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South Devon report 2007

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 90 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Aren't the Birds Eye View maps wonderful? Taken some time over the winter judging by the shadows and trees and things - and there are cars parked on Paignton Sea Front, from memory... Very detailed - my parents were amazed at how good the view of their house was. HOWEVER there seem to be few such maps around, and (particularly given when they were taken) I doubt they'd be much use for dive planning...
 
Re; Suits

I am a bit of a stick and get on really well with a 7mm. I have always used one, it keeps me warm. I have never been too hot in one! I've just bought a new one, as my old one has had its day, and its perfect (for me). My buddies prefer the 5mm but then they have a little more 'natural insulation'!
 
I originally bought a 5mm opencell plus a 1mm neoprene vest which did me well early and late in the season and is a cheaper and effective solution rather than a 7mm. Dave has these at Spearo made by Elios.

More recently I bought a 7mm Camo open cell which is really warm and has been great through the winter but you do notice the reduced flexibility and extra bouyancy - I have to carry 50% more lead using the 7mm than the 5mm.

A small word of warning which I got from Dave and have found to be true. The degree of 'squeeze' your suit experiences obviously increases with depth. This makes you more negatively bouyant the deeper you go. Past a certain point the amount of bouyancy left in your rubber between a 5mm and 7mm suit is negligable. If you are used to going to a particular depth (which is deep enough to match the bouyancy of the 7mm and 5mm through squeeze) with a 5mm suit and then ascending - With a 7mm suit the extra weight can make the ascent seem much harder before you overcome the negative bouyancy and start to ascend without finning.
 
I originally bought a 5mm opencell plus a 1mm neoprene vest which did me well early and late in the season and is a cheaper and effective solution rather than a 7mm. Dave has these at Spearo made by Elios.

More recently I bought a 7mm Camo open cell which is really warm and has been great through the winter but you do notice the reduced flexibility and extra bouyancy - I have to carry 50% more lead using the 7mm than the 5mm.

A small word of warning which I got from Dave and have found to be true. The degree of 'squeeze' your suit experiences obviously increases with depth. This makes you more negatively bouyant the deeper you go. Past a certain point the amount of bouyancy left in your rubber between a 5mm and 7mm suit is negligable. If you are used to going to a particular depth (which is deep enough to match the bouyancy of the 7mm and 5mm through squeeze) with a 5mm suit and then ascending - With a 7mm suit the extra weight can make the ascent seem much harder before you overcome the negative bouyancy and start to ascend without finning.
 
Hi

Thanks for all the advice on wetsuits. It sounds like the 7mm isn't for me then? I have a 5mm shortie suit and currently i was getting cool after 2 hrs in the drink. Will a full spearfishing type wetsuit be that much different and will i need the camouflage? I see many gallery photos with people wearing black and still carrying good huals.
 
Hi

Thanks for all the advice on wetsuits. It sounds like the 7mm isn't for me then? I have a 5mm shortie suit and currently i was getting cool after 2 hrs in the drink. Will a full spearfishing type wetsuit be that much different and will i need the camouflage? I see many gallery photos with people wearing black and still carrying good huals.

A camo wetsuit is kind of a fashion thing, i had a black wetsuit last session but a camo suit this season ( just for the fun of it), have not noticed a difference yet in the fishes behaviour.

Camo catches divers not fish!.:)
 
Hey Spearheads, how's the viz down at Oddicombe? The winds look like they've been kind all week. Has the bloom blooming disappeared or got better yet? Was thinking of a visit tomorrow:)
 
Hi
thanks again for the advice. where can get a spearfishing wetsuit from? Some have metioned Spearo and i'm looking into that but where did your camo suit come from.

Many thanks.
 
Tribs - I would definately go to Dave at Spearo for your suit - I have bought elsewhere in the past and been dissapointed - not with the service but just because I must have an odd shaped body - I have bought 2 made to measure suits from Dave - they are really good.

James
 
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didnt someone use a suit with the underwater version of a snipers ghillie suit with little loops of elastic to tuck chunks of the local weed into? must have been most disconcerting to waders as he emerged like the creature from the black lagoon!! ( now that dates me!!)
 
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Chris Isaacs,

From the Jersey club did a lot of experimenting with camouflage with varying degrees of success. There is a photo of him coming out of the water a few years ago from an international competition in Jersey with bits of cam on his wetsuit. Chris is one of spearfishing’s great thinkers and has come up with a lot of innovative idea's that has improved his success in terms of catching fish.

Here is a link from the jersey website where Chris has written an article on camouflage.

Jersey Spearfishing Club

You can also see some great Bass photo’s on the site as well
 
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