Guernsey 2013

Mike, i think some of you guys use the omer atoll float and carry your fins on the float when walking up the beach - how do you attach the fins?
just bodging my gear ready for the new season...

Jonny250 said:

Mike, i think some of you guys use the omer atoll float and carry your fins on the float when walking up the beach - how do you attach the fins?
just bodging my gear ready for the new season...

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Hi Jonny, I sling the SMB and I always use a seperate net bag with a shoulder strap. Fits all my gear and crumples into a very small space on my float. You wont ever loose anything. If I use a torpedo smb I shove the bag in the crutch of my wetsuit ! Very impressive!!!!If I am lucky enough to catch , when walking back, I often also put the fish in the bag to save them dropping off my stringer. cheers mike

Thanks Mike.

water looks gin-clear at the moment... just need my gloves to arrive in the post...

I saw some nice 5mm gloves in Quayside recently!

foxfish said:

I saw some nice 5mm gloves in Quayside recently!

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I did look locally Mart; but I'm fairly picky when it comes to kit. i didnt like the few choices i had locally. i also struggled to find any XL gloves at all in the dive shops.
anyway the postman has been now...

managed a short dive this afternoon, vis has gone!!! should have gone surfing.

Hi Jonny, At least u braved the chill!

Safety issue

Have a look at these posters. They are being circulated on facebook following a recent boating accident where a spearo was killed.
(he was using an SMB and flag) I think most can they have experienced a few near misses so our club (Club Apnea) are going to try and raise awareness in our local boating and jet ski community. The posters cld be usefull for others to do the same too? Posted on ur Gnsy forum first but maybe there is a better place for them?

cheers mike

They are very good mike I'm going to print some and try and get them up around our patch.And speak to the harbour master and see if they can be brought to the sailors attention.Maybe the beech wardens and there notice boards.

Just noticed that I cut one of the previously posted safety poster in half, so here is the full version.............hopefully!

oh that's better thanks Haven't printed them couldn't get printer to work !got optic tho!yippee.

jerseymike said:

Have a look at these posters. They are being circulated on facebook following a recent boating accident where a spearo was killed. (he was using an SMB and flag) I think most can they have experienced a few near misses so our club (Club Apnea) are going to try and raise awareness in our local boating and jet ski community. The posters cld be usefull for others to do the same too? Posted on ur Gnsy forum first but maybe there is a better place for them?

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Nice one mike, but i reckon they need editing - 100m around every float doesn't seem realistic? good idea tho.

Jonny250 said:

Nice one mike, but i reckon they need editing - 100m around every float doesn't seem realistic? good idea tho.

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Hi Jonny, For local dives, I normally use 25m line which in theory should put me at 25 max from my float, however, bear in mind divers (inc me) often anchor the float near to a prime dive spot, particularly where a line would be a danger or hindrance so I think this 100m idea, builds in a good safety margin and it least it gets people thinking they should steer well clear and slow down.

cheers

mike

I agree with Jonny, great idea but for such signs to have any affect the boat drivers need to think they're reasonable, and 100m doesn't seem it to me.

We can't expect to put a float in and expect the area to an annexed to all other users of the sea, especially in the congested waters around our islands.

Magpie said:

I agree with Jonny, great idea but for such signs to have any affect the boat drivers need to think they're reasonable, and 100m doesn't seem it to me.

We can't expect to put a float in and expect the area to an annexed to all other users of the sea, especially in the congested waters around our islands.

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Hi Magpie, great to hear from you. Look fwd to mtg at the fishin. So guys, what distance wld u thing suitable for Guernsey waters?

manage to print some up and edit them a bit will try and post them when down the coast next.

Mike here is the info from the BSA website, which i think is sensible:
"A good-sized, brightly coloured float warns other water users to keep clear and to take care. It is essential therefore, that the spearfisherman plays his part and stays within 15m."
REF: British Spearfishing Association
So 20m would seem about as much as a boater would likely give? Imagine in the bays and some of the channels - there wouldnt be much sea room left.
Having said that, i get nervous and start looking around when i hear a propeller half a mile away!!!

I was just thinking how much I miss OMD......
For one...... I have never eaten so little fish!
Dave would be catching all year around & supplying all the family with at least one fish meal a week & there are plenty of family members!
Dave's posts on the forum were always worth reading, he had a real talent for writing too.
At this time of year we would be having ormer stories, nostalgic stories, lessons in marine biology & dry humor + night dive adventures !
For me personally, I would speak to Dave every day ( or perhaps only 300 days a year )
So he is still in my mind most every day & he will always be around in my head ... miss you bro :king

Jonny250 said:

Mike here is the info from the BSA website, which i think is sensible:
"A good-sized, brightly coloured float warns other water users to keep clear and to take care. It is essential therefore, that the spearfisherman plays his part and stays within 15m."
REF: British Spearfishing Association
So 20m would seem about as much as a boater would likely give? Imagine in the bays and some of the channels - there wouldnt be much sea room left.
Having said that, i get nervous and start looking around when i hear a propeller half a mile away!!!

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Hi Jonny,

My recollection was that BSA comp rules required comp divers to stay within 25m of their SMB? Has this changed?

Obviously the closer you stay to your SMB the better and safer u will be......... provided boat owners know what they are looking for and know what to do when the see your SMB. Raising awareness of the danger is the main drive behind this facebook campaign and the requested exclusion distance, whilst important, is only part of the message.

Re distance issue................
If your diving fairly deep, when u surface, u can be at least that depth from your bouy, and I guess quite a few divers dive more than 15m even in british waters? Also quite a few divers anchor there bouy and dive around it, rather than keep it attached at all times. So there is a chance divers will surface slightly further away from their SMB than anticipated. Accepted there arent many spearos who dive 25m, so in most cases the bouy line can be much shorter than this and ideally should be constantly adjusted to the depth that ur diving. Definitely wouldn't recommend anyone venture far from the SMB in a boat traffic area, I pull mine right up to my back and often stop diving and wave my gun until I am sure passing boats have seen me. You need to be very careful, but perhaps there r also occasions when u might be ok to safely venture slightly further from ur SMB, eg if u were in hunting an extensive weed bed or round some isolated heads?

I have not noticed the BSA 15m reference b4? This can only be good advice, and probably fits most sperafishing circumstances but perhaps not very realistic if ur diving 15m+. Even assuming u dive a max of 15m and have only a 15m bouy line, U could surface 15m from ur bouy and I for one, would not be happy if a jet ski or motorboat shot past me only 5m away! Also what i may judge as 20m may not be the same as the next blokes assesment and distance is very difficult to judge in open water particularly if ur on a speeding boat. So a bigger exclusion builds in a margin of error for both parties. Near misses have happend to me and my dive buddies on more than one occasion and its not nice!

I suggest that a requested 20m exclusion from an SMB is is far too small and could infact cause boat owners to think that they can safely speed past at that distance. I accept 100m could be seen as excessive by some, but I suggest requesting only 20m exclusion is potentially dangerous. Perhaps there is a better figure somewhere imbetween? But Gny wise, tis ur cal, and at least it gets us spearsos thinking about it and if u distribute the posters (with whatever parameters you guys decide) u will get ur local boat owners thinking about it too. safe diving cheers mike

foxfish said:

I was just thinking how much I miss OMD......
For one...... I have never eaten so little fish!
Dave would be catching all year around & supplying all the family with at least one fish meal a week & there are plenty of family members!
Dave's posts on the forum were always worth reading, he had a real talent for writing too.
At this time of year we would be having ormer stories, nostalgic stories, lessons in marine biology & dry humor + night dive adventures !
For me personally, I would speak to Dave every day ( or perhaps only 300 days a year )
So he is still in my mind most every day & he will always be around in my head ... miss you bro :king

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Thinking of you. Cheers