Another Newbie! Help me learn

[MedicChris]

Hey Guys and Gals!

My name is Chris. I am really wanting to get into spearfishing and would like to meet up with some people to teach me some things and possable find a local club in San Diego to go to..

A bit about my self.. I am an EMT at Palomar hospital ER. I have been snorkeling for years but just as an amature.
I am VERY interested in knowing the ropes. I first got interested in spearfishing when working on an ambulance. We would park at Swamies beach and I would see guys with Huge setups come out of the water. I went out and bought a better mask and snorkel and a new spear gun. It's a JBL Woodie Magnum. The big one.. And I know it's probably not the best gun but I am new and learning..

So anyway.. I wanted to see if I could join up with some people and watch and ask questions... I am working on finding a wetsuit. It's hard because I am 6'7 so I dont have many to pick from so far.
I am more than willing to pay a small fee for lessions or to help pay for gas to go out. I wouldn't expect to be cramping your hunt but would like to maybe go out on a less searous outing and learn some things.

I have my EMT cert, CPR, and knowledge of medical emergencies incase something bad happned.

Anyone want to make a friend and teach me this lifestyle please mail me somethime. I am also going for the SCUBA class in September and have a LARGE sailboat that I could take on day trips.

Thank you,

MedicChris@cox.net

For now I am reading all the webpages I can find about spearfishing.

 

[DeepThought]

Welcome.
If you can't find a good fitting suit then get a custom made suit.
This is one of (if not) the best suit makers: Elios. They are based in Italy but have decent prices and should be worth it.
This is for an apnea suit, I don't know if yous hould use it also for scuba, it might be too delicate. Try using the search function with the word 'elios', you'll get lots of info.

About finding a buddy, try the 'looking for a buddy forum'. You can also use the search function to try and find other threads about diving in your area.

Also consider taking a course for apnea, there's lots of safety and other info that it's pretty hard to get on your own. Good luck.

 

[greendiver]

hey there...I am relatively new aswell, started just like you did....
I have gone spearfishing with a really experienced guy...that really helped me a lot...bought a couple of dvd's too.
But the thing that helped me the most was to prepare my self, build up confidence, you know what I mean; running, some static training, strectching etc....and practice as much as I can, I go 3/4 times a week..........and reading the articles on this site
I started about 3 months ago, can tell you....caught, mackerls, sargo's,...
so, I am happy guy now....
Good luck...let me know how you are doing.
greetings Mike

 

[Oldsarge]

Hi Chris,
There are several of us in your beginner status here with varied levels of ability and/or exposure. Roy_Nexus and I live in the L.A. area, Polespear lives in the Inland Empire and Batray lives farther north. The general consensus is that free-diving is more "fair" when spearfishing and is also more likely to be effective as the SCUBA bubbles seem to make fish nervous. Not that you shouldn't get SCUBA qualified, it will make you a better diver, probably, and give you the opportunity to go sight-seeing UW as well as hunt. Getting us all together is the hard part but if we could manage to meet the first time some time in either late July or early August, succeeding get-togethers should be easier to arrange, with or without your boat . Let's keep in touch. I won't be free on a Saturday for another weekend but will be free during the week in about two weeks, at least until school starts again. As for the others . . . ah, this merry work-obsessed Amercian lifestyle!

 

[Adrian]

Chris, contact Cynthia (Oceanswimmer), you can send her an email via the members list, (found in the Quick Links in the menu above). She lives in San Diego and her boyfriend spearfishes. She also knows people at a spearfishing dive club in your area. Perhaps if you did a search on "San Diego" you'll find the name of that group. In any case she can introduce you to more people.

Adrian