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Cornwall 2011

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 90 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Hey Jim, i think you know most of the young crew from Newquay. Who was the donut that got dragged out of Newquay pool swimming lengths underwater? Any idea? It was my mate, who use to represent the UK in the Freediving comps, who dragged him out as he went in to a Samba. His mates didn't even notice. Not sure if they are trainging for freediving, big wave surfing or just larking around but if you know them tell them they need to be on the ball 100%. Worth noting the lifeguards didn't even notice it!

Nice video by the way!
 
Hi to all you cornish spearos. Hope you can help, down in your beautiful county for a week. Very excited armed with my new omer caymen et i went out from the west end of Portreath this mourning. After swimming 3 -4 hundred meters i loaded my gun, then had to fire to see how it felt, it felt great untell i realized the mono had parted where it goes through the spear. Never had this happen before the hole must have had a burr, spent 2 1/2 hrs swimming up and down with no luck. I no its a long shot but if anyone finds please let me know. Do have 3 more guns with me so all is not lost.
Staying near Portreath if anyone has any suggestions for shore dives.
Thanks Jolly
 
lol Jolly, i feel your pain....i once lost a gabbiano in the surf at Portreath when trying to get through the waves....nightmare. How was the vis today? Looked pretty clear when surfing earlier and i was hoping to get in later this week around that area.
 
Watermandrew when did you take shot ? When the bass was cruising around at the edge of the via or when came in for a closer look ?

Hi bud, I had been under for probably 20 seconds when 2 dark shapes approached through the gloom - an exciting experience as its the first time fish have come to investigate. They turned side on and swam right to left giving a good shot for maybe a 90cm gun but as I am new and dive alone I didn't want to risk waiting and going beyond my limits so took the shot. It was probably too far and I didn't lead the fish, it started to bolt as the line went taught and never to be seen again. Oh well, learning process.

How would you have acted, besides waiting longer? What are the physical limits of the body regards to SWB? I am a former county level swimmer and my pb dry land breath hold is 3.40 but have no comprehension of how this will actually allow me to perform...

Sorry for all the questions, but your answers are much appreciated!
 
hello, im planning on going to north cornwall near (port isaac way) tomorrow after work, but recently the visibility has been so bad for me, can anyone report to me what the vis was like today or what their predictions for tom will be,
Cheers,
Jack.
 
Hi bud, I had been under for probably 20 seconds when 2 dark shapes approached through the gloom - an exciting experience as its the first time fish have come to investigate. They turned side on and swam right to left giving a good shot for maybe a 90cm gun but as I am new and dive alone I didn't want to risk waiting and going beyond my limits so took the shot. It was probably too far and I didn't lead the fish, it started to bolt as the line went taught and never to be seen again. Oh well, learning process.

How would you have acted, besides waiting longer? What are the physical limits of the body regards to SWB? I am a former county level swimmer and my pb dry land breath hold is 3.40 but have no comprehension of how this will actually allow me to perform...

Sorry for all the questions, but your answers are much appreciated!

How hidden were you ? At first I just hid in the weeds, but know I try and find a gulley or depression to hide my body in so just my head is poking above that combined with no looking straight at them (they really don't like that) gets them to come nice and close before they turn side on.
Good question how long is a piece of string ? Depending on the vis and how much I have seen on the rest of the dive I will know roughly how long before things should start to appear. How long I wait will be a combination of how my breath hold is feeling and how close I reckon the fish will get.
As with breath hold (I also used to swim county level +) it will again depend on a number of factors, water temp, my temp, how much I have been diving, hungover(always a killer) and how many long holds I have done that day.
For example (don't know my current dry static) last week it was warm, I was warm, not been diving much recently, at the start I was maxing out at 40s @5-6m. Then later on same water temp, i was cooler, and breath hold wise warmed up,was averaging 1:10 @ 7-8m. And they felt just as hard as the 40s dives earlier. I maxed out at 1.20 @ 6.5m with a pollack to boot, that dive was pushing my limits. After that got maybe 1/2 hr of 1:10 before they headed back down to 40s.
Do you have a watch or dive computer ? I find my invaluable esp when diving new spots to know how long and how deep I have been down. Knowing roughly what I should be able to do compared to what I feel like let's me know when i should cone back up

Hope the detail helps
 
Swb is not something I have experienced I have blacked out on the surface are pushing the bottom time of a 37m freedive. But then I knew as soon as i started swimming back up I had pushed it too far, I rushed to the surface (mistake should have swum slower) reached the surface and put my head back and blacked out. My buddy proceeded to revive me and I learnt my lesson, but now I do know exactly what it feels like to be short of air and a long way from the surface. I'm sure one of the older and wiser members will be able to explain a Swb better.

For reference on my way back up I was getting the black appearing around the edges of my vision and contractions.
 
Helpless comments aside, Falmouth bay was 2-4m today and fishable (if I wasn't so bad).
Do we rely on sustained offshore wind for good vis, in general?

im not sure but i keep driving all the way down there and just coming home, was looking for abit of heads up with viz before i go tom, went the other day and it was less than a meter, terrible and frustrating lol, if anybodys out tom morn can they let me know wat the viz is like for when i go in the afternoon please :)
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZStjozICESU]Cornwall Spearfishing - YouTube[/ame]

Don't rush your shot, depending on their mood they may well return to give you a better opportunity for a shot. These fish were rather flighty and when it looked like they'd lost interest, i gave a sort of 'whomp' sound at around 41 seconds and they returned giving me the better chance of a cleaner shot that would ensure a better hold on the fish. Finally, try not to let the line go taught, i try to swim to the fish along the shooting line and get my fingers through those gills as soon as i can. It's better to hold off a rushed shot and quietly return to the surface for another breath-up as you risk a poorly placed shot or missing the fish totally and spooking the fish.
 
Not sure about Port Isaac way but down my way the vis has been quite respectable. Went surfing yesterday and even with this recent swell it still looked pretty clear.
 
How would you have acted, besides waiting longer? What are the physical limits of the body regards to SWB? I am a former county level swimmer and my pb dry land breath hold is 3.40 but have no comprehension of how this will actually allow me to perform...
!

How deep are you going? If less than 10m then swb is probably not an issue..
Have you considered doing a free diving course? Learn good habits, find out what you can do, in a safe environment... You wouldn't regret it!
 
lol Jolly, i feel your pain....i once lost a gabbiano in the surf at Portreath when trying to get through the waves....nightmare. How was the vis today? Looked pretty clear when surfing earlier and i was hoping to get in later this week around that area.
Went out around gull rock today had a nice dive viz 5-7m. Only saw a few small bass and one worth having which is now in the fridge.
May see you about i am here all week.
Jolly.
.
 
Andycornish thanks for your detailed replies and for your descriptions of the blackout - scary! Thank goodness for your buddy. I usually dont hide very well, positioning is mostly peering over kelp and resting on the sandy side of it, as it were, then hope the fish come from the right direction. Probably need more weight to keep more still on the bottom, at the moment I am neutral at 3m ish. All my diving is in less than 10m at the moment... I weigh 75kilos and have a 5mm wetsuit, currently have 12lb on my stupid annoying slippy slidey fabric weight belt!

Dive watch/computer - not yet. Maybe buy one after doing a free dive course which i have considered; but they arent cheap! Is AIDA 2 star a good bet? Also what sort of money gets a fair dive computer?

Vis falmouth bay this evening was approximately gun length. Easterly swell scuppered my good hopes. Saw a wrasse or 50 though, and a cuttle who got startled as i reached out to it and offloaded ink. Cool
 
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