Spearfishing/Freediving Alone?

[octpora]

Originally Posted by 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.

True, true. And your family, friends deserve to know where you are. Just saying don't be under any illusions about the proverbial bus waiting for you to jaywalk the street. As the death of some spearos suggests, if your buddy is out of reach to help you, even by a 100 yards, could be an unnecessary bye-bye

But i dont have to worry about it cause nobody loves me anyway

[Panthalassia]

Originally Posted by octpora

But i dont have to worry about it cause nobody loves me anyway

We love you octpora
Was that too forward?

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by Panthalassia

Was that too forward?

Not necessarily but it is classed as a marriage proposal on DB, so when's the wedding?

[Panthalassia]

Originally Posted by Pastor

Not necessarily but it is classed as a marriage proposal on DB, so when's the wedding?

Well, the girlfriend is starting to bore me anyway, so why not? But I'm poor so there will be no diamond ring, and he's gotta pay the wedding expenses. Unless we start a charitable campaign on DB...

Notice, I used the royal "we" in the previous post. I was hoping someone would follow my lead...guess I shot myself in the foot with that one

[octpora]

I'm just looking for a freind. Don't get so frisky baby

[Pastor]

For me spearfishing alone is one of life's great pleasures, OK it's fun to go out with your mates on the boat but even then we tend to hunt well over 100 metres apart. I think in bad vis it can be difficult to use a buddy system. For example when diving in 1.5m vis at a depth of say 5m can you really know where your buddy is? You can't see each other, if a fish swims overhead can you know for sure you wont hit your buddy? Just an example of a difficulty but it shows that diving with a buddy is not an answer in itself even if you are sharing one gun.

[tuffstuff]

even if I dive with a buddy we usually stay far away from eachother the buddy thing really pisses me off when I have a kid swim infront of me and shoot the fish as I line up on it.If it wasnt my friends little brother I probably would have shot him.So the buddy system is a good idea but there has to be limits and you have to be comfortable with your buddy.

[Agar4Life]

I think a good rapport with the buddy is neccessary. A buddy with no communication is more likely to make things worse than better.

[Panthalassia]

Originally Posted by Pastor

For me spearfishing alone is one of life's great pleasures, OK it's fun to go out with your mates on the boat but even then we tend to hunt well over 100 metres apart. I think in bad vis it can be difficult to use a buddy system. For example when diving in 1.5m vis at a depth of say 5m can you really know where your buddy is? You can't see each other, if a fish swims overhead can you know for sure you wont hit your buddy? Just an example of a difficulty but it shows that diving with a buddy is not an answer in itself even if you are sharing one gun.

Agreed, the buddy system is not the answer to everything and there are certain conditions under which you can probably get away without it (safely). In very poor vis, undoubtedly it can even be dangerous to have someone diving up and down next to you .
Important in that case NOT to shoot at anything that moves, or anything with a heart beat. I too have gone without a buddy from time to time in the shallows, and for dives to 5-10m depth I think that's reasonable. But once you start leaving the shallows and pushing yourself in the slightest, it just doesn't seem worth it to me. Also it seems to me that as annoying as poor vis buddy diving can be, that may be one of those situation where it is even more crucial since it may be easier to get stuck or tangled in stuff at the bottom when you can't see well.
Perhaps I'm not as dedicated or fanatical about it, or maybe I've been spoiled by having a really good buddy in the past (past tense...he lives in South Korea now...). Communication and patience are everything in the buddy system. Lack of either can spoil a spearing session and even a life. I also enjoy being able to share a great day on the water and good stories with a friend.

[MARMIR]

Originally Posted by 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.

.....Hei Panthalassia, I hv just noticed that your reply was directed to me....
1) Probabily is just a matter of the spot you are fishing.....here, if you want a chance to hole up a sardine you have to go spearing during the week and it's not easy to find a buddy who can take a day off when I wish to go spearing...so either you go spearing this way or you are not a spearo....

2) Most of Spearos think that the deeper you go the more chances you have to be successful jeopardizing their lives....There are spearo who won the national championship by fishing within 10 mts and some other who
spear within 6 mts with an average apnea of 40 seconds and they often rank among the best.....I still remember when I started 20 years ago I went spearfishing with a very experienced guy in a spot where water was as deep as 10 mts....one hour later he showed off three breams and
an enourmous eel lined up....usless to say that I got nothing....so I told him "how about swaping the area?" he replied "why not"...
at the end of the day he fished one more eel and two morays, while I did not chact a fish, but the most frustrating thing was that I had not even
seen them......
3) Statistics evidence that people who die are people who go deeper, people perhaps experienced but who constantly reach their limits, spearos without reels who stay at the bottom trying to take the hit eel with the shaft out of the rift.......
What I want to say is that is our passion can be well practiced by improving the way to search, understanding fish habits etc etc....
I'm not interested on going as deep as 40/50 meters...if you follow
few simple rules you'll never find yourself in danger.....

As far as your unhappy sentence is concerned " If they valued a fish more than your life" I would say " for a small brem probabily not.....but for a 80kgs tuna....you are dead man!!!

[octpora]

As far as your unhappy sentence is concerned " If they valued a fish more than your life" I would say " for a small brem probabily not.....but for a 80kgs tuna....you are dead man!!!
[/quote]

I might even punch my brother for a good tunasalad sandwich

[Panthalassia]

Originally Posted by octpora

As far as your unhappy sentence is concerned " If they valued a fish more than your life" I would say " for a small brem probabily not.....but for a 80kgs tuna....you are dead man!!!

I might even punch my brother for a good tunasalad sandwich[/quote]

Ha ha, you're killing me Octpora. OK, since my life ain't worth that much anyway, I can understand the tuna being more important. Mmmmhh, I could eat some sashimi right about now! Tell you what though. If it's just tuna salad that makes you happy, let me know BEFORE the dive, and I'll whip some up for you. Then I can dive confidently knowing you're not taking off chasing tupperware full of "chicken of the sea"...

With respect to previous posts, it really was not meant to be directed to anyone in particular. I completely understand that there are extenuating circumstances and that sometimes we do what we must in order to "put some food on the table". I was just surprised by some of the posts that almost sounded flat out against the buddy system, or did not seem to employ it in a very meaningful fashion. Let me clear the air right now by saying that I am neither judging nor preaching.

Re: diving deep, I'm not the one you need to convince. You won't find me diving very deep. I'm not that capable a freediver. I will say however that back home (Greece), there aren't as many fish left in the water as there are here in Florida so sometimes you won't find much of anything until you head a little deeper. Or perhaps I'm just bad at finding them...certainly a possibility...

[hyeparis]

Originally Posted by Pastor

For me spearfishing alone is one of life's great pleasures, OK it's fun to go out with your mates on the boat but even then we tend to hunt well over 100 metres apart. I think in bad vis it can be difficult to use a buddy system. For example when diving in 1.5m vis at a depth of say 5m can you really know where your buddy is? You can't see each other, if a fish swims overhead can you know for sure you wont hit your buddy? Just an example of a difficulty but it shows that diving with a buddy is not an answer in itself even if you are sharing one gun.

I agree. As I noted earlier, some folks have accidentally shot others' fins in Russia, thinking that these were catfish, because of low visibility and one guy shot another's thigh thru. We stay away from each other with my buddy to avoid this when spearfishing in murky waters. But I would prefer someone to hang around 100 meters or so away from me - it helps me to stay calm and affects positively my breath hold

[MARMIR]

Phantalassia,
....I did not mean to "sound flat out" as you said....if I did it I apologize.... but you know this is the usual misunderstanding when you chat at the computer......you can easily get someone wrong....anyway NOW I'm really UPSET for what you wrote:
"In Greece there aren't many fish left in the water"????????????????????
ARE YOU PULLING OUR LEGS?????????
Have you ever speared in Liguria?????? (The closest sea from my home 150Kms)
... in a sea full of grubby oil?????? If you ever happen to drink a drop of that "water" you'll puke as it taste so bitter......once you are back home you will realize that
your diving suit, gun,fins will stink of petrol station forever........and how about if I decide to go to the lake?????? it's even worse as the water is polluted by the local drain....and YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT THERE ARE NO FISH IN GREECE?????????
There are spearos in this forum who strain their back to catch a small fish...don't you know that?????????
Have you ever seen HEYPARIS' videos full of joy for instance???????? Diving in mulky dirty water like that????and when all of the sudden the camera crash against a poor scratched fish you ear an alarm kinda nuclear central calling for an imminent evaquation and you have got the feeling that if this guy get closer he will be exposed to radiation......??????
and you are saying there are no fish left in a paradise like Greece???????
YOU SHOULD BE ASHEMED OF YOURSELF!!!!!!
....just kidding.....have a nice day

[spaghetti]

Marmir, where do you live? Are you italian by any chance?