Dirty Work in Gilford

There was dirty work afoot in town this week when a production crew from "Dirty Jobs," the popular offering by the Discovery Channel, filmed a segment featuring Dave Ferrulo of Fathom Divers and Trident Mooring, Dock and Barge Company on Wednesday.

The show, conceived, hosted and starring Mike Rowe, is designed as a tribute to the men and women who do the least pleasant, most demanding yet utterly essential jobs required to sustain the American way of life. Rowe has apprenticed himself, among other outlandish vocations, as an owl vomit collector, worm dung rancher, chimney sweep and fish gutter, mixing his labors in the muck and mire with panache and humor.

The dirty job of the day was resetting two moorings in the lake in front of Clearwater Cove Condominiums on Dockham Shore Road. "If you don't think it's a dirty job," Ferrulo said, "wait till you see the show." He explained that the task involved recovering seven or eight feet of rusted chain, along with shackles and swivels, placing concrete blocks weighing 1,000 pounds and replacing four chains.

Preparations for the job began at 8 a.m. at Fathom Divers headquarters on Lake Street, testing equipment and suiting up. After breakfast, the 26 foot by 10 foot barge was readied and loaded at New Hampshire Mobile Marine, where Ferrulo said owner Dan Eaton's assistance and patience was indispensable. From there the crew moved to Silver Sands Marina where Chris Gagnon put Rowe to work driving the travel lift. Ferrulo said that the help of Eaton and Gagnon, who took time away from storing boats, was essential to the success of the production.

Finally equipment and provisions for the divers and television production crew were loaded into a 40-foot Sportfish, commissioned into service as a support vessel by Scott Young, a contractor from Moultonborough. "It was a massive production," Ferrulo said. "They had three truck loads of stuff. Just as much gear as I did."

By the afternoon, the barge and the Sportfish were anchored off Clearwater Cove Condominiums ready to begin work. "He bumbled around a lot, but did a great job." He said that when he gave instructions, Rowe exclaimed "I've got to do what?" And when he chided him by asking "what are you moving so slow? Mike shot me dirty looks and kept saying "you are insane!"

Ferrulo said that sometimes the concrete blocks settled upside down and he had developed a technique for flipping them right-side-up. "I taught Mike how to do it, but it took him 20 minutes," he laughed. "Mike got a healthy respect for what I do."

Over a year ago, Ferrulo first drew the attention of one of the show's producers who happened on the two books he has published — "Connecting with the Bliss of Life" and "Elements of Life Success." He said that that through an exchange of e-mails, the two discovered they shared common interests in a holistic life-style and physical fitness, which eventually reached to his career as a diver. "Last month Michelle called and said we'd like to do a Dirty Job with you guys," Ferrulo recalled, adding he was chosen on the strength of his books and as the only Navy Seal they could find doing marine work.

Ferrulo said that throughout the filming Rowe touted the beauty of Lake Winnipesaukee and the region. He said that he was advised that show will spark an enormous amount of interest in the Lakes Region and business for local enterprises. "It's a 30-minute show, telecast in how many countries with re-run after re-run for years," he said. "I was told to get ready for the phones to start ringing as soon as the show airs and begin planning now," he said. The show is expected to air in January.