone was comfortable and ready to take what they learned into open water.
🌊 Days 2 & 3: Open Water Training at Lake Jacomo
After getting comfortable in the pool, we moved to Lake Jacomo for two full days of search and recovery training. The lake was calm, the weather was perfect, and we had Muddy River Divers leading the training — a great group with tons of experience in public safety diving.
Open water training is where things get real. The visibility in the lake was, let’s just say, “authentically murky.” (If you can see your own hand, it’s a good day.) But that’s the point — this is what real rescue and recovery dives are like.
🔦 Search Patterns & Recovery Drills
We practiced search patterns — everything from simple sweep searches to full team grid patterns — using lift bags and lines. It’s not just about finding something underwater, it’s about doing it safely and communicating with your team topside.
We also ran through recovery scenarios, which meant carefully bringing objects to the surface. Sometimes those objects are just weighted dummies, sometimes it’s equipment or evidence that needs to be handled gently for law enforcement.
💬 Teamwork in Low-Vis Conditions
One of the best parts of the weekend was watching newer divers build confidence. Public safety diving is a whole different animal compared to recreational diving — you’re working in low visibility, often in stressful conditions, with the goal of bringing closure to families or recovering important evidence. Seeing everyone click together as a team was awesome.
🫧 Why I Love Public Safety Diving
People always ask me, “Why would you want to dive in a muddy lake when you could just go to Cozumel or Key Largo?” And don’t get me wrong — I love a good tropical reef dive. But public safety diving gives me something warm water can’t: purpose.
Being able to use my skills to help our community, assist law enforcement, and potentially save lives is incredibly rewarding. It’s not glamorous — you’re usually wet, cold, and covered in mud by the end of the day — but it matters.
Plus, weekends like this one keep our skills sharp. You don’t want to be learning on the job during a real call-out. Training in controlled scenarios means when the pager goes off, we’re ready.
🛠️ Gear, Grit, and Good People
This weekend was a reminder of how much goes into public safety diving beyond just jumping in the water. There’s:
- Gear checks (because nothing ruins training faster than a blown o-ring)
- Safety briefings (everyone needs to know the plan)
- Team coordination (divers, tenders, topside communications)
It’s a lot of work, but when you’re surrounded by a dedicated team who takes it seriously, it’s actually a lot of fun too.
By the end of day three, we were all tired, sore, and probably a little sunburned — but we were also better divers, better teammates, and better prepared for the next call.
🛻 Thoughts After the Weekend
This training weekend reminded me why I joined the Lees Summit Underwater Rescue and Recovery team in the first place. It’s about service, about using my passion for diving to make a difference.
And yes, it’s also about laughing with your teammates when someone surfaces with a mask full of lake weeds or accidentally faceplants trying to climb back on the dock. Because even when the training is serious, the camaraderie keeps it fun.
