Humminbird Side Imaging in a Search and Rescue setting
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
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I spent a recent evening doing an orientation session with the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office and the Chippewa Fire district dive team. This was to be an evening dive and imaging session, facilitated by Skeeter Boat Center, Humminbird, and Jason Halfen Outdoors. I was happy to be able to provide my time and expertise to introduce the Sheriff's office and dive team to Humminbird's Side Imaging technology, and how it could assist them in the rather somber task of locating a victim underwater.
I would drive past their dive location, and save the images of the divers using the Humminbird Screen Capture utility. Once the dives concluded, the group gathered around the WX 2000T to review the images I captured. It was my impression from talking with Lt. Gibson and the dive team that this was their first experience with Humminbird's Side Imaging technology. After seeing the images I collected, they concluded that Side Imaging would be a great tool for cutting down the dive time required to find an underwater victim.
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Now, on to the screen captures.
The first set of images are all of different SCUBA divers. They were near or on the bottom in 15-20 feet of water. Soft tissue doesn't provide the greatest sonar return, but the sonar shadows from the divers are easy to see.
Thanks to Lt. Mitch Gibson and the Chippewa Fire District dive team for spending a beautiful night on the water with Dan and me. Thanks for EVERYTHING you guys do to help keep us all safe and sound.
Thanks also to Skeeter Boat Center for facilitating last evening's event, and for giving me some more time in the diver's seat of a WX 2000T. Skeeter Boat Center supports Jason Halfen Outdoors, professional and recreational anglers, AND the community that we all share...Skeeter Boat Center deserves your support as well.
Our work took place on the south end of Lake Wissota, near the sandy island that sees a fair amount of recreational boating activity during the summer. Joining me in the WX 2000T were Skeeter Boat Center manager Dan Meyer, Lt. Mitch Gibson from the Chippewa County Sheriff's office, and the head diver from the dive team, a US Navy veteran who has sadly recovered more than one drowning victim from our area lakes. Working with us were 3 other members of the Chippewa Fire District dive team.
After selecting an area to dive in, the head diver gave me some instruction about how to operate the WX 2000T safely in an area containing divers. Following their equipment checks, the divers began to descend into the depths.
Click on thumbnails for a larger view
Click on thumbnails for a larger view
Click on thumbnails for a larger view
The free diver was in the water column, but definitely not on the bottom. His features were pretty easy to discern, as he was swimming parallel to the boat's path. The SCUBA divers were generally vertical, on or near the bottom, so their features (arms, legs) were generally not visible.
Click on thumbnails for a larger view
Click on thumbnails for a larger view
