Posts by ricksafer

  • How old is too old for spearfishing?

    In my view there's no such a thing as "too old" for enjoying the sport we have embraced for all our, in my case, quite long lives. It's a matter of physical, mental and emotial state :thumbsup2:
    Given a reasonably healthy physical condition, no medical "no-nos", as heart conditions,or any other really limiting condition it's perfectly possible to continue spearfishing and freediving "till death do us part" from our beloved sea :cool2:
    Of course, our exploits will be adapted to be compatible with our particular situation. No more "testosterone induced" pushing the limits, no more "show off", nobody to impress any more :crazy:
    Just a simple, safe and wonderful diving experience within the comfort zone having taken all safety measures and precautions more to the letter than when, not so long ago (in our minds...) we were both immortals and invincible :laughing:
    The baby boomer generation is still going strong after 65, myself a glorious 67, my lawyer a whooping 85 and he still goes spearfishing. I consider him the most impressive case of "geronto-diver" I've known.
    Depths will be shallower but not less attractive, apnea times will be shorter but no less fulfilling, catches may not be as numerous but they certainly will be as exciting! :thumbsup2:
    I'd love to get statistics on how many spear- freedivers over 65 are still active. I wouldn't be surprised to learn more about what I already know. We "oldies" might not do IT deeper, or Longer, but we still do it and enjoy it!
    Like I like to say: Today's 60's are yesterday's 40', on steroids!"
    I'm looking for peer's opinion, suggestions and comments. What particular care are they taking, how have they adapted their sorties, anecdotes, etc. Hope this new thread will incite my contemporaries, as you say, to participate.

  • Coming clean.

    Quote from Dan

    I'm sure a lot of you guys missed this because Rick edited his post. See post #11. Thanks Rick, that was interesting and it makes sense.


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    Very welcome Dan! Its always nice to be instrumental in a reality check and downgrading fake "icons" from time to time! A "DEEP-ception" like this warranted analysis, at the very minimum!

  • Coming clean.

    [
    Reality or a hypothetical case? Product of a vivid imagination or a real fact?
    This will be for our members of all opinions to discuss and arrive to their own conclusions. Isn't that what this Forum is all about?
    ---------------------------------------------


    Re: Coming clean.
    For obvious reasons and in order not to offend anyone's sensibility this tale is going to be told in a hypothetical fashion. Inquiring minds will have food for thoughts. Let's call it a "A Royal Tale of Deep Deception" PART 1


    In a hypothetical world it would go like this:


    "Once upon a time in a Planet called Oceanus there lived this vain Emperor, king and master of "all things diving". HE, in his infinite vanity and ego maniacal ways, just had to be the absolute number one, always, compulsively, no matter what it would take!


    In the beginning, HE had shined by his own legitimate luster, but as the years passed by and other thone seekers matched and surpassed him, his narcissism choke him.


    He then devised a very simple and yet effective ruse for assured success on each and every new record setting "attempt". Of course the Emperor KNEW HE had it in his pocket before hand, full proof... here's HOW.


    The royal chariot he used to plunge for assured ever deeper royal records :attempts" in his quest for ever lasting glory, his subjects acclaim, devotion and adoration was cleverly manipulated.
    He rigged it in such a way that he would be filmed by this video camera ALL the way DOWN, and ONLY on his way DOWN, after all he was an athlete and could hold his breath that long.


    Once arrived at the deepest part of the immersion, the royal chariot's upper part would then be released or separated by HIM from the bottom part which was the one that had the camera on. They would stay at the bottom, both the lower chariot section AND the camera.
    Therefore, the camera would only be able to film HIM during the very few seconds of the beginning of the ascent following such a release or detachment of the ascending part of the chariot.


    He had before personally rigged the ascending portion of the royal chariot making dammed sure the plastic HOSE that connected the "spare air" or "pony" air bottle used to inflate the royal balloon would NOT be secured inside the balloon.
    He needed it to be LOOSE, ACCESSIBLE and (most of all) RETRIEVABLE for his trickery and deceptive ways to work. HE has done so, so many times before .Not a glitch!


    He had even once punished one of his loyal servers when he tried to tie wrap it inside the balloon, precisely to avoid the risk of it coming loose. That didn't sit well with the Emperor, at all!
    "Don't ever touch anything!" He yelled at the helper who, at that time couldn't understand why! Later, I knew why!
    But the Emperor sure did.


    After releasing the inflatable balloon or ascending section of the rigged chariot he KNEW he had a minimum of 150 to 200 feet BEFORE encountering the second deepest safety diver.
    He would be ascending at first rather slowly, giving him more than plenty of time to execute his trick, all alone, all by himself, NO camera, NO witness. No one would be the wiser. He has confidence, you know the "practice makes perfect" kind of thing.


    He then, could easily with one hand PULL OUT the air gushing hose from inside the balloon and, while the other hand held to the ascending balloon, at his leisure, HE could inhale as many times as he wished from it. The Emperor had successfully done it many times before! He has mastered and fine tuned the deception. So easy to inhale from a medium pressure second stage regulator hose.


    The "blank or "dead" area from the deepest bottom safety diver he had left behind to the next one was free for the taking.All by himself... Those fool subjects and courtesans back at the surface will never know. How could them?


    Once the deception deed was done and once he had replenished his lungs many times with compressed air enriched by the partial pressure of the oxygen he would only have to again replace the air-giving-helping hose back INSIDE the balloon and PROGRESSIVELY EXHALE the excessive air from the ascent on his way up.


    The "illegal" surreptitiously originated expanding air bubbles would be masqueraded, merged into the massive "legal" bubbles coming of of the ascending balloon.
    By the time HE would meet the second deepest safety diver, the fraud was already done.
    "Fools", he thought.
    And in his altered egotistic state of mind he even remembered that he even had the audacity of doing the exact same thing, this time in public, when he did the same stunt (yes the Emperor loved stunts!) in Alligator Island or was it called Cayman Challenge?
    He had proved that one can inhale or breath compressed air at more than 200 meters! And safely surface. It was even on film.


    This last time it was even easier, it was only 163 meters, but enough to be NUMBER ONE AGAIN!!!


    Again he thought how HE had really always manipulated all those poor flattering, submissive and ignorant followers who would never know the Emperor's Reign was fake.
    An Emperor made of "bubbles".


    Keep posted or PART 2.0


    Now, to each one his own opinion. After all, this is only a tale of a hypothetical vain, self absorbed and conceited Emperor in a watery called Planet Oceanus. Or is t it?

  • Coming clean.

    Quote from Dan

    Rick has a flair for the dramatic :) Lets hope his memory is still good and he'll come back to finish the thread :D


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    You bet my dear Canadian friend! What life would be without drama? :D
    By the way my memory is good, my souvenirs are all screwed up!:thumbsup2:

  • Coming clean.

    Quote from ricksafer

    Coming soon:
    "Memoirs of an Insider". An expose on the tricks of the
    trade and little and not so little secrets in the free diving arena/spearfishing world.:nono: Skeletons from "underwater closets" right up to the surface.
    Stay tuned!


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    A detailed analysis of "potential" fraud and the "possibility" of cheating in the freediving specialty of "No Limits".
    Revelations in detail of what many suspected or imagined and some knew but no one dared to expose. "Whistle blowing" from the inside. Or just a theory?:confused2:
    Keep posted.
    A heavy conscience is hard to carry around living a suppressed lie.
    Why now?
    Reality or a hypothetical case? Product of a vivid imagination or a real fact?:crazy:
    This will be for our members of all opinions to discuss and arrive to their own conclusions. Isn't that what this Forum is all about?:stirpot:

  • Coming clean.

    Coming soon:
    "Memoirs of an Insider". An expose on the tricks of the
    trade and little and not so little secrets in the free diving arena/spearfishing world.:nono:Skeletons from "underwater closets" right up to the surface.
    Stay tuned!

  • I got to get me one of this! An underwater AKS machine gun!!!!!

    Man, I got to have one of these A.S.A.P.!:thumbsup2:
    Just what I need as my eyesight and underwater marksmanship recedes...!:angry5:


    Russian made APS Automatic underwater rifle or in Russian "Avtomat Podvodnyy Spetsialnyy (Автомат Подводный Специальный).


    WAY TO GO...COMRADES! Or is it now "associates?..what the heck.....:rolleyes1:


    Effective range 30 m at depth 5 m (98 ft at depth 16 ft)
    20 m at depth 20 m (66 ft at depth 66 ft)
    11 m at depth 40 m (36 ft at depth 131 ft)
    26 round Magazine


    That would certainly get me a few snappers, hogs and groupers here and there.;)


    Eat your hearts out! No more bands or compressed air for me..I'm going GUNG-HO!!!!:laughing3:

  • Shinny stuff on our guns, stickers and lures, why not?

    Sport as well as commercial fishermen do it. It's a standard item on every respectable line fishing paraphernalia. Why not us?:(


    The reflective tape on the gun in segments of 3 to 4 inches placed at gaps of the same measure I.M.H.O. helps break the contiguous silhouette of it.:crazy:


    Since long ago, in addition of a tandem of reflective, silvery little fish stickers on my rail gun (both rubber and alternative pneumatic) I have attached via a green mono-filament a Wilson brand, very realistic squid (big eye and everything!). With a small sinker in-line is keeps it just slightly negative.


    In the final approach phase of a hunting dive, I have come to notice that the wandering squid just in front of my gun distracts and in occasions attracts the unsuspecting prey.
    Quite a few Amber jacks have strayed from their original path and approach me to inspect. Big mistake!
    When I don't need it or to avoid entanglements when loading it just goes underneath the gun with a Velcro.


    I know... it's going to be said this is not new:boring1:, already posted,:frustrated2: so on and so forth...but what can I do?:rolleyes1:
    If flashers are often used on the float line trailing us, why not in front of us?:idea2:
    O.K. I'm ready, shoot away guys! :attack3:

  • Kolt's blackout

    Quote from Dan

    Not sure what you meant about silly Rick. We all take blackout seriously. This is why this vid is posted in the safety section of the forum.


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    I was just quoting the verbatim word of another poster in this Forum and also in a page in Facebook whereas the term "silly" was used and certainly NOT by me.
    I have always taken the blackout theme so seriously that I have indeed made it an imperative and crucial subject in my courses and even had invented and patented a device.
    To try to minimize or diminish the importance of the teaching in depth of the blackout processes in any respectable course is almost dabbling in a potential criminal negligence. Hence my objection of the use of the word "silly" when anyone refers to this all too often tragedy among us.
    Have I cleared up your question?

  • The Snorkel Controversy. Always in? or Out as we dive?


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    Rolo, you're "the man"!

  • The Snorkel Controversy. Always in? or Out as we dive?

    Just a point I would like to make:D


    Neither now nor ever before my postings in this Forums had any intention but to share, exchange, comprehend etc, different points of view and discern what's going on in others people's opinions;)


    Having said this, there's really no better way for each one but to do, in our diving exploits, what feels comfortable, right and logical as long as one's own safety, either in a real or imaginary way, is not compromised. Like the good old:"If it ain't broken..don't fix it!"
    Looks that the "out" has more adepts than the "in". Both techniques seem to have accomplished just fine for their respective practitioners. Good!


    I'll just keep my personal way of doing my diving. It has worked just fine for me as an individual as well as for the hundreds of people I had the opportunity to teach during my more than 40 years instructor life span.
    It is also shared by MOST other spear fishermen (I guess they just don't post...)that I know, at least in my surrounding spearfishing realm. That's South Florida:thumbsup2:.


    I also guess, like in most other things, there's always another side of the coin.:rolleyes1:
    I also believe it has definitely been shown in these posts there's no "water tight proof" or "solid rock evidence". That either way of is neither better nor worse.


    Having run out of explanations and personal opinions I now consider the particular theme exhausted at least for me.:boring1:
    I'll just will keep enjoying your comments.
    Thanks to all for your participation, which is in the end what mattersr to us all.:clap2:

  • The Snorkel Controversy. Always in? or Out as we dive?

    Your an instructor? for what may I ask without any disrespect.[/QUOTE]



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    Yes, I'm indeed...are you? No disrespect either here....


    When a diver arrives to the surface in a state such as described herein, all precursor conditions and physiological detonators (Hypercapnia/Hypoxia/Blood Acidosis/Lactic acid infusion/Vacuum effect/deficient blood supply (Bradycardia caused) and diverted away from the brain as hyperactive kicking legs are demanding it, etc, etc, etc. for the "samba" event are already in full deployment.
    "Samba" or rhythmical myo-clonus does NOT concur simultaneously with the "apnea breaking point" whereas the inhaling reflex would take place.
    The scenario presented in this reply post as the cause for a blackout is an over simplification of a complicated physiological event in which having or not a snorkel in the mouth is inconsequential.

  • The Snorkel Controversy. Always in? or Out as we dive?


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    Quote from Terry Mass'es book "Freediving":


    This message [snorkel causing airway to open] may not be true. While it is widely taught to spit your snorkel out, there is no evidence to support this practice. If you look at many of the freediver blackout reports you will see that there is an increased incidence of lung complications—meaning water into the lungs. About 20 years ago, when the majority dove with their snorkels continuously there were less reported lung complications, at least in my experience.


    I humbly concur.....

  • The Snorkel Controversy. Always in? or Out as we dive?

    Two separate opinions on this subject. Let the members give their input.
    First opinion. Snorkel out as the divers submerges.
    Argument:
    The diver will stick his head directly out of the water and inhale without clearing the snorkel first. Saves time. According to this, diver will not have to clear or blow into a water filled snorkel.

    Second opinion(Mine...)     .Snorkel always kept in place before, during and after every dive.:nono:
    Argument:
    Snorkel remains fixed in place during immersion,ascending and surface recuperation by mouth and second point of fixation (strap or clip). If loose will dangle and swivel underwater.
    Upon surfacing diver with snorkel can immediately and uninterruptedly assume horizontal recuperating position;)

    [] ALL WHILE KEEPING HIS VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE BOTTOM.[/U]


    Archimedes Principle working at its best. Duh.....!


    Body surface spread evenly, effortless flotation versus constant kicking for the necessary vertical position of a diver without snorkel in mouth.:crazy:


    If snorkel cleared by the "aspersion" method (blowing out a few inches before surface breaking) it will be dry and ready for immediate inhalation of air. This debunks the opposing argument.


    Uninterrupted permanent visual acquisition of object of interest (prey, gun, fleeing or wounded fish, etc.)


    If a Moderator would kindly set a POLL or survey we will know what the majority of us do. For the time being until this happens (if it does....):boring1:


    What do you do, are you a "IN" or a "OUT" kind of snorkeler...? Me, I'm all in......:laughing3:

  • Persistent Pneumatic question

    Quote from black1

    On Pipins pnuematic line what are those things on the gun half way up the barrel ? are those handles to help load the shaft better? was curious about those and all I can think is that they are a handle for leverage in loading the shafts, am I correct on this?


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    You've got it. It's called a loader.

  • South Florida Freedivers Competion Summer Breaker

    On Sunday the 24th. the South Florida Invitational Spearfishing Tournament was successfully held in spite of the rough seas conditions that could not damper the enthusiasm of the 23 registered teams.:yay:
    Only pelagic species were allowed into the competition resulting in a magnificent 40 pound Great Amberjack winning the largest fish award.
    In the Men's Team category the "Persistent" Team made of World Champion free diver Pipin Ferreras, Jorge Caba and Manuel Oses President of "Renegade" high performance boats as the Team's captain, won first place in total weight.:thumps:
    Their spearing time had to be halted almost three hours before the deadline of the competition due to special circumstances.:confused:
    The Persistent Team had to deliver their catch prematurely at the weighting station and yet this didn't interfere with them winning:eek:
    Here are couple of photos of the feisty award ceremony held at Scotty's Landing restaurant right on Coconut Grove Marina. A very nice occasion indeed with raffles, entertainment, etc. in a neat package.
    This spearfishing event fulfilled its role as the season's warm up to many more exciting free diving and spearfishing events.::D
    There was great expectation and commentaries among the participants on the approaching Persistent Team spearfishing Tournament on next June. It sure promises to be a very attracting event for many local as well as out of the sate team chivalrously competing for the biggest prizes ever awarded in any previous spearfishing competition in South Florida:thumps: