Long distance (expedition) hunting

[Marwan]

ole,
i played water polo for over 10 years, i would think i know what a 10km is about..done it many times in training, we used to warm up with a 2km swim..
I think you are getting the picture though, it seems you are rethinking your original plan and trying to look at safer options..
one thing i would point you too is the kayaks...theres a kind/style of kayaks called sit on top kayaks..these are typically used for spearfishing. Its easy to get in and out of it with out problems and depending on the length/material/brand etc...are quite stable in handling surf and current...defintly worth a search
do a search on th forum using kayak as your searchword..you should find a lot of info..

 

[efattah]

Laminar and I swam to Pam Rock, 6km from the shore. We then ate & dove at Pam Rock, and swam back (6km again), in the same day. It took 2h10 to swim there, and 2h35 to swim back. The water temp was 15C.

It was one of the best trips of our life. There were about 200 seals at Pam Rock. We didn't do any spearfishing though. We dragged a dry bag filled with food, water, and emergency supplies.

We encountered annoying currents, but with monofins the currents had little effect.

 

[settingsteel]

The fins I would recommend you use are either Evinrude or Yamaha the ones that have numbers in front with HP after, the type lifejacket could be a Boston Whaler, Bertram, or even a Carolina Skiff these al work wellroflroflrofl

 

[azapa]

I have spent a month traveling around Sri Lanka, we stayed near trinco for a while, about 10kms north (yes, tamil road blocks etc). I particularly remember pigeon island about 3Km off nilaveli, lovely. This was long before it was hit hard by the tsunami, it was beautiful. I believe the hotel was destroyed.

Although I can swim 8km in the ocean, I would never try your plan mate, too many variables. Basically, it would all be fine if no one got tired, had a cramp, stomach problem etc, but what the hell would you do if they did? No one here is going to say "go for it" because it sounds too crazy. I like your spirit though

 

[wes]

Well I will give you some advice as you have asked for it, sort of.

Get with your buddy and get all your gear and one evening after work swim about 1 km off shore and spend the night and then come back in to shore in the morning. If this doesn't work for whatever reason, like you get to cold or whatever and have to come in early then modify your gear or plans or whatever went wrong. Then try again to spend the night in the sea untill you can with no worries.

Now you can go out and swim out and back very far with little worries and if you have to spend the night offshore you will have the experiene.

Once windsurfing of Long Beach I sailed out at sunset to an oil platform 6 miles off shore and then quickly blew out my finbox so had to swim in with my sailboard. I swam in down wind and down waves so was a bit easier than swimming alone without a board but still alot of work. I got in about midnight and it was really no big deal. I knew I had a warm enough suit to spend the night so just slowly worked my way toward shore and knew that eventually I would get there which I did. I have had many many adventures like this windsurfing and kitebaording and enjoy really this part of these sports the most, going out past the crowds and exploring and sometimes having to swim in.

Another time while kitebaording I was at a very remote beach (no rescue and no coast guard) in Baja Mexico with off shore winds and everyone there was freaked out about me going out to kiteboard as I was just learning. So first day I went out with my kite wrapped up on top of my board and swam out about 1 mile and up then swam up the coast then swam back down then back in and took about 3 hours and I never even launched my kite. But then I (and every one else on the beach) knew that if I got stuck or wrecked my kite, I could just swim in, and I had a wonderful 2 week kiteboard vacation there.

Cheers Wes Lapp

 

[mupwi]

yo maby a good option would be to tow a couple of kayaks maby one for every 2 guys in youre group that way you have place to keep all youre gear and keep youre fish out of the water If you get cramp of someone gets injured or the sharks come looking you have someware to get out of the water It may be dificult to padel with 2 people on a single yayak but it will flote you and give you a place to rest you cold even raft them up for more stability and you can still do youre swim just my 2c

 

[ancientdiver]

Use a boat or a kayak. Take a local fisherman as a guide. Keep the fish out of the water. Immediately get each kill out of the water. Move from the locale of each kill to at least 1/2 mile away after each shot. Your planned outing, as described, is beyond dumber than dirt. If you swim with while dragging dead fish, sharks will be there sooner or later. Take it to the bank. The crunching sound a shark makes as it eats your kill will be very audible, and other sharks will appear out of nowhere to see if there are any snacks for them too. You'll be there snack if a big'un shows up. If you do this plan as described, you will be a classic example of Darwinian evolution - your genes will be eliminated from the gene pool. Suicidally stupid. You have to be a complete neophyte, arm chair spearo. Have a nice trip.

 

[dannieh42]

I am usually not a smartass on these forums and I dislike when people are, but this time I have to say something about this...

Keep the fish out of the water. Immediately get each kill out of the water. Move from the locale of each kill to at least 1/2 mile away after each shot.

If your hunting technique is "shoot one fish then - run for the boat - ride somewhere else to shoot one fish". How do you ever get any fish? Sharks are part of diving. They are an even bigger part of spearfishing. You just have to learn deal with it.
I have spent at least 200 hours freediving/spearfishing at some local jetties (perdido pass). These jetties are at the mouth of a bay where freshwater and saltwater mix. Visiblility varies anywhere from 3 to 15 ft. I have dove there day and night. To be short this is perfect bull shark territory. If I got out of the water everytime I shot one fish I probably would not waste the 45 minutes it takes me to drive there.

 

[blaiz]

I know that this post is a little old but I thought I would add some food for thought.

Ole, you need to take some advise from people who have paved the way in this sport. These guys have experienced a lot more than you give them credit for. It seems to me that your ego may be playing a little to high a priority here. Dont get me wrong, egos have a big part in spearfishing but when they steer a person beyond reason and logic it can be a dangerous thing.

I dont mean to beat a dead horse but your plan, as stated numerous times above, has way to many holes in it. If you talk to any one who takes extreme risks in sports there is always extensive planning behind these stunts. I live in hawaii where long distant swims(interisland swims of 30 miles or more), surfing waves as tall as 5 storie buildings, and some major spearfishing, are an everyday activity. What all these extremists have in common is extensive planning. At the top of this planning is the respect and consideration of the advise of experienced people.

Aloha and good luck!

 

[blaiz]

The fins I would recommend you use are either Evinrude or Yamaha the ones that have numbers in front with HP after, the type lifejacket could be a Boston Whaler, Bertram, or even a Carolina Skiff these al work wellroflroflrofl

I friggen love this!!rofl

 

[settingsteel]

In my humble opinion, one of the best advice yet...albeit the gear might be a tad bit expensive...but saferofl

 

[Mr. X]

I won't mention the danger as you no doubt got the message on that. I understand the adventure element. It does sound difficult but do-able. I wonder how well prepared you all are. How well do you know the waters concerned? During your training, have you speared fish after the 5km outswim (for, say, 2-4 hours or whatever your plan is), and before the 5km swim back? Spearfishing can be a tiring activity in its own right & will add significantly to your time in the water. Have you taken adequate account of the spearing equipment that you will be taking and the fish that you are planning to drag back? Have you taken account of the climate (adequate water to avoid dehyration, sunblock, shades/tinted mask). Do you have a plan B if things go wrong (get washed out to sea/loose a fin/get disoriented/weather goes bad)? Flares/waterproofed phone/VHF. Does Sri Lanka have any rescue service(s)/fishing boats nearby -- will you need to pay for them? It seems like there are a lot of rich folk there but a lot of people are quite poor.

Re. kayaks, a sit-on-top kayak (1 seater/2-seater/3-seater) or surf ski would seem like a better approach -- if you can get one in Sri Lanka. Alternatively Sevylor make inflatable sit-on kayaks, 1 & 2 seaters. Does your budget stretch to kayaks?

Failing that, one of those big spearing floats, like a mini-dingy, with windscreen, handles, pockets, waterbottle holder, etc. that you hang onto & fin along might be a handy compromise.

Re. sharks, I suppose you might get a chance to fend one off but I gather that they sometimes come from directly below & take their prey before they know it is there. Fish are generally much quieter & more agile in the water than we will ever be. I seem to recall reading (Ian Rodger's book I believe) that normally passive sharks start acting hungry around tea time; fish seem to feed mainly dusk through dawn but there are definitely exceptions.

I admire your sense of adventure. If you are well prepared - good luck. If not, best leave it.

 

[tbgsub]

I am only going to comment briefly on this one, contrary to all of my usual long winded responses, but in a nutshell, if you swim the 5K distance with your gear, how can the spearing be any good? depending on your speed of swimming your heart rate will be ummm close to your land triathlon running/bybicling heart rate. If you are a super stud like Jack Lelaine your heart should be close to 160/180 BPM? you will need at least an hour to calm it down enough to spear reasonably, unless all you expect to do is shallow short reef fishing dives. If you are still considering the long swim of insanity, consider that you may loose all your gear, or all your catch in changing current, just to be able to swim back to the shore. One option ends up as a waste of gear, the other even worse, is a waste of sealife, and the third most daunting one is the potential waste of your own. I have had to make that decision in nearly 4 Knot waters here is Saipan, I chose to ditch the gun and swim for the boat upcurrent 200 meters. I still cant believe I made it with my float in tow. Next time I will just drift out with my gear and wave for the boat to pic me up, which for you would also be the best option in case something happens.

if you want shoredive bluewater swim out action, hitch a ride on a bus with all your gear to an area where the reef is closer to the beach, say 2K or less for reasonable fishing potential. You will want the swim out and back to be a leisurely activity to keep your heart rate low, and save the adventure exercise for training exercise.

Imagine the fun you will have in explaining a blue marlin whose place you had to purchase in the seat next to you as he accompanies you back home to dinner on the bus ride back to the appartment/hotel!!! If you should get this adventuriously lucky, you at the very least owe all us a picture!

best of luck to you in all your outlandish adventures.

TBGSUB.

 

[bluewaterkiller]

1st advice ..do not ..
then if you really wants to..
you would need a souple pair of fins not to be tired .long fins such as what i use here are the `IMERSION` E-glass model .are perfect but quite expensive.

swimming 5kms to go then spearfishing cession then back..5kms or more ..is a long way but is about what we doing over here some days but on side from the reef while spearfishing ..just the idea from swimming 5kms to go and not spearfishing on the way is tiring my mind..
then pulling yr gears ...do not forget the way back if you get some fishes ..
you ll increasing the weight to pull..
i am using a custom body board with a meshbag on it where i can put the fishes in with some whatever drinks/foods/phone ..this is the lightest stuff to pull on water

but as it said previously a kayak would be LOT more appropriate..

last january some stupids driving the boat lost me offshore and i had to swim back to next island !!!i had no float as the boat should have been
staying 20 meters away only...
Men it is a pain in the Ass..to swim such a long distance ...

But i wish you good luck..and post yr fishes pictures before to eat them !!

 

[MahiMan]

bluewater you just gave me a great idea for my boogie float :friday

 

[bluewaterkiller]

bluewater you just gave me a great idea for my boogie float :friday

yes this why forum could be useful for.
.

 

[blumon]

I like it! Questions like depth of the water between your 'put-in' and your objective... you'll also need a compass to find you way back unless the area has some really high mountains to use as a landmark...and then of course the currents - information about which could be found in a maritime ocean current atlas. If you spear any fish then I would recommend a game bag that has a waterproof seal - something like a HUGE freezer bag ziplock!
Personally I have never quite considered swimming straight out to sea...however, ocean swimming for long distances is not totally uncommon. I first swam a coastline on the island of Lampedusa (about a 6-7 mile stretch)in the Med (close to Malta) and more recently in the Bahamas - Cat Island and the Exumas - the latter involved catching an outgoing tide in one of the numerous cuts...kinda like a rollercoaster ride and very exhilirating...and then catching an incoming tide later in the day. I cannot explain the absolute feeling of satisfaction that I got from this activity, but a lot of planning also went into it. If there is determination to do this kind of EXTREME diving, then I would work up to it in stages. You will be on your own out there...IF you succeed you will get one of the most incredible 'highs' of your life...and you will want more!!! Good luck. B

 

[irtrogdor]

Well Ole, I think you deserve more credit than people are giving you. Swimming 10 Km (or 6 and some miles) is a hefty feat. I say you should go for it. As for taking a boat, why not strike a deal with some fishermen or someone you know that has a boat to go fish (or whatever) in the area you're going to? You could both have radios so that if anything goes wrong all they have to do is go get you. If all goes well, so be it!

What kind of kayaks are you familiar with? There some nice sit-on-top plastic ones out that built for two people. I think they go for around 500 bucks (usd). Even regular sit-inside types are fairly easy to hop into if your buddies are holding on to it while you get in.

 

[Mr. X]

As the thread is still active, a couple more thoughts:

* If you spear & the waters are sharky, you'll probably need to keep your fish out of the water. The New Zealanders have came up with the Plat to help solve that problem: NZ Plat

* Might be better to just pay a local fisherman or boat owner to take you out for a day's spear fishing. That would also help avoid wasting any fish caught. Perhaps treat the "big swim" as a separate project.

 

[bluewaterkiller]

As the thread is still active, a couple more thoughts:

* If you spear & the waters are sharky, you'll probably need to keep your fish out of the water. The New Zealanders have came up with the Plat to help solve that problem: NZ Plat

* Might be better to just pay a local fisherman or boat owner to take you out for a day's spear fishing. That would also help avoid wasting any fish caught. Perhaps treat the "big swim" as a separate project.

i m sorry mr x but i saw this product with a comp team ..few years ago and it was .Sinking!!
so try to pull a sinking stuff!!1 and sink yr self!!HAHA!
all z best..