Deeper Diving Spots From Shore In SE Florida?

[conchxpress]

What do you do with all that gear that you have to take with you when you finally get to free dive? I could see using a surf board for the trip out and anchoring it to your dive buoy, if the buoy was somehow anchored. When you free dive, is the buoy attached to you, so that you don't have to come back to the same spot? Seems like a lot of stuff to drag around. Kind of naive here, since I've never gone off the beach. Maybe someday you can show me the ropes.

Finally got the 1030SW, so maybe I'll get to try it out this weekend. Supposed to be blowin 20E in KW.

Are you going for lobster the last wed and thurs of this month. Or do you leave that to the tourists. Didn't see any lobster on my snorkeling expedition over the 4th. Maybe Greg knows where they are.

Frank

[ricki]

Hey Frank,

I don't recommend using a boogie board for dive support. The guy I was communicating with said he would bring one. I think they have very little value in free diving myself.

My free diving gear takes up a fraction of the space of my kiting gear. There is no comparison. The long fins are a bit of a challenge. You want a sufficiently long bag to protect them from one of the fin manufacturers. I've been using one of these for about a half dozen plane trips with good success.

I would suggest you rent a dive flag and buoy at your destination so you don't have to fly with on. They are readily available in SE Florida at most dive shops. You might want to bring a light wire hook anchor for the float with you however. Ideally you want to drop or anchor the float before each dive or just dive around the anchored buoy.

Congrat's on your new camera. Hope you get a lot of great shots and put them up for us to see.

Lobsters helped me cover expenses getting through college way back in the day. Once I got out and got a job I said, go forth and prosper as I hope to do the same. ps-didn't really think you tasted that good anyway.

Originally Posted by conchxpress

What do you do with all that gear that you have to take with you when you finally get to free dive? I could see using a surf board for the trip out and anchoring it to your dive buoy, if the buoy was somehow anchored. When you free dive, is the buoy attached to you, so that you don't have to come back to the same spot? Seems like a lot of stuff to drag around. Kind of naive here, since I've never gone off the beach. Maybe someday you can show me the ropes.

Finally got the 1030SW, so maybe I'll get to try it out this weekend. Supposed to be blowin 20E in KW.

Are you going for lobster the last wed and thurs of this month. Or do you leave that to the tourists. Didn't see any lobster on my snorkeling expedition over the 4th. Maybe Greg knows where they are.

Frank

[ricki]

More from the ongoing dialog with Joe ...

A few more things I should have mentioned. You may be able to rent a dive flag and buoy at Lauderdale Diver or Brownies Dive Shop both on or very near SE 17 th St. near your hotel.

There can be a lot of boat traffic off Ft. Lauderdale and surrounding areas. Usually the later it is on weekends the worse the operators can be. Weekdays in the mornings are usually the lightest times for traffic. On weekends, generally if you get out early many of the idiots are still sleeping last nights festivities off. They show up later in the morning and throughout the afternoon on weekends.

Cigarettes and waverunners are to be treated with particular caution. Cigarettes because at cruising speed you hear them a short time before they are on you and waverunners because there often isn't much awareness or seamanship among operators. That also applies to some of the cigarette operators as well.

You should make a habit out of swimming underwater regularly just below the surface to listen for engine noise. On a clear, calm day you can hear small motor craft over a mile away. With waves that distance is reduced. I make a habit about whenever I hear a boat to surface, figure out where it is and where it is heading. If it is heading towards me I watch it. If I have any doubt about it seeing me or my flag I may splash until they do see me. It sounds like a pain in the butt, it is but so is relying solely on boats for dive transport. You miss a lot of good stuff and conditioning boating all the time.

Last point, for guys that want to do this sort of thing regularly, you want to be an able, independent free diver. This means having strong swimming skills but no matter how strong a swimmer you are sometimes things go wrong. That is where plan B helps, I try to wear a low profile navy swimmers vest. It has little drag and if things really go south far from shore and boats, it might make a difference.