SEA HUNT: SUB HATCH (TV)

Summary

One in this series about the maritime adventures of scuba diver Mike Nelson, formerly of the United States Navy. In this episode, Nelson ventures into a submarine chamber with his friend Jerry Blaine, hoping to use the recompression effect to save them both from the bends, a potentially lethal result of surfacing too quickly during a dive. They must spend 24 hours in the small space, and Blaine soon begins suffering the painful effects of the descent. Nelson encourages him, however, and give him pills to help. Nelson explains that Blaine, a decorated test pilot and rocket expert, went on his first deep-sea dive to examine a missile that misfired and sank to the sea floor, attempting to salvage the guidance system in order to study it and learn the root of the problem. He and Nelson swim around the wreck and take pictures, and they extract the system with difficulty, working on "borrowed time," as the rocket could explode at any moment. Blaine becomes nervous, however, and heads for the surface in a panic, causing dangerous nitrogen bubbles to form inside his body. In the submarine, Blaine is gripped with a "sense of doom" and longs to get out of the claustrophobic space, but Nelson orders him to relax, reminding him that the procedure is saving his life. Flashing back to the dive, Nelson attempts to stop Blaine as he hurries for the surface, reminding him about the essential decompression stops, but Blaine rises rapidly and then swears he cannot return to the water, suffering from water claustrophobia. Nelson then spots the submarine and gets the idea to use it to cure the bends, asking the skipper for assistance. In the submarine, Blaine worries that he is "chicken" as the compartment begins to leak, but Nelson urges him to think of the rocket program, and Blaine soon calls the surface and reports expertly and at length on the problems with the sunken missile. The rest of the 24 hours pass and Nelson and Blaine surface, cured, and they thank the submarine crew for their help. Commercials deleted.

---