Ab diving with Sven

[icarus pacific]

All you out there thinking you got skills with your 70 foot visibility and 70 F water...:hmm

One of the great things about getting active with the DB site is meeting equally great people. And until I do meet them, I make do with all of these folks. See, these two guys Eric and Thor Dunmire are from the sultry climes of Florida where abalone come in cans from you don't wanna know where and seeing as how I had the great time staying with Thor (he's no relation :head ) while looking for anything that was over 24" or spoke English in Key West, well he took me up on showing him the true meaning of smooth.

His brother Eric lives down the way but didn't want his brother to have all the fun so he decided to see what fun it is to wear an ill-fitting suit in 50 F water with an astonishing 5 feet of viz. As you can see, a single session with the Sultan and these survivors, er students went home with full bellies, wall art and smiles.

Firsts and personal bests.

 

[icarus pacific]

still more

Thor is a member of the support team for the Aquarius habitat along with stylin' Jay Styron so he's used to the deep and long, but know he knows what I've been telling young ladies and new divers for years- For the first time, go in tight and shallow for the goods. And if you can only see your hand in front of you, what you grab has even less chance to get away.

This guy has only slightly less fat content than the abalone he's holding...

 

[OceanSwimmer]

Nice Abs!!!....and the snails aren't bad, either.....

---> Did you tell Thor and Eric to leave a few for us rank beginners?
Those are beauties!!!!
And the sun was shining!
What a surprise!
Well done!

 

[icarus pacific]

another graduate from the Sven School of SCUBA

Mike Montero alternates between being a lawyer :hmm and a spearfishing impersonator down in Northern Cuba. You may know it as Florida. Anyways, after the last Keyz Kraze where he was kind enough to re-set my dental work during a run on his boat and also was more than diplomatic when this West Coast denizen tossed a larger trigger than his on board, I said, "Hey pedejo, don't grip. Come over here to Nocal-land and it'll all be mo'bettah."

So he and the missus combined a trip over for a friend's wedding and enrolled in the "You gotta be shittin' me" Academy de Abalone. And you have what we see here.

Dumber as he is known used his DB connections to borrow a 5 mil suit from some Dad-to-be in the Gulf, I sent him over to Andy at Blue Water Hunter while in Santa Barbara for an assortment of rubber accesories and then I showed he and his veeery nice wife, Christina where we were to lay siege.

Here the two exchange final goodbyes...

 

[icarus pacific]

brrr...

It occurs to me that both are wearing three or four times as much as they usually do...

Anyways, so I get Mikey all fixed up, Christina finds a windbreak and then class begins. The drive to the divesite was all about how he didn't have to worry about any Great Whites being around, the kelp wouldn't reach out and grab him, the cold was good for the libido and the abalone wouldn't clamp down on his digits.

Then after meeting another true North Coast diving celebrity, Rodney Orr, the World's sole living recipient of two feeding sessions with Whites, as documented in Terrry Maas's book Blue Water Hunting , and hearing that diving with me was only slighty more dangerous, Mike dipped his fin into the tepid 51 F water and looked down and lo and behold...

Happier than a puppy with two peters, he's holding the closest thing Christina ever saw to 9-1/4 inches. rofl

 

[icarus pacific]

stay tuned.

Kinda makes you want to attend my 2004 Ab Grab in October, huh? :king

Good food, good people and a so-so host.

 

[Erik]

LOL!
Sven, you truly are the Sultan.
Great pics, I hope to join you in October.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[Rolando]

Originally posted by icarus pacific
while looking for anything that was over 24" or spoke English in Key West, well he took me up to his room to show me the true meaning of smooth.

First, Nice Abs

Second,

Damn, Sveno. You go from San Francisco to Key West...talk about "interesting" cities And over 24"!...Damn your colon is deep, but if you were looking for well-hung non-English speaking cats, you probably could've found it in Miami.

Mahamamalo,

Rolo

 

[Pezman]

Is Mrs. Montero a PENN alumna?

Go Quakers!

 

[Rolando]

Originally posted by Pezman
Is Mrs. Montero a PENN alumna?

Go Quakers!

Believe it or not "Dumber" aka Mr. Montero aka "I wish I can dive like Rolo" is a Penn grad...

Nice pics Svenster

 

[icarus pacific]

just a little smack, folks.

a slight take on a pitiful plea for inclusion- as posted by ROLANDO _________________________________________


"Hey Sven, can I clean your abalone?? Can I carry your gear? Wash your truck, clean the windshield, lug your paddleboard, make the bed, do the dishes..."

Some types will do anything for an invite to the Ab Grab.:t


And hey, El Rolo- colon-wise, Aquiles says you were more than fine with 12" so the question to be answered is, what am I going to do with an extra fin as my size 13 will be hanging outta your rear? :blackeye You show in October, bring two things- your huevos and a crisp Benjamin to throw into the Big Ab pot, Loser.

"I wanna dvie like Rolo..." :head

 

[Rolando]

Mike told me about 51 degress Talk about shrinkage:hmm

He said his face was numb and his teeph thurth:waterwork And oh, yeah....5 feet viz...No Sven, you are right, no huevos for me I'll send ya the Franklin.

 

[Rafael Palmerio]

Damn, I'm salivating right now. Thinly sliced raw abalone dipped in its own liver is one of my favorite dishes of all time.

Sultan of swings, next time you get a hold of a couple beauties, please, consider selling them to me. I will pay you market price and the shipping. PLEASSSSSSSE! I need a fix after seeing those pics.

I'll make Rolo try it and appreciate the delicate flavor of wild abalone. I'm trying to teach him some culinary discipline, but he keeps carrying a ketsup bottle around.

 

[rigdvr]

Boy, that sure is a nice wetsuit Montero is wearing...wish he would send it back:hmm

 

[MIADIVER]

Diving in North Cal is tough!

First, I want to thank Sven for being such a gracious host. He took my wife and I out to dinner, showed us the sites around Sonoma, and gave us a place to stay. And, of course, he took me diving.

Diving in North Cal was great, but it takes some getting used to. For example, on my first dive, Sven went down and found an abalone for me in about 10 feet of water. I thought to myself “10 feet of water, wow, this is easy”. So I dove down w/ my prybar and found the abalone. I started prying, but the sucker would not come off. I knew I had cut him (they are hemophiliacs) and was afraid I would lose him in all the kelp so I kept prying to get him, but he kept holding on. The whole time I am being pushed and pulled in every direction by the waves. Anyway just before I was out of air the abalone came off. I started to kick to come up quickly, but my legs got tangled in the kelp. I didn’t know the kelp reached out and grabbed like this. Well I didn’t panic, but I was concerned. Then as I am rising to get myself clear of the kelp my mask hits another thick kelp and it falls down to my mouth area. My face is so cold it is painful (the water is 51 degrees). As I hit the surface gasping for breath, still tangled in the kelp, I pull my mask all the way down and see the ugliest grinning mug (Sven) I have ever seen about 18 inches from my face. All at once I was (1) happy to be breathing air and seeing (I involuntarily closed my eyes upon contact w/ the freezing water), (2) angry Sven didn’t do anything while I almost drowned (ok, maybe an exaggeration, but it sure felt like it), (3) really embarrassed b/c I looked like such a newbie (it was 10 feet depth for Pete’s sake), and (4) grateful that Sven was right there watching me.

The rest of the dives went more or less the same except the wave action increased substantially. Sven told me the waves usually come in three at a time, but I had my own way to measure them. Basically, every time I came up for a dive I knew a wave would be waiting to crash down on me. I felt like I was in a washing machine. I have a newfound respect for these North Cal divers.

Again, Sven thanks for the lessons and everything else. Also, I wanted to thank Mike (Rigdvr) for lending me his wetsuit. I don’t think I would have ever been able to have children again if I tried going in with my 3 mil.

Thanks guys, hopefully I will make it up to you during the Keys Kraze next year.

 

[Cingene]

rofl rofl rofl rofl ....too funny. Hey Uncle Sven send me a pm on what is needed to get in with the group in October ( I thought the season starts in August?)

 

[icarus pacific]

survival stories...

No probs, Mikey. I was a little closer than you realized the whole first dive there, and I knew you were still breathing... and as with everyone I've introduced to this learns, the most dangerous aspect of diving here is the diver themself. Once you get used to the cold, the viz and the violence, it's actually the best place going! And the shells are cleaning up nicely, so stay tuned.

The season does reopen in August and the invites will be going out soon.

 

[Cingene]

Uncle Sven,

Those shelled delicacies are growing nicely. I had a chance to scout for some today.