Posts by O2 deprived

competitive freedivers do not use bi-fins anymore- all use monos when doing the comp. deep dive then put on bi-fins( c4's or whatever they prefer) to safety/film other divers .We spend a lot more time in the water than that one dive because we love the ocean as you do.
My students usually start out with bi-fins because that is what they have then quickly move up to the more efficient ( and expensive:angry5:) mono.
IMO- PFI and FII recommend Waterway plastic fins because of their arrangement( selling product) with that manufacturer and he does not make carbon blades.
Here is a photo of new ( in testing stages) HUGE carbon mono made in Greece

Dan; I will be testing some new carbon blades and I should try the Pursuits. We could recommend them for the safety divers and competitors to use when not deep diving.

BTW: your thoughts about competitive divers are totally wrong.We will talk about this some other time

Quote from smilinmatt

Like Rolo said, I use it to make sure I maintain a minimum surface interval, not as an indicator on when to dive. At least double the dive time for less than 80', and 8:00 for more than 80'. I always felt "antsy" on deeper spots waiting 8:00, but I recently went diving with someone that's been bent multiple times while freediving. That helps put the surface interval into perspective.

"bent" really? Are you sure they didn't just have a squeeze or edema? It is not very common to get any sort of dcs when doing shallow dives( less than 100ft) no matter what the interval is when freediving. You may feel the co2 build up ( hypercapnia) but you shouldn't be getting any bubbles . The risk for repeated dives with inadequate breathe-up is more often black-out from over exertion but maybe some people do get bent- I just haven't seen it.
We've been ultra-sound tested by a researcher from DAN after numerous dives and no one showed any signs of bubbles.Of course, International Freediving( AIDA) has guidelines for deeper dives ( 100m +) which are much more vulnerable to problems.
You are right to double your surface time-always a good idea for a full recovery before doing another dive.

I don't think a gauge is necessary for spearfishing but it is useful and fun. If you have the computer interface cable you can download the days dives and analyze the history. It tells you how many dives you did, how deep, time of dive, ascent and descent rate bottom time, etc. On pathetic days; we will see that we did 50 dives and didn't even see a fish :confused1: or you can track exactly at what depth the fish were, the water temp, time of day it was..
For analytical type personalities; this is an enjoyable thing to have to record all this info. You can also evaluate your dive skills and conditioning.

Stig is an interesting and fun guy. This is his website. All about breath hold.
http://breatheology.com

Quote from LunkerBuster

Breath of fire. Yoga rules

that's from Kundalini yoga-- good practice for breath hold. Sara Campbell, women's world record holder for depth,is a Kundalini instructor-- obviously works well for her . she dives to 100m and she is a petite little blond.

Quote from Don Paul

Thank you Carla for your contribution here and Congret's to your position at AIDA.:thumbsup2:

Cheers, Don

Thanks DonPaul!
We have a lot of work to do at Aida but we are getting there! World championships coming up this year in the Mediterranean. Should be fun.
I'll start you training with me on hypercapnic tables. Much more productive than hypoxic training.

it really is more of a mental thing than most people realize. It requires a lot of relaxation . Practice will help you learn to relax and burn less oxygen it will also help you learn how to relax thru the inherent tension that comes with the breath hold- ie; contractions. You can practice dry statics or pool training. Pool training is hard mentally because you know you can breathe whenever you want. It takes mental fortitude to conquer the premature urge to breathe. You must do this with a buddy and only in the pool, not in the ocean ,where there are too many factors you cannot control. Ultimately, pool training will help your diving for breath hold and conditioning.

I was wearing low-profile racing goggles last week and dove to 18m without a problem. I usually have to equalize a mask at about 23m. Maybe this guy was still in a depth where he could handle the goggles.Next time I go out ,I will do a test with the racing goggles and see where the pressure becomes evident.
For real depth dives ; I wear fluid goggles but it would be interesting to test regular goggles.

Quote from Don Paul

Carla are you able to do any pool training come fall ? I need to start reversing my aging process .

Cheers, Don

sure , I will be traveling a lot in September- October ; World Championships in Greece (depth) and Italy ( pool )but contact me when you are ready I'll be around !

Quote from Dan

Bingo!

Not putting you on the spot Byron, according to the information you received from the instructors, what specifically is required from a "workout fin" that the waterway blades provide?

Dan.
Byron uses the Nemo ( waterway) for workouts for the best power but they are too tight and uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time ( spearfishing). The recommended size is smaller (for the best power) than what he would normally use and thus uncomfortable for longer wearings. Pro freedivers put their competition fin on for one dive then take it off. We wear comfortable fins to spearfish or safety other divers.
I think it is best to get fins that are comfortable for all use. Footpockets that don't cramp your feet and a blade that suits your purpose and kick style.
Carbon blades are great for performance but if you are a little careless or do a lot of rock / reef diving they are more fragile.
Fins like masks,wetsuits, etc are not a one type suits all item.

Quote from twentytwomonk

I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say about training. I'm trying to go into the course with an open mind and not be the guy that thinks I already know how to do it, but anything else I can take in, I most certainly will.

I train with William Trubridge who is the ultimate researcher of freedive training.
The latest theory is to train to build up your co2 tolerance. You do lots of sets on short intervals. Your dive/swim time needs to be longer than your rest time,. Send me a pm for a detailed description.

I'm just saying it's too bad they were fished out . I think it's great that they are coming back due to the protection. Nothing better than having them come up and check you out when you are diving.
Sorry it upset you, Don. that was not the intention-- I am way more of an enviro-freak as you well know!
I am one of a very few 4th generation coastal Californians- the changes we have seen here are horrendous- oh the stories my Dad tells of the Channel Islands.
I took the pic off. - BTW-don't ever go to Blue Water grill.

Quote from sdeisen

just to chime in a buddy of mine with florida institute of technology is in vero doin his grad work raising cobia and spent the summer in PR working with mariculturing tuna.. he claims theyre making great strides,, and this is my surf partner in cocoa beach from the time we were youngins and my wingman all through hiighschool,,so im kinda inclined to believe him.. hes also a major skeptic when it comes to envvironmental issues which makes me further believe him.

p.s hes a horrible spearfisher though.. haus witnessed it

:laughing3:
yes- we have had huge success here in California raising our highly sought after, white sea bass.I've done some volunteering at the hatchery. It hasn't helped me shoot one, though

I sincerely hope we can work all these sustainability issues out so we can continue to eat and hunt fish. In the meantime, we need to be responsible ambassadors for our sport and take species with strong populations and eat what we kill.

Quote from Don Paul

I try to stay in above average condition by mountain biking, anaerobic walking ( in a safe place) freediving,and some hatha yoga for relaxation. I believe as long as long one has good genes, and eats well, exercise can be the fountain of youth.

I look forward to training and spearfishing with you when our schedules permit, there is much I can learn
from a champion swimmer and diver.

Cheers, Don

same here Don- you can teach me how to get fish in this horrible viz and cold. I have never shot anything here!
I am so spoiled by the warm clear water in Mex, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean( was there 4 months ), but the 80 lbs of yft I brought back from East Cape is gone! I've got to man-up and get some fish!
I am going to Cat. to work with some of the young guys this week. We are going to do some drops and work on entries,breath hold, stealthy dive technique.Doubt I will have a chance to try to tag a calico but you never know.

Quote from cww

Don ok I get it now lol, in the military (USMC) environment its an acronym for Temporary Assiged Duty. Ok now on a serious note does anyone know what qualifies one to be healthy to take this course?

just an Ok from your Dr. blood pressure, heart rate, breathing- normal stuff. It really isn't that difficult. No course will force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable-- at least none that I know of. You can hold your breath for as long as you want or not- dive to max depth or not. It is not a contest. Don't worry about it. It really is a nice experience for all divers.
BTW- I have no association with any of these course groups- not an advertisement just my student experience.

Quote from Don Paul

[quote='hau','http://spearfishing.world/forums/index.php?thread/&postID=18012#post18012']black1---Congratulations:thumbsup2:
Outstanding freediving
Be safe

[I'm with LB. Someday I'll be able to take the course.]

BTW Is there an age limit for Level 2? I'm 58 last week.

Happy Birthday Hau.

Cheers, Don

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Hey Don,
why don't you come down to the Blue Hole and as a present to yourself, dive your age- 58m? or PFI has a class in Cayman where you can dive that deep. Most of the other classes aren't set up for those depths.Cayman is nice but you can't hunt there unless you are a local with ancient equipment.;)

I just know that the Blue Fin tuna population is on the verge of collapse due to over-fishing. This did not happen because of any of us shooting a prize fish but we have to let what few remain breed and multiply.The Japanese consume the largest percentage of bluefin
I try to follow the guidelines of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
http://www.montereybayaquarium…=JTRsYWKpW4l0iwjBtDO4Nw==
you can get the list from this site. Some of the fish are 'red listed' due to their mercury content and/or the way they are caught( longline). When I buy fish I look for country of origin( good fishing practices) , harpooned swordfish rather than longlined ,shrimp caught without killing turtles etc.
Environmentally, fish farming only works in some species thus far ( tilapia, catfish,steelhead). Many farming practices( salmon) infect the wild population with disease and inferior genetics.Those tuna pens have not been successful. I think in time we will work these things out- at least I hope so.

Quote from Don Paul

[quote='hau','http://spearfishing.world/forums/index.php?thread/&postID=18012#post18012']black1---Congratulations:thumbsup2:
Outstanding freediving
Be safe

[I'm with LB. Someday I'll be able to take the course.]

BTW Is there an age limit for Level 2? I'm 58 last week.

Happy Birthday Hau.

Cheers, Don

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No age limit ,just have to be healthy.
It's a lot of fun and you can see how deep you really can dive. These guys are right- it is not necessary but if they actually took a course they would be better divers having done so.I find it interesting that those who have not taken a course are the first to criticize. What do they know? Darryl Wong took the course and he found it beneficial- not exactly an inexperienced diver.
I ascribe to a different philosophy in regards to freediving than PFI or FII but for spearfishing it is a fun way to learn some great stuff. I don't think you would regret it.

Lunker-
the GWS seem to be loving it. This is one of the areas they have been hangin'. Of course, that means that the fish are coming back . I like the idea of making companies that ruin the environment being required to restore and maintain it.

hope this trend continues

http://www.signonsandiego.com/…tificial-reef-grows-wild/