Scott totally agree with what you are saying, because at the end of the day in the worst case you can go and buy a new gun etc. No fish or piece of kit of worth you life at the end of the day.
What do you use for you float-line-gun set up ?
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Cornwall 2010
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Thread Status: Hello
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Scott totally agree with what you are saying, because at the end of the day in the worst case you can go and buy a new gun etc. No fish or piece of kit of worth you life at the end of the day.
What do you use for you float-line-gun set up ?
I am not sure of the correct terminology, but I have my red inflatable float attached to I think a polyprop floating line, just passed through one of the float loops, then I have a clip at the opposite end of the rope which attached to a loop crimped on the end of my gun where the clip attaches to.
I will try & get a few photos of the three points of contact if you like.
Please see my float attachment & set up, I figured you didn't really need to see the length of rope........
Attachments
All the points made on this topic have solid backing I totally understand that.. and yes taking out a float lets people know that your there for sure.
Unfortunately I shattered my wrist badly years ago.. the one I shoot with.. this makes the drag from the floatline on the gun really uncomfortable after a while which is a right pain in the ar$e.. I have used this method several times but never enjoyed the experience much, I then tried tieing it off to my belt.. this is when the tangle problems occurred.. so unless I dived somewhere new and so long as I am careful, keeping an eye on the tides and swell I found it a much more pleasurable experience to dive solo which I know a lot of people worldwide prefer too.
I totally understand all the points made, and have the right line bought from Dave at Spearo, I guess its just a bit annoying that just coz some idiots who don't understand the sea and swim out in a big swell and get washed away by a rip we should have to change the way we do things.. thats all.
Points taken.. and thanks for the offer on the line
Is there a good floating line that I can go and pick up off the shelf locally? I guess I'll only ever need 25', and probably only need about 15' for now so would chain shorten a 25' length at the float end. I finished making my flag last night so also want to make a rig to mount the flag on the Kayak.
Is there a notification system with the coastguard? A kind of let them know your plan approach if you're somewhere that might cause a false alarm? I think Diver9 may have mentioned something to me about that when diving from a kayak that's left empty. So wonder if that's a general thing that we can do to keep the CG happy and prevent faulse alarms?
I have a float, thanks to Diver9, but I'm interested in the boogie board idea. Do you put any kind of keel on the board, or just attach to a leash point and leave the board standard? Is there any problem with sea guls if you have a catch on the surface, or with the heat on your catch?
I've been wondering if a kind of floating basket might be a better solution? Thinking one of those folding baskets and a noodle float or two wouldn't break the bank.
sj
Is there a notification system with the coastguard? A kind of let them know your plan approach if you're somewhere that might cause a false alarm? I think Diver9 may have mentioned something to me about that when diving from a kayak that's left empty. So wonder if that's a general thing that we can do to keep the CG happy and prevent faulse alarms?
I have a float, thanks to Diver9, but I'm interested in the boogie board idea. Do you put any kind of keel on the board, or just attach to a leash point and leave the board standard? Is there any problem with sea guls if you have a catch on the surface, or with the heat on your catch?
I've been wondering if a kind of floating basket might be a better solution? Thinking one of those folding baskets and a noodle float or two wouldn't break the bank.
sj
Kernowsniper, just a couple of points. I have a friend who when he dives keeps hold of his float line in the other hand as he hates it being attached to his gun. He can still pinch his nose on a dive to equalize and hold onto the kelp. I think he has some large knot on the end to make holding it easy. Any trouble and he just lets go and picks the line up at the surface. I know it sounds awkward but he says it is not an issue. I have also seen him dive and manage fish so i know he is right. I just prefer to attach the line to my gun but that suits my style of hunting.
Secondly, i have not dived cribbar for a couple of years now but i did have an incident where i got run over by a boat. I was down on a dive which was lucky, but the same mate as mentioned before, said it went directly over where i was. While on the dive i only heard the noise at the last min due to the speed it was approaching. All i could do was stay down as long as i could. It turn out it was one of the brothers who opperate the speed boats out of the harbour. They actually aim for the bouys although they didn't realise it was a spearo bouy. I imeadeatly ditched the red and white dive flag for the uk A flag and now fly that off my bouy when diving anywhere boats may be near. I also contact newquay harbour master and also the brothers who opperate the speed boats to inform them where i am and for how long i may be in the water!
sj257, i have been intesively diving from my kayak for a while now and have a full safety plan for it. Firstly i have a GPS to guide me back in should the fog roll in. It has happened once during a very sunny day with out any warning. Even just a short way from shore you may struggle to find your way back! Secondly, and this is advice from a coastguard kayaker i bump into from time to time, i always take out a marine vhf. I do not have a licence for it but he said this is not an issue depending on its use! I use it only for a radio check with the coastguard and to occasionally inform them of where i am diving depending where i am. Other than that it is for emergency calls only. I did have to use it during the spring when my mates boats engine crapped out quickly followed by his vhf! Without a licence do not use it for any other reason except for coastgaurd contact or emergency.
Also i usually have a fishing rod in the rod holder while paddling out to try and get a few mackeral on the feathers. When i am diving i fly my A flag from the top of the rod to inform anyonethe empty kayak is empty because someone is diving from it. Anyone in control of a boat out there should know what the A flag means (although there are a few that dont)!
Hope this helps, if not just smile and try to humour me
Secondly, i have not dived cribbar for a couple of years now but i did have an incident where i got run over by a boat. I was down on a dive which was lucky, but the same mate as mentioned before, said it went directly over where i was. While on the dive i only heard the noise at the last min due to the speed it was approaching. All i could do was stay down as long as i could. It turn out it was one of the brothers who opperate the speed boats out of the harbour. They actually aim for the bouys although they didn't realise it was a spearo bouy. I imeadeatly ditched the red and white dive flag for the uk A flag and now fly that off my bouy when diving anywhere boats may be near. I also contact newquay harbour master and also the brothers who opperate the speed boats to inform them where i am and for how long i may be in the water!
sj257, i have been intesively diving from my kayak for a while now and have a full safety plan for it. Firstly i have a GPS to guide me back in should the fog roll in. It has happened once during a very sunny day with out any warning. Even just a short way from shore you may struggle to find your way back! Secondly, and this is advice from a coastguard kayaker i bump into from time to time, i always take out a marine vhf. I do not have a licence for it but he said this is not an issue depending on its use! I use it only for a radio check with the coastguard and to occasionally inform them of where i am diving depending where i am. Other than that it is for emergency calls only. I did have to use it during the spring when my mates boats engine crapped out quickly followed by his vhf! Without a licence do not use it for any other reason except for coastgaurd contact or emergency.
Also i usually have a fishing rod in the rod holder while paddling out to try and get a few mackeral on the feathers. When i am diving i fly my A flag from the top of the rod to inform anyonethe empty kayak is empty because someone is diving from it. Anyone in control of a boat out there should know what the A flag means (although there are a few that dont)!
Hope this helps, if not just smile and try to humour me
I wonder if these are the same lifegaurds who nearly ran me over (more than once) because they were arsing about on their inflatable and not paying attention to a bouy flying the A flag, or who run about like morons in the high tide Gannel far faster than they should be in an enclosed space near swimmers!
Or possible the same, now ex, coastguard who just got picked up by the harbour masters boat for spearing in a dangerous place, i.e. Fowey river mouth in the shipping lane!
Sometimes the people we should look to for inspiration can be the example of what not to do! I do know a large number of the lifeguards and coastguards around here quite well and love them to bits but struggle to understand how they do what they do!
Kernowsniper, just a couple of points. I have a friend who when he dives keeps hold of his float line in the other hand as he hates it being attached to his gun. He can still pinch his nose on a dive to equalize and hold onto the kelp. I think he has some large knot on the end to make holding it easy. Any trouble and he just lets go and picks the line up at the surface. I know it sounds awkward but he says it is not an issue. I have also seen him dive and manage fish so i know he is right. I just prefer to attach the line to my gun but that suits my style of hunting.
Secondly, i have not dived cribbar for a couple of years now but i did have an incident where i got run over by a boat. I was down on a dive which was lucky, but the same mate as mentioned before, said it went directly over where i was. While on the dive i only heard the noise at the last min due to the speed it was approaching. All i could do was stay down as long as i could. It turn out it was one of the brothers who opperate the speed boats out of the harbour. They actually aim for the bouys although they didn't realise it was a spearo bouy. I imeadeatly ditched the red and white dive flag for the uk A flag and now fly that off my bouy when diving anywhere boats may be near. I also contact newquay harbour master and also the brothers who opperate the speed boats to inform them where i am and for how long i may be in the water!
sj257, i have been intesively diving from my kayak for a while now and have a full safety plan for it. Firstly i have a GPS to guide me back in should the fog roll in. It has happened once during a very sunny day with out any warning. Even just a short way from shore you may struggle to find your way back! Secondly, and this is advice from a coastguard kayaker i bump into from time to time, i always take out a marine vhf. I do not have a licence for it but he said this is not an issue depending on its use! I use it only for a radio check with the coastguard and to occasionally inform them of where i am diving depending where i am. Other than that it is for emergency calls only. I did have to use it during the spring when my mates boats engine crapped out quickly followed by his vhf! Without a licence do not use it for any other reason except for coastgaurd contact or emergency.
Also i usually have a fishing rod in the rod holder while paddling out to try and get a few mackeral on the feathers. When i am diving i fly my A flag from the top of the rod to inform anyonethe empty kayak is empty because someone is diving from it. Anyone in control of a boat out there should know what the A flag means (although there are a few that dont)!
Hope this helps, if not just smile and try to humour me
All useful advice, which is always appreciated.
I have a VHF, but I've never used it as I have no licence or even basic training. Wouldn't know what is or isn't appropriate but had it on the boat for an emergency and put it on the kayak if going somewhere new or on a longer paddle.
One of the big appeals to me of spearing is the minimal equipment needed, as opposed to a lot of my hobbies (like the boat, that is going for that reason). I'm keen on pairing down the kit I use to the minimum even if that means I have to limit how and where I dive. My minimum of suit, mask, snorkel, fins, knife and gun, would be ideal to me. I add a weight belt and a catch bag as "almost essentials". I have so far fished without a flag and float as I'm quite worried about snagging and tangling, enhanced by a near drowning experience tangled in rope some years ago.
Whilst I can hear the sucking of teeth as I type this, I, with my very limited knowledge, believe I have taken steps to ensure I am not being stupid in this approach. I swim on the surface all the time, with the very occasional short (sub 1 minute) dive, always resurfacing in a similar position to where I went down. I stay close to the waters edge, where no sane boat is likely to be, and make sure I've been acknowledge by any boat that comes within 100m. To any observer I'm snorkeling and they can see me swiming. If I go down they'll see me back on the surface pretty swiflt, never down long enough to worry anyone, and never coming up in a different position so not lost track of. This in some ways limits my fishing, but it keeps me within my comfort/confidence zone and I believe, safe to myself and others.
I hope nobody will be offended if I do things my way, but always feel they can give an opinion, positive or negative. The joy of forums is that there is a wealth of information, often from knowlegable and experienced individuals (although not always). The important bit though is that we are individuals, and will want to do things our own way. This is a key thing that has stopped me looking to dive with others. I'm keen to be sociable and enjoyed a kayak session with Diver9 a while ago. But as a newbie my comfort zone is quite narrow, and believe that I am safest doing things my way, and not having to compromise others or for others, whilst my skills are limited.
Sorry if it's a bit of a rant, by no means targeted at anyone. Just wanted to put my 5c in the ring. Wouldn't want anyone to think I don't appreciate and take on board the advice I've saught here. I'm getting a flaot and flag set up to push the comfort zone a bit, and hopefully widen oportunities, if I get to dive from the kayak I will definately have a flag out if leaving a kayak floating for obvious reasons.
sj
Gutshot, thanks for the info' on vhf radios, I wondered if without a license you'd get-
A) Rescued
Then-
B) Bollocked
C) Fined
I always keep one in the kayak, in case.
Hi SJ, I think most people use a cheap polypropylene cord/rope from DIY stores,
you can buy purpose made float lines, the ones I've seen are a bit expensive.
I use aquarium airline tubing, very strong and floats if the ends are sealed with a hot knife also it's stretchy which helps take out some of the knocks and tugs.
I have 25m of it wound on a lawnmower cable tidy, though a H winder like for hand line fishing will do, the tubing is marked off at 5m intervals to give an indication of depth and to adjust the length I clove hitch the line to the winder.
On the end I've got a small kayak folding anchor, which I drop and fish around, I never liked having the line near me in the water, you can use a fishing weight of about a pound instead.
Just another way to think about.
Dave.
A) Rescued
Then-
B) Bollocked
C) Fined
I always keep one in the kayak, in case.
Hi SJ, I think most people use a cheap polypropylene cord/rope from DIY stores,
you can buy purpose made float lines, the ones I've seen are a bit expensive.
I use aquarium airline tubing, very strong and floats if the ends are sealed with a hot knife also it's stretchy which helps take out some of the knocks and tugs.
I have 25m of it wound on a lawnmower cable tidy, though a H winder like for hand line fishing will do, the tubing is marked off at 5m intervals to give an indication of depth and to adjust the length I clove hitch the line to the winder.
On the end I've got a small kayak folding anchor, which I drop and fish around, I never liked having the line near me in the water, you can use a fishing weight of about a pound instead.
Just another way to think about.
Dave.
Thanks Dave.
So far most of my sessions have been covering quite a bit of ground along the coastline, so I'm looking to go with something I take with me.
I've gone out on a tangent and I'm using a pocketed weight belt. I like the idea of being able to use 2 of the pockets for other thing, so my stashbag remains neatly stowed until I have something to go in it. I'm guessing that if i find a nice 4-5mm floating line I can keep most of the excess tucked in the pocket. Not only will it be neat, but would also give me the chance to easilly extend if I go deeper, or give me capacity to swiftly surface if part of the line is snagged. That's where my current thinking is anyway.
sj
So far most of my sessions have been covering quite a bit of ground along the coastline, so I'm looking to go with something I take with me.
I've gone out on a tangent and I'm using a pocketed weight belt. I like the idea of being able to use 2 of the pockets for other thing, so my stashbag remains neatly stowed until I have something to go in it. I'm guessing that if i find a nice 4-5mm floating line I can keep most of the excess tucked in the pocket. Not only will it be neat, but would also give me the chance to easilly extend if I go deeper, or give me capacity to swiftly surface if part of the line is snagged. That's where my current thinking is anyway.
sj
Thanks Chris.
Without wishing to sound like a complete plonker (please substitute the expletive of your choice), life is risky. The constraints on my leasure time are such that most of my leisure activities tend to be undertaken on my own, or with others by coincidence. Every pursuit I do has an element of risk that I can take steps to mitigate but cannot enitrely eleminate. If I were to try to do that I wouldn't do any of the fun things in life. I take a cautious approach to my own safety and more stringent approach to not imposing risk on others from my actions.
So at the moment I would rather be on my own, accepting the increased risk to myself, but knowing that my actions or lack of them are not putting someone else at risk. I will make mistakes, and hopefully learn from them. When the rate of mistakes drops off, that could be a good time to team up with others so I know I am a benefit rather than a hindrance.
And being an honest newbie, no, I haven't heard about shallow water blackouts, but will be only too happy to take on advice on how to avoid them.
sj
SJ, there are not many things (as far as im aware) that you can do to eliminate SWB's, apart from the obvious keeping fit etc...They occur surfacing (normally from pretty deep) normally in under 5m of water. A bit of advice that i got is that if you feel whilst surfacing that you havnt got enough air take off your weight belt and hold it in your hands, if you are going to black out you will naturally drop the weight and float to the surface.
You should def research SWB. It's scary and has killed plenty of solo divers. I ended up taking a freediving course to improve my knowledge in this area and to test my limits and I would highly recommend it, especially if like me you dive alone.
The problem with learning from your mistakes as far as SWB is concerned is that the first mistake is most likely your last when your alone.
The problem with learning from your mistakes as far as SWB is concerned is that the first mistake is most likely your last when your alone.
The coastguard told me they'd rather you call them via vhf instead of things going totally wrong. You would likely get a bollocking if you were chatting to your mate on it though and they sussed you.
Now then for sj257,..... it sounds like you are doing ok. By the sounds of it you are always very shallow and not doing anything that the usual snorkler is doing. I do advise you watch this though [ame=http://www.vimeo.com/2060317]NSUC: Samba and Blackouts on Vimeo[/ame] . I think it may scare you but it will alert you to the dangers.
I also dive without a flag so long as i am going to stay only well within string weed beds which usually means not far away from the waters edge.
Common sense is always going to be the deciding factor though.
Thanks Gutshot.
A really useful video.
As mentioned I'm far from pushing the boundrys. I've probably not dived much deeper than 4m and I don't stay under for any length of time. But glad I watched that to be better educated if I am diving with someone else or when I do want to start to work on increasing my breath hold.
Thanks.
sj
A really useful video.
As mentioned I'm far from pushing the boundrys. I've probably not dived much deeper than 4m and I don't stay under for any length of time. But glad I watched that to be better educated if I am diving with someone else or when I do want to start to work on increasing my breath hold.
Thanks.
sj
My girlfriend arrives today for a week of diving 
All i see is onshore mess, any recommendations of anywhere to dive in these conditions gratefully received by PM.
Still had some time for dry training and got a new PB dry static , 4 minutes, a jump of a minute over my previous best!
All i see is onshore mess, any recommendations of anywhere to dive in these conditions gratefully received by PM.Still had some time for dry training and got a new PB dry static , 4 minutes, a jump of a minute over my previous best!