This was a true incident. Having nearly lost my Band speargun to the depth,s, I thought I,d tie a 1 Mtr long lanyard to it,& to myself, (onto my life jacket).this was O.k,it worked well,then one day,(I dont know why) I changed the tie point to my rist,around my glove.So,there I am,looking for a decent fish,when, I see one! it,s at about 4 Mtrs depth.I swim down to it,it,s a big one,about 3kg, I realy want it,it see,s me & dives further down,into some rock,s. I,m getting short on breath,I,ve been under about 30s, depth,6 Mtrs,I know I,ll have to surface very soon,but just a little more time, please!. I,ve nearly got him,I fire,....missed!.... but,...the spear has wedged itself in a rock,I can,t pull it out,it just wont move,I give it one last desperate yank,but nothing,I,ve stayed down too long,I need air!,I start for the top,I can see the surface,I,m gasping,just a Mtr or so more,then,absolute panick!!,I,m tied to the gun,the gun is tied to the spear, the spear is stuck fast in a rock!.I cant get to the surface,I know I have about 10 seconds to get free,I think about getting my knife & cutting myself free,but I know,if I cant do it in the next 5 seconds,I,m DEAD!,what if I stumble?,if I drop it?, I give one last almighty pull, & yes, I,m free!.The spear did not give way,it was the GLOVE, it came straight off of my hand. DO NOT EVER TIE YOUR GUN TO YOUR SELF!.......... Geoff.
-
Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:
- Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
- Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
- Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
- Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
- All this and much more...
You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
Don,t do this!
- Thread starterGeoff
- 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.
Impressive story, dude! Scares the heck out of me just to think of that.
That's why I always use a shackle with a panic release mechanism whenever I tie anything to myself (e.g. Lanyard for deep diving) such a shackle is about €4 that feel oh-so comfortable when something gets stuck.
That's why I always use a shackle with a panic release mechanism whenever I tie anything to myself (e.g. Lanyard for deep diving) such a shackle is about €4 that feel oh-so comfortable when something gets stuck.
Sanso, I now know to use this device.Thank you.You know, when we walk about on dry land, we take nearly every thing for granted, but, if we,(Divers), miss just one breath, yes , just one breath, we are in DEEP trouble,& there,s no one to help us!.It,s very lonely out there,but I, (As well as you, I suspect), would,nt have it any other way. Vali,you said it was "good to have you alive", well, considering that you dont know me, & that,to you, I,m just another person, what a kind & thoughtfull Man you must be.Respect to you both,............keep safe,..... Geoff.
Last edited:
It would have been interesting if you had speared a really big fish. You could have gone on a very long trip.
Good to hear you made it out of this situation alive and with a big lesson to take home with you.
Good to hear you made it out of this situation alive and with a big lesson to take home with you.
Nostres,Hi,yes, it was a "High torque" pull, I actually tore my skin,(the lanyard cut right through the glove,into my hand)I did,nt feel it at the time, but it "Hurt like hell" an hour or so later,but I did,nt mind,I was just so glad to still be breathing!.It scared me, "bad".Shoutatthesky,Hi,thank you so much for that,it made me laugh really hard,(I,m still laughing!),That would have been some "Trip",& yes,I learn,t an important lesson.....keep safe,....Geoff.
Geoff - I attach my speargun to my float with a float line - not only can I get away from the Gun, but the 25-30lb Carp I shoot can drag my float around and tire before I can handle the fish. Plus when I'm handling the fish I can let go of my speargun and focus on getting the fish to a stringer, then go to my float and pull up my gun. I'm not saying a 30lb carp would keep me under - but, this seems to work well for me. Scary story.
Hey man firstly good to see you survived it, it could have gone much worse. In a world and a comunity like this where you interact with divers and realize there are not that many of us its allways good to hear someone survived an incident and allways sad when someone doesnt.
Thank you also for sharing your story, its exactly the thing people need to hear just to realize once again that anything can happen out there. And even though it was a stupid mistake I can see that you learnt well from it.
So like Whopperhead said I hope you now use either a float or a reel, anything that can let you get away from the spear while enabling you to reach the survace safely. If your not using either of these then I suggest you rig that new gun of yours with something like this, do a search on floats or reels as I know there are loads of threads on here that covers the subject extensively.
Good luck and save diving mate
Thank you also for sharing your story, its exactly the thing people need to hear just to realize once again that anything can happen out there. And even though it was a stupid mistake I can see that you learnt well from it.
So like Whopperhead said I hope you now use either a float or a reel, anything that can let you get away from the spear while enabling you to reach the survace safely. If your not using either of these then I suggest you rig that new gun of yours with something like this, do a search on floats or reels as I know there are loads of threads on here that covers the subject extensively.
Good luck and save diving mate
Hi Whopperhead,Good, lodgical, technique.Wow,25/30Kg,How I,d love to have the chance to spear one of those Baby,s.The fish here in LLanca,Girona,(Pronounced, "Jansa")are nowhere near that big, (4/5 kg Max)at least inshore,amongst the rocks, where I hunt.I,m getting up the ball,s to go out further,into "blue water"(About 150 Mtrs)problem is,I,m solo,with no boat & the "water skies" & "speedboat,s" are a danger,I,ve already been crack,d on the head by a "cano,ist",she did,nt see me, & hit me with her paddle!. What do these carp eat like?,I envy you.
I use a float even in the shallows, take a 5m tuna bungee as float line and you can get down to 7-8m easily with the stretch and also you can shoot fish when it runs into deeper water it just stretches the rope out. This way you have a place to keep your fish and your safe when your gun gets stuck, just let go and go get it when your ready
These are readily available at most spearo shops/workshops and major brand online retailers.
Spearfishing and Freediving Equipment - Floats & Float Lines - 60' Norprene Bungee - Technosport Inc.
Is an example of what it looks like with a bit of specs and a description.
THANKS COVERT!
Looks JUST like the one I'm making! COOL!!!!!!
Materials needed:
a roll of surgical tubing
QUALITY zip ties
large stainless barrel snap swivels - for deep sea fishing.
The barrel of the snap swivel must fit snugly in the end of the tubing...Then its just a matter of zip tying it in or using thin nylon cord in a whip lashing knot to secure the barrel of the swivel inside the surgical tubing.
It may wear a little but I imagine that if you notice wear it will only take a few minutes to clip the end and re-zip tie the swivels in.
I hope it works....Again the pic looks just like the one I'm making. Obviously it will float nicely as it will be full of air! I'm gonna make 25 footer's for myself.
Bonus thing is if I break my pole spear bungie I can just cut one from my floatline and VOILA!!!...back in business!
This site really kicks mucho glutius maximus!
Looks JUST like the one I'm making! COOL!!!!!!
Materials needed:
a roll of surgical tubing
QUALITY zip ties
large stainless barrel snap swivels - for deep sea fishing.
The barrel of the snap swivel must fit snugly in the end of the tubing...Then its just a matter of zip tying it in or using thin nylon cord in a whip lashing knot to secure the barrel of the swivel inside the surgical tubing.
It may wear a little but I imagine that if you notice wear it will only take a few minutes to clip the end and re-zip tie the swivels in.
I hope it works....Again the pic looks just like the one I'm making. Obviously it will float nicely as it will be full of air! I'm gonna make 25 footer's for myself.
Bonus thing is if I break my pole spear bungie I can just cut one from my floatline and VOILA!!!...back in business!
This site really kicks mucho glutius maximus!
Geoff, I am glad you’re still with us. Another San Diego free diver made the same mistake a few years ago. He was not so lucky. He tied his gun to his wrist, preceded to shoot a 60 lb White Sea bass that dragged him to his death. The next day the lifeguards found his body still tied to the gun and the fish.
Hi freediver7,So sorry to hear of that,I could so easily have as died as well. You know, on land, we diver,s can make misstake,s along with anyone else, & get away with them,do something stupid,(like me)in the water,& it,s a whole different ball game.My advice to any diver,....."Whatever" you think of doing in the water,think it through, to, "The worst" senario.We have a duty to act sensibly,rationally,not just to ourselves, but to our loved ones, who we leave behind. Safe diving every one..........Geoff.