Posted by seahunt on July 30, 2001 at 19:51:55:
In Reply to: My DIR for ab diving posted by Eric Sedletzky on July 29, 2001 at 21:57:28:
Ab diving is always diving for the fun of it.
While all those tips sound good enough, I might add thought or two.
Always watch the water for a while before you go in and absorb the signs.
Always look for seals before you go in. Are they relaxed or panicked?
This isn't good every place, but one thing I like to do is go down looking for the lowest spot. If it is the side of a rock and there is any rubble or an undrecut, lay down on the bottom and relax so that you are looking up. You get a different view and may see something big.
Another thing is if you are following a ledge or edge along a bottom rock, look for any rock lying aginst the ledge or just off it. The ledge may have been inspected quite well, but no one may have looked at the underside of those small rocks. I've found some of my best that way.
As for gear, I've been out on a lot of rough days and I have often been alone, so as a float, use 2 one gallon water jugs and just tie your bag under them. It doesn't need to be anchored, cuz it sticks down in the water far enough that it just catches on any kelp it is pushed into. Also, bouyancy is little enough that bigger waves go over it instead of picking it up (only inflate one at first). As opposed to an anchor though, you can have a clip (or D ring) and just clip it to kelp if you want. The other big advantage of this for me was that on a rough day, I can bail out without a second thought about retrieving my float... never needed to, but the thought was there.
Hey guys, the 3 day swell map is sorta calm and going down!!!! I got my 9 inch measure too.
Enjoy the diving, seahunt