Any of you guys free dive and spearfish when you head out?
not a very specific question
Free diving… as in no tanks…
“Good things come to those who bait”
I am trying to get into it more, right now I can only get down to 45-50 feet.I did some free diving yesterday at 4KI on the 437’ ship Robinson, the vis wasn’t great (maybe 10-12’) and the current was ripping but I was able to get down to the wreck no problem @40’. I scared two divers that were with us who were not expecting to see another person down there when they rounded a corner. I am thinking about going to the Performance Freediving Institute this fall in Tampa. I have had some friends go and they said it is amazing what they teach you in only 4 days. I just bought a freediving mask Friday and I don’t even have to equalize it at all down to 40’, its the Aqualung Sphera. Takes some getting used to though because it has curved lenses and they squeeze around your face as you dive, at first makes you feel like you are drunk underwater.The fins I use are a set of Picasso Black Team free dive fins and they are awesome, very stiff but they will get me down to 30’ with just a couple of kicks.
That’s funney Charles !
If it got any better I couldn’t stand it.
keep that Sphera mask in the case as much as can…i have two of them and the fall apart very easily…the seal breaks away from the mask and the lens scratches very easy b/c plastic not glass so keep in case all time and will help
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Phin, free diving in SC is challenging to say the least. I used to run a charter business in San Diego & at 22nd St. Landing in San Pedro, CA, and to me there is a HUGE difference in bottom structure here.
Around So. California, there is a lot of hard reef structure in less than 50’ of water all along the coast, plus a chain of seven offshore islands stretching for almost 160 miles.
Here, we have sand, limited natural reef structures and no offshore islands.
That being said, SC has a fantastic variety of “man-made” reef structures most of which would be barely reachable by a “typical” free diver (what ever that is).
Nevertheless, I have known a free divers who could reach 90’, spear fish (and in Southern California “pop” an abalone, scallop, etc.) and return. The biggest advantage for a free diver is - no noise. Pelagic fish such as yellowtail can be speared by a free diver in the right conditions with the right equipment. A diver on scuba would rarely (if ever) even see a yellowtail because of regulator noise. In 25 years of diving (mainly scuba) in LA, I only saw a giant black sea bass once (est weight over 600 lbs.). Free diving on two occasions, I saw guys (not me; I am not that good) drop two black sea basses weighing in at 500 and a 440 lbs. in a single day on one of the most heavily dived spots - Ship Rock off of Catalina Island.
For an interesting free diving history (and a history of one of the most creative guys ever to make a speargun - Jack Prodanovich), google San Diego bottom scratchers.
Talk to Victor at the dive shop on Shem Creek(843-813-6162). I took an instructor and his class out last week for the free dive part of the course. I think the instructor came up from Tampa. We went out near Y-73. All of the divers made it down 70ft.
Tight lines.
Robert Olsen
Ahh, good ol Ship Rock in front off Isthmus Cove, spent many a day in the waters round there. Ever do any diving up towards the West end of island, Parsons Landing?
Russ B.
www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
"Here, we have sand, limited natural reef structures and no offshore islands.
That being said, SC has a fantastic variety of “man-made” reef structures most of which would be barely reachable by a “typical” free diver (what ever that is)."
Sorry to get off-topic, or to be confrontational, but our offshore topography is anything but the way you describe. We have huge walls, big coral heads, giant steeples, and they’re pretty much everywhere beyond 85’. While it’s true that many people have a hard time diving beyond 85’, the bottom structure is there if you can hone your skills to get to it. It irritates me when people think of SC diving as dark, cold expeditions to the nearest artificial reef. Stretch your wings a little and you’ll find that SC has one of the best fisheries in the country, and it’s all centered around our fantastic topography.
Stephen Goldfinch
“Sleep When You’re Dead!”
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Wow!!!
Someone who knows about LA waters!!!
Dove the West end a few times. If I was in the area I usually dove Farnsworth Bank on the backside of the island. Vis. on Farnsworth on a “bad” day was usually 50’ - 60’ and the currents & depths kept most beginners away.
Purple hard coral (rare cold-water coral) on the Bank was incredible too.
Grew up diving all around the Channel Islands, Catalina, Santa Barbara/Cruz/Rosa. Brother and I used to run our 16ft Zodiac out to Anacapa a lot. But the West end, Parsons Landing, Catalina was basically my backyard. Pulled many of bugs and abs out of there! My family used to camp and dive there starting back in about the 50’s, needless to say we weren’t too “nice” to the dive boats when they started showing up in “our” cove!
Russ B.
www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
quote:
Originally posted by yellabird"Here, we have sand, limited natural reef structures and no offshore islands.
That being said, SC has a fantastic variety of “man-made” reef structures most of which would be barely reachable by a “typical” free diver (what ever that is)."
Sorry to get off-topic, or to be confrontational, but our offshore topography is anything but the way you describe. We have huge walls, big coral heads, giant steeples, and they’re pretty much everywhere beyond 85’. While it’s true that many people have a hard time diving beyond 85’, the bottom structure is there if you can hone your skills to get to it. It irritates me when people think of SC diving as dark, cold expeditions to the nearest artificial reef. Stretch your wings a little and you’ll find that SC has one of the best fisheries in the country, and it’s all centered around our fantastic topography.
Stephen Goldfinch
“Sleep When You’re Dead!”
I agree with Yellabird 100%.
Outsiders have the perception that our waters are somewhat barren because of the very reason our waters have so much life. Most of it is not easily fishable/divable, and it is spread out over a large area with relatively little pressure from fishermen.
This is one of the main reasons for the high level of disappointment in recent federal regulatory actions off our coast. We are not Florida or California, which is where the majority of the national “experts” are used to studying what they’re trying to manage here it seems.
There are hundreds of thousands of acres of reefs off our state. They just happen to mostly be in 70ft+ depths, and they do not encompass very large continuous systems unless we’re talking about the 30 fathom break (shelf) itself. Even it is not continuous up and down our coast though. Most of our str
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Oopsie . . .
No offense intended . . .
Dark? Cold? Hmmm. Don’t think I said anything about dark and cold diving in SC. As to the game around here, just look at a few of the offshore reports. Good divers ALWAYS have to know how to get the game. Fisherman too.
Your absolutely correct about the fisheries here. Gill netters (legal and illegal) destroyed the offshore fishing & spearfishing environments off of Southern California.
Unfortunately, today I only have a single screw boat and to reach some of the better areas living as far from the beach as I do (remember a lot of people from Columbia think a stern drive or outboard will dissolve into a salt-encrusted piece of junk if they go near the ocean) is challenging.
fair winds and a following sea . . .
Phin and yellabird, don’t lead people astray. Diving stinks in Charleston. Nothing but ring tailed porgies and huge sharks! Its not worth the risk. Go diving where the water is clear and you can see the sharks from far away and have time to get out!
Historic note: The largest shark ever weighed on a certified scale in the USA was in SC. It was a 1780lb tiger shark caught off a pier in Cherry Grove. It was landed in the evening and sat overnight in 80 degree heat before it was weighed in with estimated loss of ten percent body weight. It was the 4th largest ever weighed in the world behind a 1785 tiger and two white sharks. HAPPY DIVING!!!
freediving here is all about safety- if you aren’t with a safety-oriented, knowledgeable crew/captain then don’t even go- freediving requires different gear and different mindset than tank diving or snorkeling or surfing or anything else you have done in the water- in the last year it seems many more people have become interested in it but i just hope those trying to do what others do understand the safety skillset the other divers are trained in- going to a multiday class in florida is well worth the time and money
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejHistoric note: The largest shark ever weighed on a certified scale in the USA was in SC. It was a 1780lb tiger shark caught off a pier in Cherry Grove. It was landed in the evening and sat overnight in 80 degree heat before it was weighed in with estimated loss of ten percent body weight. It was the 4th largest ever weighed in the world behind a 1785 tiger and two white sharks. HAPPY DIVING!!!
That shark was caught on a whole chicken. Just don’t take any chicken with you, you should be fine.
BG
Dont even think of diving here you will be eaten the first time…
Disclaimer: Only the tigers like me for some reason Bulls not so much
We have had several serious shark incidents this season- one big tiger , 2 big hammerhead that were very aggressive, 2 oceanic whitetip sharks and 2 sandbar sharks- all these were sneak attack situations in water while freediving- they sneak up on you very easily and we are quite lucky no one was injured or killed
FREEDIVING IS DANGEROUS!! Unless you are ready to stare death in the face freediving in Charlston is probably too risky- make sure you have DAN medical insurance for a helicopter evacuation if necessary- massive first aid kit on the bottom is mandatory to dress and sew those gnarly shark attack wounds
i just hope everyone can approach freediving cautiously b/c it is no funny business …
quote:That's the issue... Humans taste like chicken!!!
Originally posted by btodagThat shark was caught on a whole chicken. Just don’t take any chicken with you, you should be fine.
BG