Posted by CalAbDiver on July 30, 2001 at 09:35:46:
In Reply to: My DIR for ab diving posted by Eric Sedletzky on July 29, 2001 at 21:57:28:
there is nothing wrong with "glorified rock picking" Eric! i have yet to see an ab site that requires diving deeper than 5' to 10' for 8+" or larger abs along the North Coast. most people swim out right away to where the Ocean is 15' to 20' deep and they pass up all the "glorified rock picking" opportunities that exist shallower. there are some really big abs in the shallows.
"split fins" are a handicap for the severely out of shape recreational diving community, in my opinion. they definitely do not belong on an ab dive excursion. any dummy who dives with split fins does not belong in the Ocean on the North Coast freediving for abs. they are ugly too. they should be banned. you are right about that Eric.
i love the look of long, sleek freediving fins. but i dont wear them. i just stick to what was standard issue in the U.S. Navy: ScubaPro or US Diver solid jet fins. time tested since 1964.
"lanyards or floating tubes ... are ... junk ..." i completely agree. however some kind of marking system is helpful. i use my dive float anchor, which consists of six two-pound clip on bullet weights attached to a stainless steel caribiner. i pull it with me as i am scouring the Ocean rocks below. when i see a large ab, i drop the anchor right next to the ab so that i can immediately find it again. this way i have never "lost" an ab.
i know a girl who found a whole wall of abs once, at 15' depth, then spent the rest of the day trying to find it again, but never did. dont let this become you. her name was Lori, and she went home ab-less that day and it ruined her entire week and triggered PMS. the ab i gifted her didnt make up for her sorrow, and she was not very grateful. she was one of those girls who is pissed off all the, even though she has a really nice body, and could make a boy very happy if she tried just a little.
"incompetent dive buddies" is a risk on scuba in deep water of 150 fsw or more, and possibly annoying at shallower depths, but during ab freediving any buddy is better than no-buddy (no pun intended). although i normally ab freedive alone, it is always nice to have some-buddy nearby, same day, same Ocean. even your camoflage wetsuit is not going to protect you from Ole Whitey if he/she shows up and takes a bite out of you. in that case, a buddy would be nice to have, to help you get back to shore, and call for the helicopter on your cellphone to come take you to the hospital. and yes, i do worry about that along the North Coast.
"if you get too trophy greedy you will not get to many abs" so therefore pull 1 or 2 ordinary abs, put them safe into your float bag, THEN start your trophy hunt. thats what i do. it is hard to really relax until i have at least one ab in my ab bag. after that, life becomes a pleasure ab freediving for the big ones. i normally gift away my smallest abs anyway, sometimes gifting all my abs except the biggest one. my Asian friends love me. in Asia the abalone is a gift from the gods. thats me, in their view.
"a knife on your leg is a long way to reach." only morons who watch too much TV wear knives on their legs, so you are right about that Eric. the best place for a knife is anywhere else except on your leg. the other choices are inverted on the upper arm (my favorite), B/C shoulder strap, or belt. if someone is reading this, and they wear their knife on their leg, seek ye a leper colony! preferably in Florida or Hawaii or someplace like that far away from California.
nice pointers, Eric, just dont make it too easy for all of the wanna-be's. Ab freediving is hard work, cold, gut wrenching in the surge zone or breaking surf zone, and you have to be a good strong swimmer on the surface and underwater to do it safely. we have already had one fatality this year, and we dont want any more. no sense in proving Charles Darwin right.
/s/ Karl S.