Spearfishing/Freediving Alone?

[atomichaggis]

Are we letting someone know where and how long so they can retrieve the body?

so they know when you are missing and where to begin looking... like is best practice when on a boat trip or a mountain climb/walk etc.

 

[atomichaggis]

yah Atomic, I must admit that we tried that thactic but few minutes later when I saw a big fish sticking into a small cave I forgot about my patner
and went on my own......I still think that a good device instead can really help you if you find yourself in a bad situation......

Yeah, everyone does it. All I'm saying is that if You want to use the buddy system properly to minimise the risk (some might... we prolly all should) then its a pain in the ass you just have to endure. just having someone in the water with you is not much use and sometimes hazardous.
If You did want to try one up one down and just need a push then the line arrangement I mentioned can stop you chasing fish when it ain't your turn.

There has been talk for ages of a freediving safety vest... no idea what has become of it til now... it may throw up problems of its own if it ever gets to the shops.

 

[Agar4Life]

What about, two spearos, one gun? That way you are forced to take turns, as it were. Not everyone's idea of a good method, but probably pretty safe.

 

[atomichaggis]

About as safe as it gets... just gotta agree on the gun.

 

[octpora]

so they know when you are missing and where to begin looking... like is best practice when on a boat trip or a mountain climb/walk etc.

Perhaps i should have used an emoticon smilie to denote the sick humor behind my questionrofl I say this because 1 brain death occurs relatively rapidly without o2 and the amount of time it takes your contact to realize the kaka may have hit the blower, mount an operation to retrieve, time to locate, usually = too long. 2 In August I fractured and sprained one of my legs while on a short solo hike in the hills. It was the longest 3/4 mile i have ever done to get back to camp and drive my sorry carcass to the emergency room at 1:00 am. Things get interesting fast when you think you are being good. I guess something is better than nothing as far as backup goes.

The buddy system really is an excellent plan, but only if it is used properly with another person actually knowing exactly where you are at. A vague idea of your general location is only an ok way.

 

[Panthalassia]

Excellent thread. Gotta admit, a little scary to hear how many people disregard the buddy system. Don't get me wrong, I love the water and a great day spearing is about as good a day as you can have, but is it worth your life? That is a question each person must answer for themselves.
Marwan, I have to say that if my buddy took off after a fish and completely deserted me, I'd be pissed. That completely defeats the purpose and would warrant reconsidering his/her status as my dive partner. I would be concerned if they valued a fish more than my life.

Absolutely agree with "nuclearhaggis" (I mean atomic haggis) though, that one up one down is the way to go if you're gonna employ the buddy system. Otherwise, what octopora said...it's just a handy carcass retrieval system...might as well shoot yourself in the foot and call it a day.rofl

 

[atomichaggis]

Octpora,
I suggested the practice of notifying people of your whereabouts primarily to avoid situations where families are always left wondering... like the recent missing diver thread.
It would however be of use to a rescue if a diver got caught in a strong current or injured and couldn't make their way back. You would be glad You told someone when the chopper winches you off a rock in the middle of nowhere or from the shipping lanes! not every emergency is a drowning.

 

[island_sands]

Recently one of the Bahraini royals died spearfishing, he blacked out and there was no-one to help him, as they had all split up and were too far apart to realise he had pushed his dive too far.

Remember that there are not always signs or symptoms of blackout. A good life was wasted

 

[Marwan]

Marwan, I have to say that if my buddy took off after a fish and completely deserted me, I'd be pissed. That completely defeats the purpose and would warrant reconsidering his/her status as my dive partner. I would be concerned if they valued a fish more than my life.

absolutely agree, thats the system me and my buddy apply, one up one down, why am i under the impression that you might have misunderstood an earlier post of mine

 

[Panthalassia]

absolutely agree, thats the system me and my buddy apply, one up one down, why am i under the impression that you might have misunderstood an earlier post of mine

My apologies Marwan. :duh
Either I misunderstood or was remembering someone else's comment. :head

Comment officially retracted.

 

[octpora]

Octpora,
I suggested the practice of notifying people of your whereabouts primarily to avoid situations where families are always left wondering... like the recent missing diver thread.
It would however be of use to a rescue if a diver got caught in a strong current or injured and couldn't make their way back. You would be glad You told someone when the chopper winches you off a rock in the middle of nowhere or from the shipping lanes! not every emergency is a drowning.

True, true. And your family, friends deserve to know where you are. Just saying don't be under any illusions about the proverbial bus waiting for you to jaywalk the street. As the death of some spearos suggests, if your buddy is out of reach to help you, even by a 100 yards, could be an unnecessary bye-bye

But i dont have to worry about it cause nobody loves me :waterwork anyway:waterwork

 

[Panthalassia]

But i dont have to worry about it cause nobody loves me :waterwork anyway:waterwork

We love you octpora :inlove
Was that too forward?:yack

 

[Pastor]

Was that too forward?:yack

Not necessarily but it is classed as a marriage proposal on DB, so when's the wedding?

 

[Panthalassia]

Not necessarily but it is classed as a marriage proposal on DB, so when's the wedding?

Well, the girlfriend is starting to bore me anyway, so why not? But I'm poor so there will be no diamond ring, and he's gotta pay the wedding expenses. Unless we start a charitable campaign on DB...rofl

Notice, I used the royal "we" in the previous post. I was hoping someone would follow my lead...guess I shot myself in the foot with that onerofl

 

[octpora]

I'm just looking for a freind. Don't get so frisky baby

 

[Pastor]

For me spearfishing alone is one of life's great pleasures, OK it's fun to go out with your mates on the boat but even then we tend to hunt well over 100 metres apart. I think in bad vis it can be difficult to use a buddy system. For example when diving in 1.5m vis at a depth of say 5m can you really know where your buddy is? You can't see each other, if a fish swims overhead can you know for sure you wont hit your buddy? Just an example of a difficulty but it shows that diving with a buddy is not an answer in itself even if you are sharing one gun.

 

[tuffstuff]

even if I dive with a buddy we usually stay far away from eachother the buddy thing really pisses me off when I have a kid swim infront of me and shoot the fish as I line up on it.If it wasnt my friends little brother I probably would have shot him.So the buddy system is a good idea but there has to be limits and you have to be comfortable with your buddy.

 

[Agar4Life]

I think a good rapport with the buddy is neccessary. A buddy with no communication is more likely to make things worse than better.

 

[Panthalassia]

For me spearfishing alone is one of life's great pleasures, OK it's fun to go out with your mates on the boat but even then we tend to hunt well over 100 metres apart. I think in bad vis it can be difficult to use a buddy system. For example when diving in 1.5m vis at a depth of say 5m can you really know where your buddy is? You can't see each other, if a fish swims overhead can you know for sure you wont hit your buddy? Just an example of a difficulty but it shows that diving with a buddy is not an answer in itself even if you are sharing one gun.

Agreed, the buddy system is not the answer to everything and there are certain conditions under which you can probably get away without it (safely). In very poor vis, undoubtedly it can even be dangerous to have someone diving up and down next to you :chatup.
Important in that case NOT to shoot at anything that moves, or anything with a heart beat. I too have gone without a buddy from time to time in the shallows, and for dives to 5-10m depth I think that's reasonable. But once you start leaving the shallows and pushing yourself in the slightest, it just doesn't seem worth it to me. Also it seems to me that as annoying as poor vis buddy diving can be, that may be one of those situation where it is even more crucial since it may be easier to get stuck or tangled in stuff at the bottom when you can't see well.
Perhaps I'm not as dedicated or fanatical about it, or maybe I've been spoiled by having a really good buddy in the past (past tense...he lives in South Korea now...):waterwork. Communication and patience are everything in the buddy system. Lack of either can spoil a spearing session and even a life. I also enjoy being able to share a great day on the water and good stories with a friend.:friday

 

[MARMIR]

Excellent thread. Gotta admit, a little scary to hear how many people disregard the buddy system. Don't get me wrong, I love the water and a great day spearing is about as good a day as you can have, but is it worth your life? That is a question each person must answer for themselves.
Marwan, I have to say that if my buddy took off after a fish and completely deserted me, I'd be pissed. That completely defeats the purpose and would warrant reconsidering his/her status as my dive partner. I would be concerned if they valued a fish more than my life.

Absolutely agree with "nuclearhaggis" (I mean atomic haggis) though, that one up one down is the way to go if you're gonna employ the buddy system. Otherwise, what octopora said...it's just a handy carcass retrieval system...might as well shoot yourself in the foot and call it a day.rofl

.....Hei Panthalassia, I hv just noticed that your reply was directed to me....
1) Probabily is just a matter of the spot you are fishing.....here, if you want a chance to hole up a sardine you have to go spearing during the week and it's not easy to find a buddy who can take a day off when I wish to go spearing...so either you go spearing this way or you are not a spearo....

2) Most of Spearos think that the deeper you go the more chances you have to be successful jeopardizing their lives....There are spearo who won the national championship by fishing within 10 mts and some other who
spear within 6 mts with an average apnea of 40 seconds and they often rank among the best.....I still remember when I started 20 years ago I went spearfishing with a very experienced guy in a spot where water was as deep as 10 mts....one hour later he showed off three breams and
an enourmous eel lined up....usless to say that I got nothing....so I told him "how about swaping the area?" he replied "why not"...
at the end of the day he fished one more eel and two morays, while I did not chact a fish, but the most frustrating thing was that I had not even
seen them......
3) Statistics evidence that people who die are people who go deeper, people perhaps experienced but who constantly reach their limits, spearos without reels who stay at the bottom trying to take the hit eel with the shaft out of the rift.......
What I want to say is that is our passion can be well practiced by improving the way to search, understanding fish habits etc etc....
I'm not interested on going as deep as 40/50 meters...if you follow
few simple rules you'll never find yourself in danger.....

As far as your unhappy sentence is concerned " If they valued a fish more than your life" I would say " for a small brem probabily not.....but for a 80kgs tuna....you are dead man!!!
:vangry