Spearfishing/Freediving Alone?

[PSagion88]

thanks for the feed back, however, me been 19 says that i'm all about taking chances, however, early this afternoon i went to try my fishing luck, but the water was a bit rough, so i decided not to get in, (i'm young not stupid).
But as i was driving back home i saw this dude on a bike with spearfishing gear hanging out all over the place, he looked familiar, and when i stop to ask him where was he heading to hunt, i realize that it was josh a fellow hunter i meet at a local dive store....

So we went on and try the water, but visibility was 0%, so we left...
End of the line is, I got a diving buddy... ME be HAPPY.

[octpora]

Are we letting someone know where and how long so they can retrieve the body?

[MARMIR]

Originally Posted by atomichaggis

Watching is exactly what a buddy should be doing and that does mean one dive on and one off.
many people also dive rigged as pairs, two divers on one line through connection on the float so only one can go down at a time and both are always connected unless one drops their lead.

yah Atomic, I must admit that we tried that thactic but few minutes later when I saw a big fish sticking into a small cave I forgot about my patner
and went on my own......I still think that a good device instead can really help you if you find yourself in a bad situation......

[deep thinker]

Good to hear you got a buddy mate, but this is actually quite a interesting discussion seeing that were all confessing so heres mine
To be quite honest, we do it pretty much the same as Erick. Theres allways more than one person in the water but we seldom hang on top while another is in the water. We or myself for that matter do wait till I see everyone diving with me coming up at least once before I go down again, just to make sure that they are still there. During December holiday Im normally in a place where Ill be almost the only spearo there so I dive on my own with the wife on the beach. When diving alone I dont dive deep neither do I go down for very long. I scan a area quickly and if I dont see anything go back up, or Ill use surface swimming to scout a likely spot or spot fish and then go down and investigate or just shoot from the top. This technique does have its setbacks but you are being saver. Also I wear a sharksheild and if a shark is spotted Ill get out imediately. I have a bodyboard float or bullet float to my gun with a flag on the bodyboard for crayfish season when the boaters go crazy.

[hyeparis]

I have read the posts and I agree fully that it iis of course much safer to dive with a buddy. But I personally can afford going to the sea once or twice a year and I take my family with me so I have no choice, but to do it alone during those vacations. Otherwise -for local sweet water trips - I l always go with my best friend who is also my spearfishing buddy. There is actually one disadvantage of doing it with a buddy in local rivers - they are sometimes so murky that you have to separate and stay away dozens of meters away behind a turn of the river from each other to avoid the risk of spearing each other's fins which look like catfish in murky water.

[atomichaggis]

Originally Posted by octpora

Are we letting someone know where and how long so they can retrieve the body?

so they know when you are missing and where to begin looking... like is best practice when on a boat trip or a mountain climb/walk etc.

[atomichaggis]

Originally Posted by MARMIR

yah Atomic, I must admit that we tried that thactic but few minutes later when I saw a big fish sticking into a small cave I forgot about my patner
and went on my own......I still think that a good device instead can really help you if you find yourself in a bad situation......

Yeah, everyone does it. All I'm saying is that if You want to use the buddy system properly to minimise the risk (some might... we prolly all should) then its a pain in the ass you just have to endure. just having someone in the water with you is not much use and sometimes hazardous.
If You did want to try one up one down and just need a push then the line arrangement I mentioned can stop you chasing fish when it ain't your turn.

There has been talk for ages of a freediving safety vest... no idea what has become of it til now... it may throw up problems of its own if it ever gets to the shops.

[Agar4Life]

What about, two spearos, one gun? That way you are forced to take turns, as it were. Not everyone's idea of a good method, but probably pretty safe.

[atomichaggis]

About as safe as it gets... just gotta agree on the gun.

[octpora]

Originally Posted by atomichaggis

so they know when you are missing and where to begin looking... like is best practice when on a boat trip or a mountain climb/walk etc.

Perhaps i should have used an emoticon smilie to denote the sick humor behind my question I say this because 1 brain death occurs relatively rapidly without o2 and the amount of time it takes your contact to realize the kaka may have hit the blower, mount an operation to retrieve, time to locate, usually = too long. 2 In August I fractured and sprained one of my legs while on a short solo hike in the hills. It was the longest 3/4 mile i have ever done to get back to camp and drive my sorry carcass to the emergency room at 1:00 am. Things get interesting fast when you think you are being good. I guess something is better than nothing as far as backup goes.

The buddy system really is an excellent plan, but only if it is used properly with another person actually knowing exactly where you are at. A vague idea of your general location is only an ok way.

[Panthalassia]

Excellent thread. Gotta admit, a little scary to hear how many people disregard the buddy system. Don't get me wrong, I love the water and a great day spearing is about as good a day as you can have, but is it worth your life? That is a question each person must answer for themselves.
Marwan, I have to say that if my buddy took off after a fish and completely deserted me, I'd be pissed. That completely defeats the purpose and would warrant reconsidering his/her status as my dive partner. I would be concerned if they valued a fish more than my life.

Absolutely agree with "nuclearhaggis" (I mean atomic haggis) though, that one up one down is the way to go if you're gonna employ the buddy system. Otherwise, what octopora said...it's just a handy carcass retrieval system...might as well shoot yourself in the foot and call it a day.

[atomichaggis]

Octpora,
I suggested the practice of notifying people of your whereabouts primarily to avoid situations where families are always left wondering... like the recent missing diver thread.
It would however be of use to a rescue if a diver got caught in a strong current or injured and couldn't make their way back. You would be glad You told someone when the chopper winches you off a rock in the middle of nowhere or from the shipping lanes! not every emergency is a drowning.

[island_sands]

Recently one of the Bahraini royals died spearfishing, he blacked out and there was no-one to help him, as they had all split up and were too far apart to realise he had pushed his dive too far.

Remember that there are not always signs or symptoms of blackout. A good life was wasted

[Marwan]

Originally Posted by Panthalassia

Marwan, I have to say that if my buddy took off after a fish and completely deserted me, I'd be pissed. That completely defeats the purpose and would warrant reconsidering his/her status as my dive partner. I would be concerned if they valued a fish more than my life.

absolutely agree, thats the system me and my buddy apply, one up one down, why am i under the impression that you might have misunderstood an earlier post of mine

[Panthalassia]

Originally Posted by Marwan

absolutely agree, thats the system me and my buddy apply, one up one down, why am i under the impression that you might have misunderstood an earlier post of mine

My apologies Marwan.
Either I misunderstood or was remembering someone else's comment.

Comment officially retracted.