First Mono Impressions

[Amphibious]

Well my Mono showed up a while back (thanks Erik!) and yesterday i finnaly made it to the pool. I have been surfacing with a dolphin kick for years while spearfishing with bifins, and assumed it would be a similar sensation to operating a monofin. well, yes & no. it's didn;t take long to get a handle on basic movement, but I'll wager I have a long way to go before I'm anything that resembles "graceful" with this fin :head our city's big pool is closed for maintanence at the moment so I had to make do with a 25m lane and a slow taper from 1m to 2m in depth. the slap of fiberglass on tile is an awful sound, and I was quick to correct that occurance.

I can;t get over how fast a mono is. again, assumed it to be little better then a good dolphin kick with bifins. 25m in 11seconds. not to shabby! can;t wait to try it when I can angle that power downwards :t

It's a safe bet i'm currently in possesion of the only mono in the city, or northern BC for that matter. that was very evident from the stare s and slack jaws by the other swimmers. one small child, a girl, shouted "LOOK MOMMY! a MERMAID!" when I surfaced. later on I surfaced and surprised a small boy swimming in another lane. he stared at the fin for a split second them promptly bust into tears and uncontrollable sobbing.

an interesting day, and I learned a couple things:

1. barefoot never again. my feet are slight shades of hamburger.

2. I need to remember to use the draw string on my trunks. they very quickly end up at my ankles during a sprint. :chatup

looking forward to getting to know the 1-fin style a little better

 

[BennyB]

2. I need to remember to use the draw string on my trunks. they very quickly end up at my ankles during a sprint. :chatup

Maybe that's what made the kid cry :naughty

 

[jome]

I can;t get over how fast a mono is. again, assumed it to be little better then a good dolphin kick with bifins. 25m in 11seconds. not to shabby! can;t wait to try it when I can angle that power downwards :t

That's not too shabby at all for someone using a mono for the first time...In fact, it's so good I feel compelled to ask, are you sure you timed it right? Not saying it's impossible, but that is IMO a very good time for a first timer (assuming no jump start etc)

Congratulations on your new mono. Keep at it, it's a gift that just keeps on giving...

 

[Amphibious]

11 sec was best time with pushoff, started at about 14sec.

spent about an hour getting the feel for it first. at the start lots of side slipping and ballence issues

 

[BatRay]

rofl rofl
Great narrative, Willer. Sounds like it was lots of fun.

Mermaid....

 

[BennyB]

I found side stability was a big issue in my earlier days of monofinning, and unsurprisingly this is also the first thing to go if I haven't used my mono in a long time. I end up "fishtailing" up the pool lane for quite a while until my core muscles remember what they have to do.

First time I used a mono I borrowed a mates and on a turn got it stuck between the pool wall and the ladder, nearly tearing it in two, all with him watching horrified from 2 feet away :head . A few seconds of doggy paddling got me out unscathed.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[Erik]

LOL! I think the women were crying when your drawers came down.
Good stuff Willer- be patient and it will happen. It's a different world for sure.
Remember to start the movement (once your under way) at the back of your neck, creating a wave centred at your abs. I'm sure you got great advice from Laminar and Eric at the coast.
And yes, the mono will create almost as much talk at a pool as carrying a rifle in there
Erik

 

[iceselkie]

Just remembered... putting electrical tape along the edges really helps keep them from getting really chipped and banged up on pool tile (especially when learning turns at a 25m pool). My pool is just about used to seeing me with a monofin, doesn't hurt to work there though! Any luck with finding some socks to protect your feet?