Here's the photo gallery so far - more later
Dean's Blue Hole with Eric Fattah, Laminar, and Fondueset
Dean's Blue Hole with Eric Fattah, Laminar, and Fondueset
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Blue Hole Report
- Thread starterFondueset
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Nice shots!
Alright now, you can't just lay out a bunch of picture bait and not give us some description. It ain't nice. Come on, what are the juicy stories to go with the pics? "More later" does not cut it as an excuse.
Connor
Alright now, you can't just lay out a bunch of picture bait and not give us some description. It ain't nice. Come on, what are the juicy stories to go with the pics? "More later" does not cut it as an excuse.
Connor
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So far I've managed a foot for every one of Will's meters in no fins -86. 113 with the hyperfin - very easy but I've got an old rib injury that gets a little tweaky down there - I'd like to hit 130 - lots of easy 100 foot plus dives though, they tell me I take too long but the view is so nice on the way up. An I've not done a no fins since I did 86 the other day. Some great Tarpon encounters yesterday. I'll get those up in the gallery soon.
Comms here are sporadic - hence the lack of updates. I'm off tomorrow though and will get busy on the lunocet review and anecdotes.
Comms here are sporadic - hence the lack of updates. I'm off tomorrow though and will get busy on the lunocet review and anecdotes.
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Fantastic pictures - especially like the lionfish (if it IS a lionfishI dunno...). Last photo: lunocet???
The lion fish is an indo pacific specie ,it should not be there in the carribean..
Caribean Lionfish Invasion Continues - Diving News
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Sitting here with Mike Lott and Will T. computering....first time in about 5 days. Eric left this morning, I've got two more days. Fondue leaves tomorrow.
Mike made coffee this morning with paper napkin as a filter - excellent! Best coffee on the island. I can feel my heart rate slowing now as I write this on an empty stomach.
Diving has been great. I've been exploring my mouthfill/chest flexibility with FRC dives. Months of rec diving has optimized my mouth fill for 20-35m, and so going deeper has been a learning experience in getting the mouth and throat fill. The throat fill is the missing link for being able to equalize to infinite depths. More on that later.
If any of you remember my Fear the Squeeze article, 42m CNF has a special significance for me. So far here at the Blue Hole, I've done 40m, 40m, 41m, 42.8m in CNF on FRC and hopefully will get a 43-45m dive in before I leave. All with a mask.
I feel vindicated to return to the same depth this time on FRC that was logged in my psyche as both a horrendous experience (but amazing accomplishment for me personally: cold water, 5mm, big weight belt, mask, etc...) and put my off deep CNF for five years.
The effort to complete these dives feels recreational. My training at home has really made a difference - so for now I'm simply limited to trying to get more out of the mouth fill, which will be great practice for deeper dives later on (next year). So far I'm getting stuck at 46-47m FRC with a mask. I know that 20-30m is possible with a mask, so there's still work to be done. (I'll talk about goggles/nose-clip stuff later on).
It beautiful here. We had a brilliant day in the water yesterday. 4-5 hours non-stop. Foundue is a paragon of freediving virtue and a tarpon homing device.
I find now I'm actually yearning for cold water. Call me a Canadian.
I'm looking forward to VB 2009.
Pete
Eric left this morning, I've got two more days. Fondue leaves tomorrow. Mike made coffee this morning with paper napkin as a filter - excellent! Best coffee on the island. I can feel my heart rate slowing now as I write this on an empty stomach.
Diving has been great. I've been exploring my mouthfill/chest flexibility with FRC dives. Months of rec diving has optimized my mouth fill for 20-35m, and so going deeper has been a learning experience in getting the mouth and throat fill. The throat fill is the missing link for being able to equalize to infinite depths. More on that later.
If any of you remember my Fear the Squeeze article, 42m CNF has a special significance for me. So far here at the Blue Hole, I've done 40m, 40m, 41m, 42.8m in CNF on FRC and hopefully will get a 43-45m dive in before I leave. All with a mask.
I feel vindicated to return to the same depth this time on FRC that was logged in my psyche as both a horrendous experience (but amazing accomplishment for me personally: cold water, 5mm, big weight belt, mask, etc...) and put my off deep CNF for five years.
The effort to complete these dives feels recreational. My training at home has really made a difference - so for now I'm simply limited to trying to get more out of the mouth fill, which will be great practice for deeper dives later on (next year). So far I'm getting stuck at 46-47m FRC with a mask. I know that 20-30m is possible with a mask, so there's still work to be done. (I'll talk about goggles/nose-clip stuff later on).
It beautiful here. We had a brilliant day in the water yesterday. 4-5 hours non-stop. Foundue is a paragon of freediving virtue and a tarpon homing device.
I find now I'm actually yearning for cold water. Call me a Canadian.
I'm looking forward to VB 2009.
Pete
Nice one Fondueset, especially considering you dive FRC! - how much air do you take down, and what's your Total Lung Volume?
I'm looking forward your updates, photo's and extensive report!
- Is the Lunocet also efficient with small amplitude strokes? How fast is it? How does it differ from your hyperfin model monofin? Does it use different muscles? Are there user adjustment options?
How is Mr Fattah doing down there?
Have you guys already done some no suit diving there?
And how about a breaching contest? - who managed the highest breach?
Well you see a lot of questions
Hope they are interesting enough to be answered.
Keep those little titbits of info coming!
Kars
I'm looking forward your updates, photo's and extensive report!
- Is the Lunocet also efficient with small amplitude strokes? How fast is it? How does it differ from your hyperfin model monofin? Does it use different muscles? Are there user adjustment options?
How is Mr Fattah doing down there?
Have you guys already done some no suit diving there?
And how about a breaching contest? - who managed the highest breach?
Well you see a lot of questions
Hope they are interesting enough to be answered.
Keep those little titbits of info coming!
Kars
Questions about the Lunocet will be covered by Fondueset's detailed report. We all tried it and we had our opinions...
Fondue was diving inhale...and he is a rock solid aquaman man, man.
Made a breakthrough in the mouthfill but sadly ran out of time to do any more deeper dives. I leave tomorrow morning, bright and early.
Previously my best for a single mouth fill from the surface was 25m. Yesterday, I did a 30m FRC dive on a mouthfill from the surface. With a sphera, of course. Collapsed and almost leaking at the bottom! So my technique is improving and I'm confident I can practice it over the winter so that it's no longer an issue. FRC offers new challenges in terms of making the most of the air available but they are not insurmountable.
Following that, I tried another dive and made it to 47.9m with a mouth fill at around 15m. But I should be able to go much, much deeper.
Eric tried flooding his sinuses and Eustachian tubes the other day and found it painful - when he returned to the surface. But seemed not to have any long lasting problems with infection or anything. It wasn't a deep dive though and he immediately rinsed with saline solution.
I don't think Eric would have any trouble equalizing to 100m on FRC. However, he is considering switching to inhale (perhaps sub maximal) in order to compete at competitions/set records. He may stick with FRC for its own sake. We'll see how that plays out.
Personally, I enjoy FRC so much that I'm going to keep with it until I reach a barrier in terms of air supply. Given my dives and the effort needed for them, I think that would be much deeper than I've been before.
Sadly, the breaching contest never happened. Once we settled into the Bahamian pace, we were loath to exert ourselves beyond diving. Wake up, eat breakfast, relax, relax some more, go diving, come home, eat some more, go diving, eat some more, sleep....you get the idea.
Diving every day was taxing for going deep. Eric didn't get as deep as he wanted, but he managed to test some ideas - no doubt he will share them here eventually. Sounds like he's going retro....
On some days, we didn't even feel inclined to get up and relax!
I did some no suit dives for fun and also used one of Will T's Orca prototype suits for no fins without weight. Very nice and fast and you feel like a hero.
Deep diving aside, I think the highlights were the Tarpon encounters, diving with everyone all together and my first reef shark encounters.
Small fact: sharks are attracted to the sound of feet twisting in a monofin footpocket. :crutch They were beauties!
Last night, we had poker with Will, Sam (his brother), Neil (a local) and myself. I bowed out early, hoist by my own petard, Sam soon followed suit after a valiant effort, and then Will and Neil battled on for the rest of the night before Neil prevailed by the skin of his teeth.
I've eaten some awesome fish and conch here provided by Will. Best eating, ever.
I feel slow and easy in the Bahamas. Feel asleep this morning to the booming of the surf on the reef and the wind in the trees.
Fondue is now on his way back to snowstorms in Michigan.
Life is but a dream....
Fondue was diving inhale...and he is a rock solid aquaman man, man.
Made a breakthrough in the mouthfill but sadly ran out of time to do any more deeper dives. I leave tomorrow morning, bright and early.
Previously my best for a single mouth fill from the surface was 25m. Yesterday, I did a 30m FRC dive on a mouthfill from the surface. With a sphera, of course. Collapsed and almost leaking at the bottom! So my technique is improving and I'm confident I can practice it over the winter so that it's no longer an issue. FRC offers new challenges in terms of making the most of the air available but they are not insurmountable.
Following that, I tried another dive and made it to 47.9m with a mouth fill at around 15m. But I should be able to go much, much deeper.
Eric tried flooding his sinuses and Eustachian tubes the other day and found it painful - when he returned to the surface. But seemed not to have any long lasting problems with infection or anything. It wasn't a deep dive though and he immediately rinsed with saline solution.
I don't think Eric would have any trouble equalizing to 100m on FRC. However, he is considering switching to inhale (perhaps sub maximal) in order to compete at competitions/set records. He may stick with FRC for its own sake. We'll see how that plays out.
Personally, I enjoy FRC so much that I'm going to keep with it until I reach a barrier in terms of air supply. Given my dives and the effort needed for them, I think that would be much deeper than I've been before.
Sadly, the breaching contest never happened. Once we settled into the Bahamian pace, we were loath to exert ourselves beyond diving. Wake up, eat breakfast, relax, relax some more, go diving, come home, eat some more, go diving, eat some more, sleep....you get the idea.
Diving every day was taxing for going deep. Eric didn't get as deep as he wanted, but he managed to test some ideas - no doubt he will share them here eventually. Sounds like he's going retro....
On some days, we didn't even feel inclined to get up and relax!
I did some no suit dives for fun and also used one of Will T's Orca prototype suits for no fins without weight. Very nice and fast and you feel like a hero.
Deep diving aside, I think the highlights were the Tarpon encounters, diving with everyone all together and my first reef shark encounters.
Small fact: sharks are attracted to the sound of feet twisting in a monofin footpocket. :crutch They were beauties!
Last night, we had poker with Will, Sam (his brother), Neil (a local) and myself. I bowed out early, hoist by my own petard, Sam soon followed suit after a valiant effort, and then Will and Neil battled on for the rest of the night before Neil prevailed by the skin of his teeth.
I've eaten some awesome fish and conch here provided by Will. Best eating, ever.
I feel slow and easy in the Bahamas. Feel asleep this morning to the booming of the surf on the reef and the wind in the trees.
Fondue is now on his way back to snowstorms in Michigan.
Life is but a dream....
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caribean reef sharks are amazing animals watch out for the big females !!
so so wish i was freediving there you guys you are so lucky
enjoy
so so wish i was freediving there you guys you are so lucky
enjoy
Stunning photos as always Fonduset! You definitely have your own photography style.
Congratulations on your FRC accomplishments Pete! And if you are still craving the cold water once you are home, some of us will be diving at Whytecliffe Saturday morning
Congratulations on your FRC accomplishments Pete! And if you are still craving the cold water once you are home, some of us will be diving at Whytecliffe Saturday morning
