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Spearfishing competitions - BSA & others
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Y
Yeti
Guest
Re: British Spearfishing Association Announcements
I have my reservations that dropping comps is going to achieve anything constructive. Changing them maybe to be a little more acceptable to jo publics internety browsing tastes? (don't know enough about them to comment really and besides there are enough pictures of folk sat in puddles of fish on the tinterweb to do more damage than a competion anyway??!), but loosing such a chunk of what spearfishing is and has been for a looooooong time? not so sure.?? humans have been competing at anything and everything since year dot. We are just built that way....presumably to survive? If all that existed in the world was picking our nose we'd probably compete at that!
There is no golden egg or magic pill. Everyone has their opinion which they are entitled to, and there is only one outcome which I would guarantee and that is, some folk will be happy....some will not. Difficult one to be sure.
I have my reservations that dropping comps is going to achieve anything constructive. Changing them maybe to be a little more acceptable to jo publics internety browsing tastes? (don't know enough about them to comment really and besides there are enough pictures of folk sat in puddles of fish on the tinterweb to do more damage than a competion anyway??!), but loosing such a chunk of what spearfishing is and has been for a looooooong time? not so sure.?? humans have been competing at anything and everything since year dot. We are just built that way....presumably to survive? If all that existed in the world was picking our nose we'd probably compete at that!
There is no golden egg or magic pill. Everyone has their opinion which they are entitled to, and there is only one outcome which I would guarantee and that is, some folk will be happy....some will not. Difficult one to be sure.
Re: British Spearfishing Association Announcements
I personally think competitions can be a good thing, with the chance to meet new spearos, dive new locations and learn different techniques from more experienced spearos. I would love to represent my country in a activity I enjoy so much, and i think competitions offer the chance to work up to that level. I think the competitions should have restrictions in place eg a maximum number of fish per species. This would ensure excessive fish are not bought back by spearos, and if the competitions are well spaced out and venues alternated I don't think it would affect fish stocks that much.
I agree with Eric aqua with trawlers being able to net within ten miles of the shore. I think the BSA are doing their best to try and raise awareness of illegal trawling or inshore trawling to try and improve spearfishing for everyone by trying to put a stop to this. Also the BSA offers insurance for spearos, regardless of whether or not they compete. After all no one is forcing members to compete.
Just my 2p worth
I personally think competitions can be a good thing, with the chance to meet new spearos, dive new locations and learn different techniques from more experienced spearos. I would love to represent my country in a activity I enjoy so much, and i think competitions offer the chance to work up to that level. I think the competitions should have restrictions in place eg a maximum number of fish per species. This would ensure excessive fish are not bought back by spearos, and if the competitions are well spaced out and venues alternated I don't think it would affect fish stocks that much.
I agree with Eric aqua with trawlers being able to net within ten miles of the shore. I think the BSA are doing their best to try and raise awareness of illegal trawling or inshore trawling to try and improve spearfishing for everyone by trying to put a stop to this. Also the BSA offers insurance for spearos, regardless of whether or not they compete. After all no one is forcing members to compete.
Just my 2p worth
Re: British Spearfishing Association Announcements
Ive been following this discussion with intrest,as I am a ethically concerned spearo who wiews competitions in very much the same way as scoobaru,You get to meet other seanerds and learn lots. Here in Norway we have a small group of competing spearoes,which also are the ones representing spearfishing in the national diving association. When I went to denmark for the nordic comp,all the fish that was not claimed by the spearoes where cleaned and donated to the local hospital and old folks home. I think that as long as the fish is eaten is it that bad? I mean there is rodfishing competitions that does not practice catch and release.
Ive been following this discussion with intrest,as I am a ethically concerned spearo who wiews competitions in very much the same way as scoobaru,You get to meet other seanerds and learn lots. Here in Norway we have a small group of competing spearoes,which also are the ones representing spearfishing in the national diving association. When I went to denmark for the nordic comp,all the fish that was not claimed by the spearoes where cleaned and donated to the local hospital and old folks home. I think that as long as the fish is eaten is it that bad? I mean there is rodfishing competitions that does not practice catch and release.
Re: British Spearfishing Association Announcements
I do not see the difference between a load of locals all gettin in the same spot and spearfishing, compared to an organised competition. If anything the competition is more safety orientated with safety boats, local authorities alerted and time limits set in place to make it as safe and enjoyable as possible for everyone involved. I think instead of bickering amongst ourselves as to whether competition spearfishing or recreational spearfishing is more ethical and morally correct we should all support an association who are constantly trying to fight for spearfishermen (and women) in general, to ensure we can all still enjoy spearfishing for many years to come. As a group we are more likely to be heard, resulting in greater awareness being raised to the damage being done to the inshore coastal areas and inshore fish stocks.
I do not see the difference between a load of locals all gettin in the same spot and spearfishing, compared to an organised competition. If anything the competition is more safety orientated with safety boats, local authorities alerted and time limits set in place to make it as safe and enjoyable as possible for everyone involved. I think instead of bickering amongst ourselves as to whether competition spearfishing or recreational spearfishing is more ethical and morally correct we should all support an association who are constantly trying to fight for spearfishermen (and women) in general, to ensure we can all still enjoy spearfishing for many years to come. As a group we are more likely to be heard, resulting in greater awareness being raised to the damage being done to the inshore coastal areas and inshore fish stocks.
A
artiz
Guest
Re: British Spearfishing Association Announcements
I think so far we have all contributed to a pretty balanced set of comments here but the competition element is prominent so why can't we deal with that first? It certainly seems a bit of a sticking point.
I wondered why the winning measure of competitive success was size, amount or weight when they are the very measures which have always got humanity into trouble... mainly because they are also measures of greed?
Why couldn't competitions measure something like select-ability, the ultimate spearfishing skill in my opinion.
Perhaps a bag limit of 2 possibly 3 fish which most of us would be very happy/satisfied with on any given dive to start with. Your real success however is measured by the nearest you can get with both or all three to the average size/weight/length appropriate/sustainable for the species taken. Absolutely no dumping???
For instance if the recommended minimum size is 45cm and the maximum size regarding sustainability (avoiding big females) larger than 70cm you win with a 57.5cm fish (equivalent weight etc). In sustainability terms those sized fish would be replaced in 2-4 years rather than 30-40 years for the average 10-15lb fish (sorry just guessing figures here?)
You also eat what you caught (if not its stuffed down your throat anywayrofl )
Sure that may not be the way Internationals are judged but perhaps its up to us British spearo's to show an intelligent, sustainable & selective way forward?
Secondly, why doesn't the BSA also organise species hunts with underwater video cameras mentioned elsewhere by Foxfish... where you have a specified time to video and then identify flora, fauna and creatures. These videos could also provide marine science with video evidence for MPZ management and bio-diversity... a unique bank of location specific video is something else that the BSA could bring to any future negotiation table? Good training technique too?
These are just ideas for the pot but we need to move this on to that elusive middle ground agreement so I'm hoping more informed others can add/improve here... or even perhaps agree.... now I really am getting a bit overexcited?
Come on BSA guys keep chipping in please, all your views are valued and essential here?
I think so far we have all contributed to a pretty balanced set of comments here but the competition element is prominent so why can't we deal with that first? It certainly seems a bit of a sticking point.
I wondered why the winning measure of competitive success was size, amount or weight when they are the very measures which have always got humanity into trouble... mainly because they are also measures of greed?
Why couldn't competitions measure something like select-ability, the ultimate spearfishing skill in my opinion.
Perhaps a bag limit of 2 possibly 3 fish which most of us would be very happy/satisfied with on any given dive to start with. Your real success however is measured by the nearest you can get with both or all three to the average size/weight/length appropriate/sustainable for the species taken. Absolutely no dumping???
For instance if the recommended minimum size is 45cm and the maximum size regarding sustainability (avoiding big females) larger than 70cm you win with a 57.5cm fish (equivalent weight etc). In sustainability terms those sized fish would be replaced in 2-4 years rather than 30-40 years for the average 10-15lb fish (sorry just guessing figures here?)
You also eat what you caught (if not its stuffed down your throat anywayrofl )
Sure that may not be the way Internationals are judged but perhaps its up to us British spearo's to show an intelligent, sustainable & selective way forward?
Secondly, why doesn't the BSA also organise species hunts with underwater video cameras mentioned elsewhere by Foxfish... where you have a specified time to video and then identify flora, fauna and creatures. These videos could also provide marine science with video evidence for MPZ management and bio-diversity... a unique bank of location specific video is something else that the BSA could bring to any future negotiation table? Good training technique too?
These are just ideas for the pot but we need to move this on to that elusive middle ground agreement so I'm hoping more informed others can add/improve here... or even perhaps agree.... now I really am getting a bit overexcited?
Come on BSA guys keep chipping in please, all your views are valued and essential here?
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: British Spearfishing Association Announcements
After all the debate I thought I would write a few lines about the effect competition spearfishing has had on my life over the years. Sorry lads I got a bit carried away so have split it in to six parts that I will post over the next few weeks to hopefully give us all a taste for the coming season.
Competitive Spearfishing (Part One)
I started spearfishing as an eleven year old in 1959, so as you can see I have been around the block a few times, having found an old face mask in a friends toy cupboard and watching the early diving programs on television myself and a few other lads managed to scrape some gear together from Woolworths, army surplus stores and what we could not buy our fathers made for us. As with all others hobbies we competed with each other, some going out to sea further than the others, a little deeper or stayed in a little longer. Carrying more puppy fat than the others I headed back to the beach an hour after them managing to catch a good sole and a large Turbot on my first attempt at spearfishing.
As the years progressed many of the lads fell by the wayside but just by competing, as lads do against each other, we increased our range taking in new areas improving our bottom times and started to catch better and bigger fish but after nine years felt there must be other areas. The problem with only a few lads to fish with I never new what level I was at or if there was more to learn about the sport I loved.
Emerging from the sea with a belt full of prime plaice and soles in the summer of 1968, Robin Pyle, the only one of the original school boys divers to pursue the sport and I were approached by Nick Reubens of the newly formed Sussex Spearfishing Club. He informed us that hundreds of divers spread from Cornwall to Yorkshire took part in the sport and competitions were held throughout the summer months at various locations up and down the country. These competitions produced a British Champion and were used to select the British team to fish in the World Championships, which were held at different exotic locations around the world. We were amazed to find so many people – sixty in the Sussex club alone at that time – participated in the hobby we had chosen to follow. We joined on the spot.
After all the debate I thought I would write a few lines about the effect competition spearfishing has had on my life over the years. Sorry lads I got a bit carried away so have split it in to six parts that I will post over the next few weeks to hopefully give us all a taste for the coming season.
Competitive Spearfishing (Part One)
I started spearfishing as an eleven year old in 1959, so as you can see I have been around the block a few times, having found an old face mask in a friends toy cupboard and watching the early diving programs on television myself and a few other lads managed to scrape some gear together from Woolworths, army surplus stores and what we could not buy our fathers made for us. As with all others hobbies we competed with each other, some going out to sea further than the others, a little deeper or stayed in a little longer. Carrying more puppy fat than the others I headed back to the beach an hour after them managing to catch a good sole and a large Turbot on my first attempt at spearfishing.
As the years progressed many of the lads fell by the wayside but just by competing, as lads do against each other, we increased our range taking in new areas improving our bottom times and started to catch better and bigger fish but after nine years felt there must be other areas. The problem with only a few lads to fish with I never new what level I was at or if there was more to learn about the sport I loved.
Emerging from the sea with a belt full of prime plaice and soles in the summer of 1968, Robin Pyle, the only one of the original school boys divers to pursue the sport and I were approached by Nick Reubens of the newly formed Sussex Spearfishing Club. He informed us that hundreds of divers spread from Cornwall to Yorkshire took part in the sport and competitions were held throughout the summer months at various locations up and down the country. These competitions produced a British Champion and were used to select the British team to fish in the World Championships, which were held at different exotic locations around the world. We were amazed to find so many people – sixty in the Sussex club alone at that time – participated in the hobby we had chosen to follow. We joined on the spot.
British Spearfishing Association Announcements
Looking forward to the next instalment Eric.
It's incredible to hear the numbers of people involved in the sport back then. Changed days indeed.
Another positive to come out of the spearing comp environment that I never previously gave much consideration to is the development of the readily available high quality equipment we all enjoy today. We don't have to bodge stuff together or adapt gear from Woolies, although I do enjoy a bit of bod ging
We all probably have a lot to thank organisations like BSA for and as Steven highlights in his post it can only benefit leisure Spearos to join BSA, benefit from strength in numbers and,if we really feel so strongly about the comp element, change it from the inside?
Looking forward to the next instalment Eric.
It's incredible to hear the numbers of people involved in the sport back then. Changed days indeed.
Another positive to come out of the spearing comp environment that I never previously gave much consideration to is the development of the readily available high quality equipment we all enjoy today. We don't have to bodge stuff together or adapt gear from Woolies, although I do enjoy a bit of bod ging
We all probably have a lot to thank organisations like BSA for and as Steven highlights in his post it can only benefit leisure Spearos to join BSA, benefit from strength in numbers and,if we really feel so strongly about the comp element, change it from the inside?
Competitive Spearfishing (Part Two)
Arriving for our first Club dive we found fifty divers kitted up on the beach and eager to start. We had never seen so many gathered in one place. As we stood marveling at all the latest guns and suits, which made ours, look positively ancient, a whistle sounded sending them all rushing out to sea in a thrashing racing mass. By the time we had changed into our suits most of the divers were specks way out to sea heading for ground we did not know exited, after half an hour we managed to catch up with some of the divers who had started to fish, to our amazement large rocks with dark holes and ledges covered in kelp lay below us in twenty foot of water. I could not believe it, my first competition and I had already been shown more fishing grounds than I had found in the last nine years. Four hours later we arrived back in the car park to find them all gathered around a set of weighing scales supported on a wooden tripod. With only Robin and I to weigh in, the leader so far was proudly standing with two flat fish laid at his feet on a sheet of newspaper. I emptied my sack next to the scales and much to the surprise of the other club members seven large plump plaice tumbled out at the weigh masters feet. So this was what competition diving was all about? Not only had we found out how old fashion our gear was but also sixty new friends who all shared our passion to catch fish in this ageless and selective way, with the promise of fishing many new areas.
Arriving for our first Club dive we found fifty divers kitted up on the beach and eager to start. We had never seen so many gathered in one place. As we stood marveling at all the latest guns and suits, which made ours, look positively ancient, a whistle sounded sending them all rushing out to sea in a thrashing racing mass. By the time we had changed into our suits most of the divers were specks way out to sea heading for ground we did not know exited, after half an hour we managed to catch up with some of the divers who had started to fish, to our amazement large rocks with dark holes and ledges covered in kelp lay below us in twenty foot of water. I could not believe it, my first competition and I had already been shown more fishing grounds than I had found in the last nine years. Four hours later we arrived back in the car park to find them all gathered around a set of weighing scales supported on a wooden tripod. With only Robin and I to weigh in, the leader so far was proudly standing with two flat fish laid at his feet on a sheet of newspaper. I emptied my sack next to the scales and much to the surprise of the other club members seven large plump plaice tumbled out at the weigh masters feet. So this was what competition diving was all about? Not only had we found out how old fashion our gear was but also sixty new friends who all shared our passion to catch fish in this ageless and selective way, with the promise of fishing many new areas.
Competitive Spearfishing (Part Three)
Mike Davies one of the founders of the SSC asked if we would like to fish in a national competition to be held at Wenbury Bay just on the border of Cornwall. Never having fished anywhere other than Sussex we jumped at the chance to try a new area and thanks to Mike several of us were able to share the cost of the trip. After a six hour journey with more experienced divers I found they were willing to tell me all about techniques and the habits of fish but the request for marks seemed to fall on deaf ears. I was amazed to see two hundred divers many with their family’s gathered in the car park and as I strolled about looking at all the new gear and chatting to divers from as far away as Jersey and Yorkshire a gun shot echoed around the bay and over a hundred of the keener divers ran to the waters edge and started pulling on gear and swimming out to sea.
Returning to Mike’s door-mobile he told me to throw my gear on as the comp had started. I soon found out from this first national comp that the fish do not hang around for long with so many divers in the water and go to ground or leave the area. Six hours later I had shot one Mullet and three Pollack and thought I had done quite well as I had shot all I had seen to come forty sixth. Much to my surprise the winner came out with a catch of fifteen fish including Turbot, Skate, Mullet, Pollack and a six pound Bass. Mixing with the divers at the prize giving in the evening I was hungry for knowledge and many of the divers gave me a rough idea of the areas they had fished what depth the fish had been in and how the fish had appeared at certain times of the tide. This was information that would have taken years to learn fishing within my own group and waters. We camped for the night barbequing our fish over an open fire and rose early the next morning to have one more dive in this new area. Much to my surprise arriving on a shallow reef I had found the day before I was amazed to find good size Pollock and Bass back in the area so soon after a competition. We only took a couple of fish as it was a long trip home on a hot day and gave them to the couple running the camp site who fed fish to their young family for the rest of the week.
Mike Davies one of the founders of the SSC asked if we would like to fish in a national competition to be held at Wenbury Bay just on the border of Cornwall. Never having fished anywhere other than Sussex we jumped at the chance to try a new area and thanks to Mike several of us were able to share the cost of the trip. After a six hour journey with more experienced divers I found they were willing to tell me all about techniques and the habits of fish but the request for marks seemed to fall on deaf ears. I was amazed to see two hundred divers many with their family’s gathered in the car park and as I strolled about looking at all the new gear and chatting to divers from as far away as Jersey and Yorkshire a gun shot echoed around the bay and over a hundred of the keener divers ran to the waters edge and started pulling on gear and swimming out to sea.
Returning to Mike’s door-mobile he told me to throw my gear on as the comp had started. I soon found out from this first national comp that the fish do not hang around for long with so many divers in the water and go to ground or leave the area. Six hours later I had shot one Mullet and three Pollack and thought I had done quite well as I had shot all I had seen to come forty sixth. Much to my surprise the winner came out with a catch of fifteen fish including Turbot, Skate, Mullet, Pollack and a six pound Bass. Mixing with the divers at the prize giving in the evening I was hungry for knowledge and many of the divers gave me a rough idea of the areas they had fished what depth the fish had been in and how the fish had appeared at certain times of the tide. This was information that would have taken years to learn fishing within my own group and waters. We camped for the night barbequing our fish over an open fire and rose early the next morning to have one more dive in this new area. Much to my surprise arriving on a shallow reef I had found the day before I was amazed to find good size Pollock and Bass back in the area so soon after a competition. We only took a couple of fish as it was a long trip home on a hot day and gave them to the couple running the camp site who fed fish to their young family for the rest of the week.
Brilliant again Eric - weather is rubbish for diving here but your posts are a great distraction
Agreed... thanks Eric
Competitive Spearfishing (Part Four)
I returned home having made a host of new friends from all over the country, some I would stay friends with for the rest of my life and realized that I had a lot to learn about spearfishing if I wanted to progress. My spearfishing improved as I competed in more comps allowing me to be more selective in my species and size of fish in my home waters. By the time our children arrived, both girls, we were spending at least one holiday a year camping in the West Country with a whole group of divers some times as many as thirty doing some scouting for the competition but mainly exploring new areas in boats towed down from many parts of the country. On one trip to Wales we were blown and washed out of our camp by hurricane force winds. With tents being ripped to pieces and divers running around in wet suits trying to hold them down, I drove to Fishguard and knocked on the door of an old club member who had moved to the area several years before. I asked if he could put myself and a few friends up for the night in his three bedroom house. No problem was his reply how many of you are there? Oh just thirty six was my reply, he rang me at home later in the week to say that was one of the best weekends ever and I realised what a great bunch of people were involved in spearfishing.
I returned home having made a host of new friends from all over the country, some I would stay friends with for the rest of my life and realized that I had a lot to learn about spearfishing if I wanted to progress. My spearfishing improved as I competed in more comps allowing me to be more selective in my species and size of fish in my home waters. By the time our children arrived, both girls, we were spending at least one holiday a year camping in the West Country with a whole group of divers some times as many as thirty doing some scouting for the competition but mainly exploring new areas in boats towed down from many parts of the country. On one trip to Wales we were blown and washed out of our camp by hurricane force winds. With tents being ripped to pieces and divers running around in wet suits trying to hold them down, I drove to Fishguard and knocked on the door of an old club member who had moved to the area several years before. I asked if he could put myself and a few friends up for the night in his three bedroom house. No problem was his reply how many of you are there? Oh just thirty six was my reply, he rang me at home later in the week to say that was one of the best weekends ever and I realised what a great bunch of people were involved in spearfishing.
Competitive Spearfishing (Part Five)
After a few years I had improved enough to make my way into the British team travelling to Ireland for the European Championships as reserve, this involved a whole month of scouting, which is observing the fish in all sorts of seas from twenty foot waves to the odd flat calms without guns. You never stop learning in Spearfishing and this was just the start of yet another steep learning curve watching the fish for up to ten hours a day finding where they went on different tides and sea conditions. The divers came from all over Europe including some French from their colonies in Tahiti and the very top divers from Italy and Spain. We won the two day comp becoming European Champions with large catches of Pollack some to twelve pounds and as the fish were weighed volunteers gutted and filleted the fish to be taken away to local hospitals and nursing homes. The tales told as the divers let their hair down after a few drinks in the evening were fascinating. One of the top Spanish divers seeing a large Cod moving away in front of him as he came up from a long dive in a hundred foot, had swam across the surface flat out for twenty yards before diving to the bottom again to find the fourteen pound Cod right underneath him. Being a more senior diver in my club by this time I was able to pass down some of the things I had learnt to younger members some of whom would take my place in the team in years to come.
After a few years I had improved enough to make my way into the British team travelling to Ireland for the European Championships as reserve, this involved a whole month of scouting, which is observing the fish in all sorts of seas from twenty foot waves to the odd flat calms without guns. You never stop learning in Spearfishing and this was just the start of yet another steep learning curve watching the fish for up to ten hours a day finding where they went on different tides and sea conditions. The divers came from all over Europe including some French from their colonies in Tahiti and the very top divers from Italy and Spain. We won the two day comp becoming European Champions with large catches of Pollack some to twelve pounds and as the fish were weighed volunteers gutted and filleted the fish to be taken away to local hospitals and nursing homes. The tales told as the divers let their hair down after a few drinks in the evening were fascinating. One of the top Spanish divers seeing a large Cod moving away in front of him as he came up from a long dive in a hundred foot, had swam across the surface flat out for twenty yards before diving to the bottom again to find the fourteen pound Cod right underneath him. Being a more senior diver in my club by this time I was able to pass down some of the things I had learnt to younger members some of whom would take my place in the team in years to come.
Haha, that really was windy that night in Wales eh Eric!Was talking about that night in Martins place with my old man just the other day!
Competitive Spearfishing (Part Six)
Gaining so much knowledge from my competition diving had honed my own fishing to such an extent at home that I almost knew what fish were in an area as soon as I got in the water. Knowing how small fish reacted when big fish are around even in very poor viz aloud me to take bass to sixteen pound on the local wrecks after letting several eight pound fish swim by first. Very importantly I had also learnt when areas are dead call it a sixth sense but knowing when to move was one of the main things I had found out through months of scouting in areas with no gun in my hand. You could never stop learning in this sport I found this out at a competition in the Balearic Islands many years ago. The Spanish World Champion at the time walked up to me on the quay and pointed to my knife that was attached to my belt at the time, in a form of sign language that most divers can speak fluently he told me it was wrong and would catch on the roof of a cave as I backed out. Thanking him I returned to my room that night and using some spare wet suit material made a sheaf on my leg for the knife holding it firmly and out the way. He caught my attention next day and gave me the thumbs up pointing at my knife; I saw him again the next year at a World Championships in Turkey and noticed his knife was tucked neatly away in a sheaf just like mine on his leg.
Competition diving has changed dramatically since I started forty years ago, with all fish way above sea fisheries limits and many exclude all together and strict limits on numbers but the best divers will still take the top places. I have not competed for three years and keep threatening to make a come back at sixty five but I still attend National Competitions to meet life long friends and help out in any way I can with the sport that taught me so much and took my to many parts of the world.
I could go on for pages but to come to the point many young lads possibly over two hundred have passed through our competitive club over the years I would like to think they left as better divers and people, having gained from mine and other members of my club who have learnt our skills competing on the national and world stages.
Gaining so much knowledge from my competition diving had honed my own fishing to such an extent at home that I almost knew what fish were in an area as soon as I got in the water. Knowing how small fish reacted when big fish are around even in very poor viz aloud me to take bass to sixteen pound on the local wrecks after letting several eight pound fish swim by first. Very importantly I had also learnt when areas are dead call it a sixth sense but knowing when to move was one of the main things I had found out through months of scouting in areas with no gun in my hand. You could never stop learning in this sport I found this out at a competition in the Balearic Islands many years ago. The Spanish World Champion at the time walked up to me on the quay and pointed to my knife that was attached to my belt at the time, in a form of sign language that most divers can speak fluently he told me it was wrong and would catch on the roof of a cave as I backed out. Thanking him I returned to my room that night and using some spare wet suit material made a sheaf on my leg for the knife holding it firmly and out the way. He caught my attention next day and gave me the thumbs up pointing at my knife; I saw him again the next year at a World Championships in Turkey and noticed his knife was tucked neatly away in a sheaf just like mine on his leg.
Competition diving has changed dramatically since I started forty years ago, with all fish way above sea fisheries limits and many exclude all together and strict limits on numbers but the best divers will still take the top places. I have not competed for three years and keep threatening to make a come back at sixty five but I still attend National Competitions to meet life long friends and help out in any way I can with the sport that taught me so much and took my to many parts of the world.
I could go on for pages but to come to the point many young lads possibly over two hundred have passed through our competitive club over the years I would like to think they left as better divers and people, having gained from mine and other members of my club who have learnt our skills competing on the national and world stages.