Sally Pritchett’s zen place is dark and murky, a place with barely any light, but with shades of gray and green. It’s also 90 feet underwater.
The 44-year-old Monterey County native is a sergeant with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, where she works in the jail helping prepare inmates for jobs after they’re released, with programs like GED and high school equivalency classes, and training on anger management and substance abuse recovery. She is also the assistant team leader for the sheriff’s public safety dive team, which was created in 2014 as an entity separate from the search-and-rescue team, focused not on rescues, but on recovering bodies. The team often accompanies the Coast Guard or Monterey Fire Department’s fire boat.
With 111 dive missions with the sheriff’s team under her belt, Pritchett spends a lot of time underwater. She spoke with the Weekly about diving, and her thoughts on the complex relationship between people and the natural world.
Weekly: How did you get into scuba?
Pritchett: My husband was recruited by the U.S. Army to take on a scuba project in the Red Sea. After we met, he was always talking about diving, so in 1996, my 12-year-old stepson and I got certified. We were doing dives at Carmel Point and Monastery Beach.
What does it feel like to be on a deep dive?
I like 90-foot-deep dives. At that depth, everything stops. It’s very relaxing. I feel comfortable and at peace. The colors change and vivid, warm colors start to go away. It’s a mix of grays and sea greens and blues. Everything moves a bit slower and you can hear your breathing. It’s very quiet. It’s a meditation for me.
How has being underwater changed your views on being on land?
I don’t eat a lot of fish anymore, because of my appreciation of the underwater world; I prefer not to have a negative impact on that world. I have a relationship with nature where I witness the impact I have [through my] lifestyle.
What’s a strange experience you have had on a dive?
The most surreal experience was night diving at Catalina Island and the bioluminescence of some of the organisms was like glitter. You could turn your light off and follow your partner with this fairy dust of light.
Another time, we were doing a 130-foot dive at Oil Platform Edith off of Long Beach, and there was an unidentifiable organism that looked like a box kite. No one knew entirely what it was. It’s amazing how much life has attached to, and survives on, oil rig supports. It’s an entire ecosystem on its own. It’s like a city in the middle of nowhere.
What animals are the best to be in the water with?
I’m always looking for sharks in the water. I’ve often seen leopard sharks, but never a great white. I enjoy all the different fish, and have an appreciation for why people keep tanks.
Have you been in any dangerous situations while diving?
The conditions this year have been very challenging. The closest call was in shallower water, where I was nearly catapulted onto rocks. You realize you’re nothing – you’re a leaf. As a diver, you have very little control over yourself.
What advice do you have for new divers?
Stay relaxed and don’t panic. The most important mission is staying alive.
How has diving with the public safety team affected your views on mortality?
When you find a seashell on the bottom of the ocean, there is no organism attached. It has been released. That service is what I feel in recovering a body. I feel connected to life and death by participating in the retrieval of the shell, so to speak. You realize how people are just part of the tapestry of the world.
How is it being a woman in law enforcement?
Only three women have finished the public safety diving course through the Maritime Law Enforcement Training Center. Nobody treats you differently, because you still have to drag your gear around. Once you’re in the water, everything neutralizes. The water is the great equalizer.