Diving in Jupiter

[idive2]

I dove only a couple drift dives in cozumel and found the current to be
close to Jupiter on some days. I have also done a drift dive in Jupiter
where attempting to pause even for a moment to take a closer look at
something was very tough.

Amazz, I was curious about your 30ft. line and weight you use on your smb.
I can see this would eliminate one step in clipping the smb to a reel. Do you
find this easier than a reel or spool ? I always wondered if deploying an smb
from deeper (60 ft. or so) alerts the captain before necessary ? I personally would
rather do it earlier than later but not sure what is best ?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I also dive there and do not normally use a reel. For a simple safety stop, a reel or spool is not necessary. Why carry more gear than needed?

If you need to deploy a SMB from deep (below say 30 feet) then you need a spool (and some people use reels), but what benefit does that provide on a drift dive over a reef? The capt. doesn't care when you leave the bottom, but he does need to know where you are hanging at on a deco/safety stop in 15-20 feet of water.

In other words, there is generally no need to deploy the bag below the safety stop on a typical dive, so in my mind there is no need to carry the extra gear associated with a deeper deployment.

I generally do a deep stop at around 50 feet and use this time to stop, get my smb out and PREPARE to deploy it, then after I've slowly ascended to 25 feet or so, I put some air in the smb.

I don't use a bolt, but something similar. It is very important that the line be weighted so that it falls down vertically below you and it is held taunt so that you don't get entangled in a bundle of loose line and get dragged to the surface when the SMB is initially deployed.

 

[Scott L]

I dove only a couple drift dives in cozumel and found the current to be
close to Jupiter on some days. I have also done a drift dive in Jupiter
where attempting to pause even for a moment to take a closer look at
something was very tough.

Amazz, I was curious about your 30ft. line and weight you use on your smb.
I can see this would eliminate one step in clipping the smb to a reel. Do you
find this easier than a reel or spool ? I always wondered if deploying an smb
from deeper (60 ft. or so) alerts the captain before necessary ? I personally would
rather do it earlier than later but not sure what is best ?

Deploying at depth has two advantages IMO. The first being if using a larger bag it will be fuller and more visable to the boat as compared to a SS deployment. Secondly, deploying a few miuntes earlier at depth should in theory increase your chances of being picked-up earlier thereby reducing your chances of being struck by myopic boat operators. I really like Halcyon's and Oxycheq's back plate pockets for storing primary SMB's/lift bags.

 

[Amazz]

I prefer the lightly weighted bolt over a spool or reel for the following reasons:

1. Less bulk.
2. It's easier to deploy my SMB from depth because I don't need a hand to hold on to a reel or spool. I simply drop the bolt and the line unwinds below me. I use one hand to hold onto the SMB and one hand to purge my octo to inflate it. I do have a finger spool but it's sitting here at the house gathering dust. Personally, I just like the bolt, but to each his/her own. I'm usually carrying a large camera as well so I just kind of run out of hands.

 

[Johnoly]

I prefer the lightly weighted bolt over a spool or reel for the following reasons:

Just adding 2 more reasons for a bolt/eyebolt

* a reel takes another hand to hold to deploy. The bolt is self deploying. A quick shake holding only the SMB and it deploys.


* I can re-drop the 30 ft bolt if needed and it won't hit the sand/ledge and tangle or catch. This is an important factor when I'm dealing with a shark on my safety stop and I need both hands.

 

[idive2]

Yeah, I guess some of this stuff is trying different methods and seeing what
works best. I like being able to deploy the smb a little deeper, get that task
out of the way then work on safety stop and watch that air supply !
I do like the 30ft. line and weight idea also as it seems a bit simpler. When
not doing this often it's tough to get practice and see what works best.

 

[Orlando Eric]

With proper Reel or Spool technique the bolt is not easier. Actually the line zipping past you is not quite as safe as using a spool. To each his own I suppose.

I prefer the spool or reel as it is much much more versatile.

YouTube - SMB deployment v2

 

[Chugwhump]

With proper Reel or Spool technique the bolt is not easier. Actually the line zipping past you is not quite as safe as using a spool. To each his own I suppose.

BAH!

Inert Grenade for a weight.

That gets their interest.......especially when you throw it up on the deck before you climb up the ladder.

Chug

 

[idive2]

Very interesting video on the deployment of smb. I have just used clip
attached to reel to clip to smb. I see the diver uses some type of knot
to snug up on ring on smb and removes clip. The diver had a clip attached
to his smb and spool. The smb clip immediately removed, perhaps just
needing a second clip at some point ? Interesting stuff. I think from deeper,
spool or reel definitely way to go. From 30ft or so I see where the weighted
line with smb would serve its' purpose.

 

[idive2]

Ok, I see the diver is just passing the spool back through the loop and
drawing it up onto the ring on the smb. May try my spool next time,
much more compact than the reel although with my hand and fingers through
a reel handle I can still use my fingers a bit. Sorry about the hijack on the
thread, hope to get a dive in up that way soon !