Into the Abyss - canadian west coast spearfishing adventure

[john alberta]

HI to everyone that takes the time to read this and a huge thanks to Miles for putting together the Dummies Guide to Spearfishing

I am 29 years old, 250lbs 113kg Big guy/active fat kid - kiteboarding,rock climbing, swimming, mountin bike ect... I can hold my breath and swim 50m in length (across my local pool and back) max depth unknown and am heading to the Canadian west coast, Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, tofino for a kiteboarding / spearfishing Vacation and need your help because I have never spearfished and am planning to dive in head first!

please advise any locations techniques or gear you can think of to make my trip more sucsessful or safer thank you for your time/advise I have no boat so please advise for shallow water locations acssessable by swimming from shore

equipment - I just ordered my first speargun - JSC thunder 70 37inch
I have a 4/3 wetsuit that I use for kiteboarding I'm going to use for my dive suit & snorkel and mask that has done me good in the past I'm pulling out of storage also a set of medium length fins and have a dive knife with hard case and ankle straps :martial I wanna spear some stuff!

 

[J Campbell]

Hi. Please DON'T swim underwater laps by yourself. Always have a buddy watching you closely. And a lifeguard is not good enough - he may be chatting with his friend or watching other swimmers or get a phone call. You can black out in SECONDS with no warning. People can and do DIE every year doing just what you are doing, thinking that they feel fine. Take a freedive course.
Never dive alone. Never hold your breath alone (unless you are out of the water).

Having said all that - have fun!

 

[john alberta]

Good point - all of them!
my brother will be swimming with me so I will have a buddy, as for the swimming the pool underwater, I gess I need to find someone to swim with here locally, but it's hard to find people that even swim let alone freedive in Alberta Canada ( frozen flatland 7months of the year) but I'll ask some of the other lane swimmers to keep an eye on me when I'm training.

as for my dive belt I just stoped at a dive store and got 5 ft of belt and a classic metal hing buckle ( should have read dummies guide to spearfishing first) but would you use one to freedive/spearfish I'll be mindfull of the extra time needed to unbuckle while surficing and even remove the belt and carry it back up in hand - but my question is: would you use one of these or not? I understand there id a quick relese modle available? do everyone use these or is it cash grab gimmick

 

[Kars]

The best thing that you can do is get in touch with an local spearo or freediver. You'll enjoy the company learning and sharing, and when proper buddy techniques applied, have increased your safety manifold.

Your enthusiastic energy is inspiring, use it to find a buddy, get yourself in shape, and explore deeperblue (search function) to find the faq answers.

By getting shape one has not to have a superman body, but you"ll need to improve proper finning technique and the related muscles. Also the chest and diaphragm need to become more flexible. The biggest boost one gets from learning to gain mind control. Without force to quickly focus, and be very calm and comfortable in the water.
I've seen a big friendly German in a lake diving with great ease, very elegantly, down to 40m. He reminded me of a walrus due to his moustache.

Anyway, I get carried away.. Let talk gear, I think the spearfisher buckle is a sensible thing and technique. However it only works if you do not start doing more of your dives closer to you limits - riskier diving. Another thing that helps is a bottom timer. The alarm should help you to prevent staying to long at the bottom, as the hunt and the pressure makes forgetting and misjudging one O2 reserves very difficult. Also Terry Maas' Freedive Recovery Vest is a good option for speafishermen.

For safety I think a course and freedive training is vital. This will teach you the freediving principles, safety, and helps you to explore personal limits, so you"ll recognise your limits before you black out.

Always dive with a buddy.

Love Courage and Water,

Kars

 

[J Campbell]

I understand your frustration at not finding freediving buddies! I still don't have one - not popular where I am. If you ask lap swimmers to keep an eye on you, then only do your underwater stuff while they are resting and are really watching you. It's very common and understandable that a newbie will try to see how far he can push while underwater - often the answer is that they push too far and pass out and drown. It's easy to overestimate your abilities. And after doing a couple of underwater laps you develop an "oxygen debt" and become even more susceptible.

Regarding dive belt - I'm not sure what a "classic metal hinge" is. But my belt has a metal buckle with a "springy" pin - when you pull the loose end of the belt to release it, the pin pops out of the hole and the belt easily slides off under its own weight. I got it at "makospearguns.com". The important thing about the belt is that it should come off quickly and easily without you having to fumble around with it. My belt comes off with a simple pull using just one hand.

 

[john alberta]

this is my belt what I called "classic metal hinge" I don't know the lingo sry

 

[Kars]

Looks like a nylon belt, freedivers use a rubber belt, put it around the hip, and elasticity keeps it in place even when the suit compresses. Like this one:Seacsub Marsellaise Belt. like this one: Seacsub Marsellaise Belt.

 

[john alberta]

thank you I will stop at a dive shop and get the right one no big deal $30 for the buckle and nylon I will find an other use for that on thank you I didn't understand and bought this one befor finding this site