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The whole "you will see more wildlife in 10 minutes underwater then 10 hours on land" thing is so incredibly true its not funny. You can literally see an entire reef ecosystem in your limited masked field of vision. From the plants all the way up to the predatory fish. And you can do so without even being seen as an outsider or scaring stuff away. Im mostly a free diver. Ive scuba dove for years. But I prefer the additional freedom, tranquility, relaxation, physical challenge, mental challenge, and simplicity of free diving. Not that scuba doesn't have its own challenges, I just prefer the types that free diving presents. I am also big into spearfishing. The satisfaction of cooking meals for your friends and family that you went out and caught yourself for free is awesome. I scuba and freedive in Southeast Florida, USA . Mostly in Broward, also in miami/the keys sometimes. I go diving any chance I get. Which is usually the weekends. Here are some photos and a video I've taken recently. If you have a chance, go diving! Mornings just ON the ocean are often magical:  http://i.imgur.com/ixG4R.jpg Sometimes dolphins come and say sup. Then run away when you want to play:  http://i.imgur.com/1gSP1.jpg Then you swim down and get to see stuff like this:  Hang out with bubble blowers:  Then think you are cool because you have a gun:  A video of some free diving and spearfishing a few lionfish (a delicious invasive species). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHe1q5so8E Kaal posted:Intro free divers start around five minutes, then progress to about ten. Expert free divers can push that into the 15 minute range, and the world record is just shy of 20. Pretty incredible. Those numbers are very high. An into freediver in a class using specific breathing techniques (that can be a bit dangerous) may reach 5 minutes doing "static apnea" (laying face down in a pool perfectly still) if he is in shape/naturally good at it. But 2-3 minutes is common for starters. A beginner doing "dynamic apnea" (aka swimming, finning, or pulling) will probably have a breath hold of under 1 minute. Expert/training freedivers can hold their breath in static apnea for 5-10 minutes. with 11.5 being the current record. Again, this is lying 100% still. In dynamic those numbers go way down with experts in the 3-5 minute range depending on the type of dive. For instance, in that video, they used scooters to get down to the wreck so they didn't waste oxygen (that is why they can climb all over it 100 feet down) The 15 and 20 minute numbers you are reading is a static breath hold with the use of 100% oxygen breathing for a long time before (this would kill you if you dove deep while doing it). Buh posted:
Freedivers don't exactly use weights to "decend quickly" unless were talking about the using of sleds or drop weights to get down very quickly. Which is really only practiced by competitive freedivers and pearl/sponge divers. And in those cases the weight is left at the bottom so they can surface quickly. Freedivers usually use weight to balance out the buoyancy of their wetsuits. A 3mm wetsuit can make you float like a cork, not to even mention 5 and 7mm suits for colder climates. Some degree of flotation on the surface is required (being "negatively boyuant" on the surface is extremely! dangerous). But ideally as a freediver you want to float on the surface and become "neutrally buoyant" at between 20 and 30 feet. This is usually where your body naturally becomes neutral naturally without wearing a wetsuit. But people with different body types float differently. So TLDR weight are used to make it "easy to get down, and easy to get up" Not enough and you can't get down. Too much and you can't get back. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Feb 20, 2012 |
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Feb 19, 2012 15:29
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rockcity posted:Great OP. I still wouldn't mind seeing a section about where all our goon divers are located for potential dive meetup purposes. I'm in Orlando and don't mind travelling a few hours to make a dive. I've dove in Jupiter a few times now. Yes my favorite freediver ever. William Trubridge. He is amazing  I love diving CNF (constant weight no fins) like in this video. But my max depth is about 15 meters / one minute because I never practice. A 4 minute dive time is insane. Here is a pretty good article partially about how hard William Trubridge dominates. And partially about a freediving competiton. But be wary, the reporter went to a competition with some abnormally bad blackouts and accidents. So he sort of freaked out and sensationalized the article a bit. Its otherwise a pretty good read. http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/water-activities/Open-Your-Mouth-and-Youre-Dead.html?page=all IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Feb 19, 2012 |
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Feb 19, 2012 19:30
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Frogmanv2 posted:Not any more. As I said in my other post. Those near 20 Minute record breath holds are with oxygen breathing assistance. A normal breath of air is only 21% oxygen. Hence the superhuman abilities.
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Feb 20, 2012 01:55
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rockcity posted:Agreed, I clip mine to the D-ring on my left shoulder strap. There is just enough slack to where I can read everything with it still clipped, but not enough to where it's swinging about. It depends a good deal on bodyfat, lung capacity, and the exact makeup of the suit (2piece or not, hooded or not, etc). But people generally use around 10lbs of weight to become neutral at 20-30ft in a 3mm wetsuit.
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Feb 21, 2012 16:07
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rockcity posted:It's a one piece, non-hooded wetsuit. I don't think I'll really be going that deep on this venture though. Most of the shark teeth are in shallow water from what I've read. I'd wager I'll probably be closer to the 10 ft range. I'm going to bring my whole set of weights with me to find out how much is comfortable for me. If you are diving shallow you can weight yourself towards the lower end of that 20-30ft number. But I wouldn't go too far beyond it.Maybe at most enough weight to be neutral at 15ft or so. Even if you are diving 10ft and it means never going neutral. Any more weigh then that and you will be too heavy on the surface, which is both dangerous and annoying (you will sink every time you exhale). IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Feb 21, 2012 |
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Feb 21, 2012 18:55
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LuckyDaemon posted:I would like to become better at free diving because my husband is a huge fan, 80 feet max depth. But I am a pussy and shoot straight back to the surface at the first hint of an urge to breathe. I'm been trying to hit 20 feet for 3 years now. There are 3 main factors in being good at freediving. They are basically: Mental: Relaxation is absolutely key in freediving. Relaxing before the dive, staying calm during the dive, and having confidence in your abilities can really go a long way towards diving deeper. Its also important to not mentally translate that urge to breath into stress and anxiety as it tries to naturally do. This is something that takes practice. Technical: Your lungs provide a limited amount of energy for a dive. As you dive you "spend" that energy. The harder you work, the quicker you spend, the quicker you run out. Using techniques (or gear) to make your body hydrodynamic and your fin-stroke more efficient means less work gets you deeper. For instance, I can rattle off 5 mistakes most people make in technique that greatly diminish their freediving ability by wasting energy. 1) looking down on the dive instead of foward increasing drag on your body 2) diving at an angle instead of straight down at 90* to the surface 3) Flailing fins in the air during the duck dive instead of waiting until your fins are submerged to kick 4) Thinking that "faster is better" when it comes to finning. Its more important to be efficient then to be quick 5) Being weighted incorrectly and fighting buoyancy. Physical: This is the hard part. Its a mixture of natural physical ability, and just plain old training hard. There are many physical factors that determine and effect how well we can hold our breath. Lung capacity and diaphragmatic flexibily, cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength, dive reflex activation etc. Some people are born with more of this, but anyone can work for it and be amazing. The best training for all of the factors I listed is freediving. Second to that, diving in pools or doing simulated "apnea walking". But a longer breath hold just takes time, patience, and practice. You dont want to train yourself to ignore the urge to breath. You want to train your body to consume air so slowly that it takes say 60 second at 60 feet for that urge to exist. If you train your body to ignore that signal, you are essentially training yourself to black out. Competitive freedivers battle through and train to ignore that urge to the point where many have chest contractions during dives. But this is not something that recreational freedivers should be thinking about. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Feb 23, 2012 |
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Feb 23, 2012 20:01
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mightychode posted:I've had my cert for nearly 10 years (I'm 25) but only went with my dad who paid for everything and we always rented everything, all I own is mask/fins/snorkel. And don't know that much about diving except i friggin love it. I've dove maybe 6-10 times ish? Well, I live in Miami now and have only gone diving once since I moved down here (pathetic), and rented from the shop. it was 120 for all gear plus two tank dive. I'm a PADI open water. I want to buy my own gear and start diving more, both around Miami and the keys. However, I know nothing about gear. What mil wetsuit should i get? used gear, or new? I saw that link for scubatoys, the midline package looked pretty good. Any advice would be great. Also always looking for a dive buddy! Like crunkjuice said, "comfortable" wetsuit thickness is quite varied. But I am from SE florida and will give you my opinion on what works for me. Through the months of about may-oct no wetsuit is needed at all. I dive in a rashguard or bathing suit. Between oct-may a 3mil wetsuit will be good about 80% of the time. The other 20% when cold fronts come through and get the water temp down you need either a "5/3/1" (thick in the body thinner on the arms), a full 5mil suit, or a hood and vest to go on top of the 3mil. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Mar 1, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 21:56
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DeadlyMuffin posted:There is a feeling among some divers that diving shouldn't be accessible. I think it usually boils down to wanting to feel badass for being a SCUBA diver. If some fat lady at a resort can do it, they feel it makes their diving less impressive. I think the macho attitude is a big reason why the dive community (at least in my area) skews so heavily male. I don't think pretentiousness is the only reason people are uneasy with how easy it can be to become certified (and stay certified despite forgetting everything). Just reading scubaboard's accident section quite often highlights the danger of thinking that scuba diving should be above all "easy and accessible". Diving is fun and safe, but it requires a floor level of training, knowledge, and skills, to really be safe. If it comes down to individual instructors providing better instruction over and above the curriculum to keep people safe there is in my opinion room for improvement in the curriculum. And as far as ive seen, NAUI does a bit better job of testing that divers are prepared. But in the end, its in the hands of individual divers to know they are diving safe. Padi is also way more "accepted" around the world. probably 80% of the world is "padi padi padi" so if you plan to travel... IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Mar 2, 2012 |
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Mar 2, 2012 02:47
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fordan posted:And what does "accepted" mean? You don't need a PADI card to travel. The only real benefit is that a PADI resort/dive op can look you up if you don't have your PADI card. Honestly if you show up with a card that says you're a scuba diver that isn't done in crayon on construction paper you're probably fine. I joked about using my NAUI card when traveling rather than my PADI ones because it doesn't have a number on it, but they never question its validity, only that they have a form that they have to put a non-existent diver number in. "Accepted" means that all these places around the world that are PADI will better understand your current level of certification. They also usually offer the ability to continue your diving education in the padi system. So while im sure they accept you enough to fill your air and take you on dives if you have a card that looks half legit. Its still not as "accepted" as padi divers diving with a padi dive shop. For instance, the name for the NAUI open water diver cert is the same as the PADI "I only did half my open water and need to be watched" cert. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 13:25 on Mar 2, 2012 |
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Mar 2, 2012 13:14
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ZoCrowes posted:The NAUI card being called Scuba Diver predates PADI's very existence. It also states quite plainly on the card that the person is Open Water certified. If a dive operator can't understand that very basic concept I am not sure I would trust them to even tie their own shoes properly much less get to me to a dive site safely. Padi probably did it just to be dicks. And yeah, I wouldn't go diving with guides of that caliber, but people seem to do it every day on vacation in poorer countries. I totally agree its the instructor more then the agency. And I wasn't aware you could cross train with different cert's and they were counted as equivalent. Whats the max water temp you can use a dry suit? I can imagine it being pretty hot and sticky in there.
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Mar 2, 2012 19:35
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Bishop posted:Did some wreck diving on Saturday and Sunday. Both dives were about 90 minutes surface to surface. I almost ran out of line on my 400ft reel on one penetration which is cool or disconcerting depending on how you look at it. Man, that is pretty terrible. Not only do rough seas suck, but low vis snorkeling can be pretty terrifying for people who aren't experienced. I was out this weekend in Fort Lauderdale and the Viz was horrible. Couldn't see bottom in 20fsw. Mostly went fishing but got some diving in later in the day. Viz waslow enough to make hunting hard, and the only nice fish I put a shot on was too quick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzh6lroPp1c
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Mar 13, 2012 02:55
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SlicerDicer posted:Very cool the evo is a good unit, buoyancy is a totally different animal on the rebreather indeed. Holding breath is bad idea LOL. What mechanism makes holding your breath to maintain an exact buoyancy not work on a rebreather? Tell them to wait until the dive to puke, no reason to let free chum go to waste. The last time someone I know puked they got attacked be a few remoras, it was absolutely hilarious watching the 3 of them trying to attach to his body while he desperately defended himself while puking and making them more interested. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Mar 13, 2012 |
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Mar 13, 2012 16:39
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ZoCrowes posted:Never ever ever ever hold your breath while breathing any compressed gas at depth no matter what. You can have an over expansion injury with even a pressure change of a few feet. It does not take much to damage the alveolar membrane. I know you aren't supposed to, and I understand the dangers of lung over expansion injuries. But I do it every so often while lobster diving if I need to do some precise hovering with my hands in a hole. I only do it in those instances where im absolutely certain im not changing depth at all. I also do it in a way that's more exhaling imperceptibly slow then "holding" my breath (keeping the airway open). I dont think there is much risk in that, and it beats some other lovely lobster divers solutions of going negative and standing all over the reef for support. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Mar 13, 2012 |
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Mar 13, 2012 20:25
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Azzip posted:Is that a helmet mounted cam or something, loving the FPS vibe you had going there. I've never used a speargun, but it does look like a fun way to get a fresh meal... I use one of these  Which is pretty great for scuba diving too. Although a number of gopros have gone missing from peoples heads. You can also mount it to a mask pretty easily with a small bolt. Going out, swimming off the beach to hunt dinner completely under your own power. On a beautiful reef in a sustainable fishery. Then going home and making an incredible and otherwise expensive meal for the cost of the seasonings. Is probably the greatest thing I've ever done or will ever do. If I was rich I would just leave all my money in the bank and spend every day free-diving/spearfishing. The problem is that its exceedingly addicting and im not rich. Even when I dive all weekend, on Monday morning I am wishing I was in the water. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Mar 13, 2012 |
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Mar 13, 2012 21:44
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SlicerDicer posted:Welcome to Molokai Some really awesome photos there, the fish variety in hawaii is just out of control, so many schools of color. What was the depth on those dives? Also your camera takes some pretty nice photos, what are you using? IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 12:54 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 14, 2012 12:49
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Azzip posted:As in the whole thing came off I'm guessing? Yeah I'd probably want to secure it to my BCD or something as a secondary failsafe, but in a way that wouldn't present a danger of it getting tangled up in the octo hose or around tank valves or whatever. Right, and I just mean with that particular head-strap. It feels secure and hard to not notice coming off your head. But under water it seems to quietly sneak away when people are distracted with important diving stuff. I know like 2-3 people who have lost them that way. Now they just bolt it to the mask. Which is an all around better solution. SlicerDicer posted:I was over 100ft for a hour.. I am using a consumer grade canon G12 that has been a nonstop nightmare. It partial floods quite frequently its not designed for what I am doing. I have also only a single strobe as I imploded my other one. In the mean time I will use this till I get my DSLR case to go underwater with it and pro strobes. Man, I forget that hawaii's mountainous topography extends into the ocean. Here in Florida the only elevation we get is Reefs that have made themselves tall and the gradual slope into the ocean. I get a boner when I see a 10ft cliff lol. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 14, 2012 21:36
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Bishop posted:Awesome pics slicer. I like seeing pacific ocean stuff because the fish confuse the poo poo out of me Yeah I did some cruise diving/freediving in the carribean in feb of last year and it was awesome. Which wall dives do you know of? And im guessing they suck rear end as in they are devoid of life?
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Mar 14, 2012 23:13
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SgtScruffy posted:I was almost one of these people. As I was descending, I tried to scratch my head because it itched. I noticed that the GoPro wasn't on there. Fortunately, it had JUST fallen off, so I was able to reach out and grab it. If one of the screws is damaged I would say there is a high probability that case is hosed. Even just 60 feet down those little seals get the poo poo squeezed out of them, I dont know If I would trust the side without the screw to hold up. But you can always install and do a dive without the camera inside to find out. If it is hosed you can get a flat lens+housing for eyeofmine for only $80 http://www.eyeofmine.com/gopro/underwater/ rockcity posted:I'm planning on getting one within the next few months and was considering doing a bolt on to my mask too. The other option I thought of for a quick and dirty failsafe would just be zip tie the head strap to my mask strap. Eventually I would want to find a mask that would work with it though. My Oceanic is frameless so there's really nothing good to mount it to on that one. Yes and not only that the skirt needs to be attached to the front, not the sides of the frame. But not all masks are like this. Another good options is a small lanyard you can attach to your mask strap. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 16:48
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SgtScruffy posted:I'll probably end up just going down that road. I figured that if I could get the screw out somehow, maybe I could just email GoPro and ask them if they have any spares lying around, or if its a standard-size screw at all well, when you said "stripped" I assumed that the plastic threads were stripped from the housing. Meaning even if you got the screw out, another screw in its place would simply slip in and not have anything to bite.
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Mar 16, 2012 21:34
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blackguy32 posted:Have you ever been diving in murky water before? That always creeps me out when you look underwater and can only see 5 feet in front of you. Super low visibility is fun! Most people I know hate the poo poo out of it, especially freedivers. But ive just learned to accept it for what it is. It makes navigating the reefs here an absolute bitch, because there are often 30-40 foot gaps between patches of reef. But I think its kinda cool to just look down and see nothing. Anyone ever dive in deep water, like 400-600 feet? That is pretty freaky. You can see for a long while in every direction, but its just a glowing blue. Ive done some 30-60ft freedives spearfishing for mahi and its a pretty crazy experience.
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Mar 17, 2012 02:36
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SgtScruffy posted:I think that, once I get the screw out of there, it should be fine. The issue is that the top is stripped, so I can't get it out. Most things I've seen regarding how to remove a stripped screw involve power tools and lots of pressure, but when dealing with a waterproof plastic camera housing, specifically the thin part with the lens housing, and screws that are like a millimeter tall, that's probably not an option. I get what your issue is now(the head is stripped not the threads). To get that little ittybitty screw out without damaging the plastic ring sounds nearly impossible. If I was in your position I would probably attempt to delicately dremel a slot into the head of the screw. But this would more then likely just mean the end of the plastic ring, which im sure is replaceable, but not readily.
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Mar 20, 2012 19:05
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SgtScruffy posted:As someone who is considering doing a DM internship there, what's the level of "hey intern, clean the toilets in the store and be our bitch" to "live out your dream of just waking up and diving every day in a tropical paradise"? If someone told me I could work out some kind of deal where I could scurb toilets and be someones bitch during the night. In exchange for diving everyday, and a little bit of food and water. Id say: where do I sign up?
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Mar 23, 2012 21:35
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macado posted:Awesome pics. Do you find the double hose to be more comfortable? Im guessing the bubbles behind you are pretty nice. That plastic backplate brings back some awesome memories haha. Is it usdivers? My dad taught me how to scuba dive on one of those and an old single hose us divers reg when I was a kid. No bc or spg. I prefer my gear a little more complex now, but I love me some bp/w and harness. edit* meant us divers not scubapro IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Mar 27, 2012 |
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Mar 27, 2012 01:36
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Wouldnt it maybe be better to get your cert before and not during the trip? Even if it meant certified in a dirty quarry somewhere. Not only will you probably receive better more personal instruction in a smaller non-vacation class setting, but you will have more time to focus on the incredible destination when you are there. Im with everyone else on the whole DIR thing. Lots of stuff that seems like everyone could benefit from ( hogartharian like rig, having non horrible trim, doing things alike with your buddies, sticking with your buddy, knowing how to fin) but too many practitioners take it to an all or nothing extreme that turns people off. Especially if you are in 30 feet of open water and not a cave. I mean, isnt that one of the core concepts of "DIR" that the complete system itself is most important and youre either 100% "DIR" or youre doing it wrong. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 13:18 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 28, 2012 12:34
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Nthing the gently caress that poo poo. Ive heard a number of crazy things about 02 bottles as well. Like that guy in st pete who more then likely dropped a bottle on the way to the car. Of course its probably a tiny tiny fraction of diving accidents, but its a fraction id rather stay very far away from. Gonna go un-deep un-tech diving this Sunday. 30-60 feet freediving and some scuba probably. It should be a pretty good time, the wind has been blowing right so the viz should be good.
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Mar 31, 2012 04:06
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Bishop posted:This poo poo is absolutely not something you need to worry about when doing normal diving. Yes, this is a good thing to point out. It seems the media never gets that one right when 02 bottles explode. They always call them "scuba tanks" causing people to ask me if im worried about my air tanks exploding. Scuba tanks are only filled "air" which is 21% oxygen 79% nitrogen oxygen and cant explode. Just like earf. What O2% was that reg rated for? IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Mar 31, 2012 |
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Mar 31, 2012 13:15
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Yall a bunch of snorkel haterz. Of course as a freediver I love snorkels, I have a nice collection going. But they are all just simple J's because those are the best and purges and floats and ballvalves and whatever suck and are gimmicks. Although, purges are great if you like drinking seawater. My favorite for diving in big seas is the cressi california. And the best foldup is a rolled up cressi corsica. Speaking of caves have you guys ever read Sheck Exley's Caverns measureless to man? I did and holy poo poo is it an awesome/crazy book. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Apr 3, 2012 |
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Apr 3, 2012 23:10
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Ill be diving every chance I get this summer mostly in broward with a few trips to the keys and the west coast of florida. Probably mostly freediving. But some hookah and scuba here and there. May first is the Atlantic grouper season opener, trying to make it down to Elliot Key the first weekend of may to get some nice opening weekend grouper sandwiches. Will also be hitting the deeper wrecks and grouper holes up here in broward. July 25th and 26th is lobster mini season. Per family tradition I will be going down to big pine key for both days to catch lobster and have fun. Rockcity, do you have any more info about the shark-tooth diving? I am super interested in getting some megaldon teeth sometime soon. IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Apr 11, 2012 15:17
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rockcity posted:Does anyone have any dive light recommendations? I'm going to be taking a cavern class soon and my buddy who is going to be the instructor told me I should get three lights, two smaller clip on style lights and one brighter wrist mounted one. I've only used a couple lights before, one was a pistol style light I used over a decade ago for general night dive use and the other was a small Intova that I borrowed from said instructor buddy for diving through a hole in a reef. I do know that many people prefer clip on lights of the twist on style vs the switched style because of the durability and simplicity of the twist ones. Wind and waves have been absolute poo poo here too. Atleast on days im not working. Was trying to go down to the keys for a weekend filled with birthday diving, but now the forecast is calling for crap conditions cause of the front.  SlicerDicer, I think I have the same reaction to your re-breather stories as non aquatic people do to my freediving stories.  
IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 12:23 on May 9, 2012 |
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May 9, 2012 12:01
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Crunkjuice posted:Yeah, in good vis you don't need a cutting beal. Still, the more powerful the light, the brighter the wide beam will be. That things looks pretty rad. I need something with a small cutting beam for bad viz and looking in holes deep holes. I just bought a new dinky led light and its usuless with a too-wide wide beam. Is the beam on that light you posted thin?
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May 9, 2012 22:42
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SlicerDicer posted:Well I am reading of massive helium shortages.. Can anybody confirm? I am going to make some calls tonight People are quickly using up all the helium we have on earth. Any shortages we see now are just early indicators of our bleak heliumless future.
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May 23, 2012 13:14
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jackyl posted:Underwater photography is hard, I believe. I do know for a fact, though, that it is even harder when you are a rank rear end amateur with 12 dives since your open water certification and you are using a point and shoot in a case. But, gently caress that, its still fun! Cool pics. Welcome to your new money drain/obsession. A quick and dirty secret I personally love for badly lit underwater photos is using the "auto tone" option in photoshop. It really un-does a lot of the blue filtering you get. I did it to two of your photos as an example.  
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May 30, 2012 23:31
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20Two posted:Just found this thread.... Sweet Pursuit fins - I've bought some gear from Dan but haven't pulled the trigger on the carbon fibers yet. I'm still a spearfishing rookie, so the $$ has been better spent on other gear. Awesome! Dan's the man. Ive bought most of my gear from him for a while. He sells no nonsense spearfishing gear for the best price he can. Do you live down here in FL or are you coming down for vacation? The carbon fins are definitely a few bucks, but I wouldnt trade them for the world. Plastic long fins like gara3000's are pretty good as well. But A good pair of fins is probably the #1 most important piece of gear if you ask me. The easier it is to swim, the deeper and longer you dive, the more fish you see. Im familiar with the big pine area but more so for lobstering and more so the bridges of spanish harbour and bahia honda then anything else. I lobster dive there every year but usually spear further north. I think Ive got some numbers I can pull off my GPS so I will take a look. A big easy one is the island just southeast of bahia honda park. Ive heard it called "hog island" by some and shot a few nice ones there in shallow waters around the island. The pilings in those bridges I mentioned have some serious grey snapper honeyholes aswell (spanish harbour esp) under some of the really ledgy pilings. But be careful of strong currents and sharks though. You can only dive it at slack tides easily. If the viz is right drifting and towing in a depth youre comfortable at can pay off hugely. You can find nice patch reefs, coral heads holding big groupers etc by just looking around and keeping your face in the water. How long are you gonna be down there spearfishing? Heres some video I shot a few weeks ago. Went to elliot key with the family and did some real shallow spearing. Got A nice hog and two nice groupers. They were eaten that night with the hog cooked whole and they tasted absolutely exquisite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzpzhW8Wjms And some cool footage I shot scouting for dolphin during a fishing tournament under weedlines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAzzSRrJES4 IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Jun 11, 2012 |
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Jun 10, 2012 00:09
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MA-Horus posted:Would you guys suggest DAN insurance? It seems like a pretty good deal, 75 bucks a year or so. I borrowed a friend's PADI "Adventures in Diving" textbook and started reading up on the deep water diving...I'll admit it has me a little spooked. 1000 yes's if you do any kind of diving pretty much.
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Jun 18, 2012 01:32
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jackyl posted:Yeah, I have a few pictures of lionfish too and keep wondering if I should kill them instead of photographing them. Or maybe both? If you have the means, always kill every one you see. Its not gonna help a ton. But its better then nothing. If its decent size, keep it and eat it. Bring some shears to cut the spines off in the water. They make delicious civiche and fried invasive nuggets. Dont get stabbed. Its way worse then jelly/manowar/firecoral/bristleworm So many have been killed here I barely see them at recreation depths anymore. Too bad there is billions in 200+ feet
IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jul 16, 2012 |
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Jul 16, 2012 01:09
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Gonna be going down to the keys (staying in big pine) for Lobster Mini Season. Tue-Friday. To say I am excited would be a huge understatement.
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Jul 18, 2012 16:29
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When I am having some trouble with one of my ears I find that swallowing while doing a regular Valsalva (pinch and blow) works really well. Another big mistake people make is going a little too deep without equalizing. Once you go to deep you're already messing stuff up and making it harder to equalize. Going up will undo it to a certain degree, but your ears wont be like if you had dont it right the first time. Its a downward sprial of ear sadness. If you cant equalize dont force it though.
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Jul 21, 2012 14:13
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rockcity posted:Heading out with Silent World in Key Largo for a wreck/reef dive in a few minutes. I'll be bringing my gopro and my still camera with me so I hope to come back with some cool photos and footage. I'll be diving the Vandenberg in Key West on Saturday too and snorkeling Christ of the Abyss tomorrow. Christ of the Abyss should be nicknamed fire coral capital of the keys. Be careful its everywhere. Last time I was there watching people take pictures with the statue was like a fire coral lesson comedy hour. Also, if you haven't been to pennecamp be prepared for some incredible reefs.
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Aug 2, 2012 16:44
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Best mask defog tech is burning the lens with a lighter until its covered in soot and then cleaning off. Same thing ad toothpaste only way more effective. I have a gopro. With the addition of the dive housing its a really great camera esp the new one. They are much better suited for video then stills. Although the new one is better at both. But IMHO the gopro is the best bang for you buck for underwater photography.
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Oct 8, 2012 18:40
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Bishop posted:
Yeah I only did this after the toothpaste thing failed to defog a mask I had. This fixed it right up. You've gotta be mindful of the silicone and the temp of the glass. But I've never melted a mask and I'm pretty stupid. As you burn the glass the lens will heat up, so make sure you put it under a faucet or something and also switch between lenses and sides of the lens often, and don't ever apply flame directly to the edges, just get close. Keep working it until its black as poo poo, give it a good rubbing with a finger, and then rinse with water. Boom you have a mask that defogs with a tiny bit of spit. Another defog secret for newbie divers. One of the most important things to a defogged mask is ensuring your face is the temperature of the water. Usually your face heats up on the boat and steams you're mask up. Cool your face down with or in the water before you don your mask and it will be perfect. Freediving I equalize probably 200-300 times a day upside-down when I dive. I can mostly equalize hands free but I still need to use my hands for the first 10 feet or so. Its def important to equalize soon and often at first. Further passed the point of correct equalization the more trouble you will have equalizing. When using my hands I don't do a Valsavla Maneuver (pinch and blow) I do whats called a Frenzel Maneuver. It consists of pinching your nose but instead of blowing closing off your throat with air in your mouth and swallowing. Try it out it may work better for you. The worst part about diving is figuring out diving related things to do when the weather and viz sucks. Just finished this thing up. 
IM FROM THE FUTURE fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Oct 15, 2012 |
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Oct 15, 2012 12:39
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