I met the Captain in the middle of the Ocean.  He was the man in charge of a $600 million dollar drill ship.  We were drilling for oil.  He had 180 men on board.  His job was to keep the drillship afloat and the men safe.

The drilling engineers knew what they wanted to do.  Captain Sean gave them the final OK.  It was his ship.

He was serious about his business.

Then one day, he posted on the internet how he was scuba diving off the coast of Maine.  It’s his hobby.  He likes to hunt and find things.  The kinds of things that belong to other people.  The kinds of stuff people cry about when they lose those things.  Rings, bracelets, watches, necklaces, that sort of stuff.

Like last week.  An engineer lost his college class ring.  He’s worn it for 50 years, but the cold water and a little physics worked together.  After a morning of working on his boat he looked down. The ring was gone.

Captain Sean showed up. The water was still cold.  It took an hour, searching back and forth under a dock.  Beer cans, glass bottles, fishing lures, Sean found all of that sort of stuff people don’t care about when they lose it.

But, Captain Sean found more.

“I saw a glimpse of something gold. It was shining, even in that cold, dirty water.  Gold isn’t supposed to be under a dock.  I reached out. It was the ring.”

Another time, it was an engagement ring.  A nervous soon to be groom wanted everything to be perfect.  He walked her out on the dock.  They enjoyed a drink or two, maybe to calm his nerves.  He was about to pop the big question. He got down on one knee, like you’re supposed to do.

He asked the big question.  She said “Yes.”

He reached into his pocket to pull out the little box with the ring to seal the deal.  He was still nervous.  As he pulled the ring from the box, guess what happened.  Right there, on the dock,

Yep!  He said it took nearly forever to fall, bounce one time and then disappear into the water below.

Gone!

She cried like a baby.  He cried like a man.

They had heard about a group called Ring Finders.  Someone made a call and Captain Sean arrived the next day.  The girl said she cried all night.  The man didn’t say much at all.

Captain Sean donned his wet suit and sent to work.

It took about 30 minutes.  He came up with the ring.

He gave it to the guy.  The guy held it tight, then slipped it on her finger and sealed the question with a kiss.

Another happy ending.

When I talked with the Captain, he said there were Ringfinders in every state.  It’s like a club for people who have the heart  to go out, spend their own time and find stuff that other people don’t want to lose.

The reward, he says, is giving back something someone thought they had lost forever. 
          “That alone, makes it worthwhile and a whole lot of fun.”

Please feel free to share.  I encourage and welcome your comments and thoughts.  Contact Mike Windham at amwindham100@gmail.com.  Please follow my blog at www. mikewindham.com.