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florida freedivers

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Hi Brian. I can't make Saturday but am planning to meet up Sunday. You have already left but I'll give you a call. Scott, I'm planning to hit Troy on Sunday morning and will see who else local wants to go. My # is 352-338-0374 if anyone else wants to meet up. Aaron
 
Let me be the first. Thanks guys for an excellent weekend of diving. Made some new buddies and added at least one site to my list. Until next time. Dive safe.
 
Mike and others,

Enjoyed the weekend too! I'll be doing DeLeon Springs this Saturday AM if anyone is up for it.

Thanks,

Scott
 
It was a great trip. Thanks to everyone who showed up. Plans changed alot. And for me, it was cold and exuasting, but a lot of fun non the less. I have not developed the pictures yet, but I'll send them out when I do.

Brian
 
Hello everyone,

My job is bringing me to Naples, Florida, late January (26 to 28, possibly 29), for the Winter Wine Festival, I'm in the Champagne business.
Could anyone let me know if there is some free-diving possiblity ? I may have one or two morning free (afternoons and evenings are all about eating and drinking).

Just to introduce myself : 42 years old, free-diving for about 7 years (but seriously since 2/3 years), going for my instructor level this year (in France), so OK level but nothing exceptional...

Thanks for your feed-back, and a bottle of Champagne garanteed (good stuff) if someone takes me out...

Cheers !
 
suzukisan,

Sadly, this side of the state is not good for diving. The Atlantic side (east coast) of Florida is a diver's paradise, however the Gulf of Mexico side (west coast) of Florida is composed of a giant shallow water sand bar that extends about 30km off shore. Some people do go diving in the gulf, but they are either diving in 10M depth with nothing to see but white sand, or they are going for a very long boat ride way off shore.

Most of the west coast divers just get in their cars and drive an hour to Fort Lauderdale on the east coast.

I will see you at this years wine festival. :friday

Jim

 
Suzukisan,

If want to try something a little different, Warm Mineral Springs is not too far north from where you are staying. Over 200' deep with water at a constant 87 degrees. Viz is better (but not great) earlier in the day.

You can check out their website, www.warmmineralsprings.com. If you go, you will most likely be the only one under 65 years of age and definitely the only freediver (be discreet, as "snorkelling" is not specifically allowed or disallowed - at least the last time I was there).

Connor is in the area so maybe he can give you more info if you are interested.

Scott
 
If you want to try, I'm game, just be sure and don't tell'em how deep we dive. Fair warning, its kind of spooky.

Connor
 
Thank you guys for the replies.:thankyou

I've just checked the Warmmineralspring website and it doesn't quite sound like a real free-diving spot, does it ? I mean going into the water with mask, snorkel, C4 mustang fins and dive 70 or 80 feet deep would make me pass for an alien, no ? :duh Do they even allow this ? If yes, I'd be interested in going, and join you, cdavis if you're in. 200 feet is not quite in my range yet, but 87°F water will be a nice change for me (water in our natural diving spots here - lakes- is at a mere 40°F right now..... )
If it is only for a swim, then I think I'll pass and would rather spend one or two extra day on the east coast before flying back home.

Jim, please pm me regarding the festival. It will be a first for me (I've done quite a few others, but never this one). It looks like a nice event. And keep in mind that I'll have all the bubbly to make it even more fun... Cheers ! :friday
 
Hi Suzu,

You are right, it doesn't look at all like a freediving spot, but it is. They just don't know it. The vis is poor, 10 ft or a little better, sometimes much better. The site is a round shaft about 150 ft across, going staight down about 40 ft, then opening into a much larger cavern. Max depth, about 200 ft, plenty deep enough. Once you pass the point where the cavern starts, its like somebody turned out all the lights, instantly. Thats because you get past the reflected light from the walls. Safe enough, but spooky none the less. There is also plenty to explore where the cavern starts, just be careful that you don't lose track of which direction is out.

The place is an old style European health spa, clientele included. You could swear you were in Romania or some such. Bizzare place to dive, but its open to snorkeling/freediving. They don't know the difference and they see very few freedivers. Next time I go, I plan to take a float and a weighted line, which may get some questions, but previous checking says they will allow it. Its good to get there early, before the crowds mess up what vis there is.

I'm going to be offlline till Jan 1.

What safety training have you had?

Connor
 
Hi Connor,

Put this way it sounds much more interesting... 200 feet is way beyond what I need. If they are OK with bringing in a float and a line then some fun can be had for sure.

I am not sure what you mean by safety training, but I hope I can reassure you. This year I am actually working on my instructor level (C3 or MEF1 of the French Federation, this is brand new - there's one level above this one, C4 / MEF2, which is the very top), for which rescue techniques are mandatory as you can imagine. Some of the standard exercices are :
- in a swimming pool, swim 100m, get a mannequin at 5m (15 feet) deep, bring him up to the surface and swim around for 1 mn, everything performed under 4'30" without fins & mask
- in swimming pool, with snorkeling equipment, rescue a unresponsive buddy at 5m deep, bring him up with the right procedures, rescue in surface and drag him for 25 m. We did a real test yesterday evening btw, I was one of the 2 among 8 free-divers to pass it (our instructor is the vice president of the French Freediving Federation, so he is very strict on safety)
- in a lake or in the ocean, similar exercise at a depth of 12 meters/40 feet, drag the buddy for 30 or 50 m, lift him up on a boat, and perform artificial breathing.

We practice regularly rescue procedures while free-diving, either in a swimming pool or in a artificial deep pool (60 feet). I have also done something similar while going for my N4 in scuba diving (more or less equivalent to PADI Dive Master). So I guess I can say I am trained by now.

Finally Idid a one week course last year in Egypt with Umberto Pelizzari and this subject was also addressed during course, although it wasn't the main focus. And of course I am fully trained about samba and black-out symptoms.

Apart from that my "performances" are OK, but nothing to be proud of.

Would you feel OK if I were your free-diving buddy ?
 
Hi Suzu,

You are way ahead of me; looking forward to diving with you. I´ll be back Jan 1, more later.

Connor
 
Hi Connor,

Sorry for not getting back to you any sooner, I have yet to have a full itinerary to figure out when I could join you for a dive. I may have to go back on Sunday 28th evening to Miami for a business dinner, and in that case I don't think I will be able to go out at all, as I will be too busy with the Naples Wine Ferstival from Friday thru Sunday.
If I don' have to attend the dinner in Miami (which I should know by next Monday at the latest), then would it possible for you to go on Monday ?

I'll keep you posted.

Fred aka suzukisan
 
Hi Fred,

Monday morning will work, but I need to get it written on the schedule pretty soon.

Connor
 
What time are you planing to be at Troy? I may join you. I also have few more freedivers that might go as well. I'll know more tomarrow.
 
I was thinking 11-12 for me but I'm flexable. It supposed to be 75 Sunday afternoon and it sure is nicer to come out of the water when it's warmer.
 
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