Posted by mike on August 23, 2001 at 11:32:23:
In Reply to: John why would you need this crap unless you were cave diving??? posted by CalAbDiver on August 23, 2001 at 09:02:43:
well, i use my BP, wings, long hoses for all sorts of diving, 100 dives since January. A reel or spool has come in handy for tying off jon lines or even, GASP!, going into holes (of course i'm not certified to do that, and no one here has ever seen me do that, and y'all can't prove it anyhows Phlbbbt!) even though all i have is DiveRite stroke entanglement special (one o' these days, i'll fork over the 40 bucks and get a spool /w/ clip).
As far as lights, i can't speak there, but i've seen those HIDs under water, and i like what i see. As for the basic DIR use of lights (canister or otherwise) in communication, well, it worked for me on the coral reefs of Indonesia, It worked for me in the kelp forests at San Clemente last week. Nuthin East Coast Caving about it there! It worked for me in Redondo Canyon at 10:00 PM, i only wish i had an EE Pro 6 in 10 W HID.
Closed circuit lift bags, or sausages? In the last 5 weeks, there have been three (3) instances where i sure wish i had a closed circuit 80 lb lift bag: On the La Janelle with the Calif Wreck Divers i found some goodies (25 lbs of stuff ...too bad it was iron and not brass...back over it went!) In Indonesia, we found a 70 lb anchor dragging across the top of a beautiful coral bommie, and using a lift bag to move it to a less destructive and more secure location would have been a helluva lot safer than using my wings, the DM's BC, and kicking like mad (it was in 12 fsw, at the start of the 1st dive of the day..farm animal stupid nonetheless tho). Saturday at San Clem, Terry found all sorts of goodies at Ordinance Reef, and guess which gullable schmuck brought a goody bag...ME!!, so guess who acted as MIKE! the incredible human lift bag..would have rather let the Halcyon job do the work instead!
From what i can see, what JW has mentioned is perfectly acceptable beyond Florida, and outside dark little holes, in places where the sun shines and the fish school.