Posts by pantoja

  • If your dive buddy doesn't surface

    behslayer,i do not agree with you. in your friend's davo case. i think that having a float line and float would have made the difference. second. you guys looked for him for what amount of time? there is a difference in not seeing someone surface and not finding someone when picking up at the end of the day or whatever. the way i see it . if you guys would have used the float line system in a situation like that (strong currents, bunch of people in the water etc) davo wouldn't have had that kind of trouble. the current here is not that hard and still i can't stand 3 or 4 people in the water , all spread around to their own fate. so, in that situation , given the choice. i would have kept a capt in the boat looking ahead of current, and the rest in the water for 15 minutes. after that, it's useless. remember i talked about the first 5 minutes. so , to give you the benefit of the doubt i say 15 minutes. but, anytime after that it's 911 , or rescue team effort. so, that being said , this event about davo does not , in any case , assure that the step to follow is to forget about a quick rescue by the buddy divers and call for 911 or coast guard rescue. my 2 c.

  • If your dive buddy doesn't surface

    In Cuba we don't have a 911. the one thing we do is to do the job ourselves . when we know someone is missing we try to find him. we do not swim to shore to find help. If this person is not found, then we look for help. The first 5 minutes are crucial. Meaning that if this person is not found in the first 5 minutes, then is dead for sure and then you can look for help to find the body, not the person. For that reason, I've been meaning to say, knowing that I'll be criticized like Dan was. that i would have thrown the anchor then jumped in the water, and if I hadn't found the person, then I'd call 911. My point is not to criticize, but to set an idea or whatever you want to call it, so that next time we can do better to assist. In this kind of situation you can go down and either tie a rope to the hand or shoot it to save the person. You do not have to go down and bring him up with you because it can result in the death of both. So, i apologize if I unnerve anyone, but i understand why Dan asked the question. It's just about the first 5 minutes.

  • Nate died spearfishing, Sunday 6/8/2014

    In Cuba we don't have a 911. the one thing we do is to do the job ourselves . when we know someone is missing we try to find him. we do not swim to shore to find help. If this person is not found, then we look for help. The first 5 minutes are crucial. Meaning that if this person is not found in the first 5 minutes, then is dead for sure and then you can look for help to find the body, not the person. For that reason, I've been meaning to say, knowing that I'll be criticized like Dan was. that i would have thrown the anchor then jumped in the water, and if I hadn't found the person, then I'd call 911. My point is not to criticize, but to set an idea or whatever you want to call it, so that next time we can do better to assist. In this kind of situation you can go down and either tie a rope to the hand or shoot it to save the person. You do not have to go down and bring him up with you because it can result in the death of both. So, i apologize if I unnerve anyone, but i understand why Dan asked the question. It's just about the first 5 minutes.

  • Nate died spearfishing, Sunday 6/8/2014

    sad news. like Dan said. a couple times i've seen fish float from the bottom to the surface by themselves without being pulled by us. but in this case i'm more inclined to think that he had the fish , removed the shaft and just before hitting the surface , he lost consciousness.to my knowledge, most black out's happen at the surface or when the diver is about to surface. it appears that in Nate's case he did not have any warnings . I'd just say that we have to know our bodies, our limits and not to push it . that's why i don't like competitions or i don't like to spear with those who like to brag etc.
    i never met Nate , but all i heard was good things about him. R.I.P. let's all have a beer in his name tonite.

  • Speardiver C100 vs Deep Apnea 100 vs Moana Fins

    I have used Speardiver fins for a while. The deep apnea fins I used only once. Dan is my friend as well as Carlos and I wouldn't say anything I wouldn't say to either one of them. I like the Speardiver fins, and I don't see a reason to change. But the one time I found myself without fins on the boat I used a pair of Deep Apnea Alan brought and I felt very uncomfortable with them. I'm not very demanding when it comes to gear, but I can't say I liked the way deep apnea felt on my feet. They can be the best out there but still I felt I had to kick harder without getting where I wanted. Maybe it's just me or it's because I'm used to Speardiver fins. The fact is I like the Speardiver better.

  • Speargun accidents watch where you point it!

    Dan has a couple i think. he'll probably post them here later on. i shot myself in my head once , another time through my body, a long time ago i had another go in my hand ..... so i think it's good that this topic is brought to life so people know what can happen when stupid things are done. like yesterday for example, a friend loaded a gun while sitting on the back of the boat. that's exactly how i speared myself in the head....