OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
This was WAY fun and I'll have to do it again and again. Here is my TWO day report...
I pulled into town yesterday @11:30 and topped off my 130s (Nox 36) and headed to pick up a line and shock cord for my gun. Chip meets me there and evaluates the gun with me. He was there when I won it, so he was glad to see me put it into use.
We talked about how light the gun was. As Chad suggested, Chip thought it was a bit light but serviceable. Good to learn on. We talked about the pros and cons with having a line on the spear and in the end, I thought it would be simpler to free shaft smaller species and work my way up. No need to go for Moby Dick on the first go-around.
I hit the boat @1:00 and we were soon underway. Chip and Howarde would be joining me the next day and I was having a rough day, so I decided just to have fun and lobster. Somehow, I had forgotten my regulator in Winter Park so we had to scrounge a bit! Thanks to Brad for having an extra!!! BOY did I pass some nice sized hogs and snappers. I only got two lobster, but I had two dives for 1:10 and 1:21 and a lot of fun hanging with Anthony. Even with the gear snafu, I was relaxed as ever in the water.
Brad Nolan and I had dinner with Annie and Roger, a couple who frequently dives with Brad, while our tanks were being filled at Divers Direct. The Seafood got me ready for the next day. We picked the tanks up just before closing as promised. The staff was courteous and helpful as usual with special thanks to Amanda!
At HowardE's place we found that the ScubaBoard server had crashed!:shocked2: We spent a few hours trying to fix it and had to give up: we were both too tired to think straight! We woke early and got back on it. We had more problems, but it helped us to identify the real issue and resolve it. HowardE put the final piece in that puzzle and we were UP. YAY!!! I was going to be able to dive rather than drive back to Winter Park and deal with this. We called Brad and told him we would be a few minutes late. Loaded with all of the tanks and Howie's gear (Including his Wong Speargun), we head to Brad's place and arrive right at 9:00. Everyone helps us get all the tanks on the boat and we are off!
The first dive is heady with anticipation as we gear up. People are giving me a lot of "Oh yeah..." tips and while they are all great, it's hard to sort through all of them. I am first to splash and head to the bottom. Chip sees and catches the first lobster right off and I was having some mask fogging problems. It took a few minutes, but I finally took my mask off and cleaned it at depth with my tongue. You have to be able to see if you're gonna shoot!
We passed a lot of shorts, Chip caught another couple of lobsters and so did Howie. Finally Howie points out a legal hog and I start the chase. If you know me or have dove with me, you know that I am a patient diver. So, I had to smile as I heard Howie yell through his reg "Don't shoot yet! Get closer!!!" That was my plan all along. If I missed I knew that I would NEVER hear the end of it. I slowed my pace and breathing and anticipated the fish's moves. It was zig zagging along the reef and I could see where it would empty out to the sand. My gun was about 6" away when I gently pulled the trigger. The spear hit behind the left eye, passed out the mouth and lodged in the sand. The Hog barely moved. My first shot was a stoner. That was lucky!
I had a double ender on my gun and clipped it to my BC. I grabbed the spear and stuck my knife into the fish's brain. There was absolutely no movement so I slipped it into my catch bag. Everything was going so smoothly at this point... until I reached for my gun. It wasn't there! Apparently I missed the clip on my BC. CRUD. Chip signaled that it had floated off. He was way to far to catch it. Note to self... when things are going to smoothly, there is something WRONG. Second note to self... guns become buoyant after you shoot them. Third note to self... A line to the spear would have prevented this from happening.
So, I had to laugh. I caught a couple of lobster to round out my dive. It was fun and one could argue that this in indeed the most lethal gun in existence: It has a %100 kill to shot ratio. Wait a minute: SO DO I!
Unfortunately, I am diving in caves tomorrow so the fish is in the freezer. I'll eat it sometime this week! I learned a lot today. I had a lot of fun. Anyone have a gun I can borrow?
I pulled into town yesterday @11:30 and topped off my 130s (Nox 36) and headed to pick up a line and shock cord for my gun. Chip meets me there and evaluates the gun with me. He was there when I won it, so he was glad to see me put it into use.
We talked about how light the gun was. As Chad suggested, Chip thought it was a bit light but serviceable. Good to learn on. We talked about the pros and cons with having a line on the spear and in the end, I thought it would be simpler to free shaft smaller species and work my way up. No need to go for Moby Dick on the first go-around.
I hit the boat @1:00 and we were soon underway. Chip and Howarde would be joining me the next day and I was having a rough day, so I decided just to have fun and lobster. Somehow, I had forgotten my regulator in Winter Park so we had to scrounge a bit! Thanks to Brad for having an extra!!! BOY did I pass some nice sized hogs and snappers. I only got two lobster, but I had two dives for 1:10 and 1:21 and a lot of fun hanging with Anthony. Even with the gear snafu, I was relaxed as ever in the water.
Brad Nolan and I had dinner with Annie and Roger, a couple who frequently dives with Brad, while our tanks were being filled at Divers Direct. The Seafood got me ready for the next day. We picked the tanks up just before closing as promised. The staff was courteous and helpful as usual with special thanks to Amanda!
At HowardE's place we found that the ScubaBoard server had crashed!:shocked2: We spent a few hours trying to fix it and had to give up: we were both too tired to think straight! We woke early and got back on it. We had more problems, but it helped us to identify the real issue and resolve it. HowardE put the final piece in that puzzle and we were UP. YAY!!! I was going to be able to dive rather than drive back to Winter Park and deal with this. We called Brad and told him we would be a few minutes late. Loaded with all of the tanks and Howie's gear (Including his Wong Speargun), we head to Brad's place and arrive right at 9:00. Everyone helps us get all the tanks on the boat and we are off!
The first dive is heady with anticipation as we gear up. People are giving me a lot of "Oh yeah..." tips and while they are all great, it's hard to sort through all of them. I am first to splash and head to the bottom. Chip sees and catches the first lobster right off and I was having some mask fogging problems. It took a few minutes, but I finally took my mask off and cleaned it at depth with my tongue. You have to be able to see if you're gonna shoot!
We passed a lot of shorts, Chip caught another couple of lobsters and so did Howie. Finally Howie points out a legal hog and I start the chase. If you know me or have dove with me, you know that I am a patient diver. So, I had to smile as I heard Howie yell through his reg "Don't shoot yet! Get closer!!!" That was my plan all along. If I missed I knew that I would NEVER hear the end of it. I slowed my pace and breathing and anticipated the fish's moves. It was zig zagging along the reef and I could see where it would empty out to the sand. My gun was about 6" away when I gently pulled the trigger. The spear hit behind the left eye, passed out the mouth and lodged in the sand. The Hog barely moved. My first shot was a stoner. That was lucky!
I had a double ender on my gun and clipped it to my BC. I grabbed the spear and stuck my knife into the fish's brain. There was absolutely no movement so I slipped it into my catch bag. Everything was going so smoothly at this point... until I reached for my gun. It wasn't there! Apparently I missed the clip on my BC. CRUD. Chip signaled that it had floated off. He was way to far to catch it. Note to self... when things are going to smoothly, there is something WRONG. Second note to self... guns become buoyant after you shoot them. Third note to self... A line to the spear would have prevented this from happening.
So, I had to laugh. I caught a couple of lobster to round out my dive. It was fun and one could argue that this in indeed the most lethal gun in existence: It has a %100 kill to shot ratio. Wait a minute: SO DO I!
Unfortunately, I am diving in caves tomorrow so the fish is in the freezer. I'll eat it sometime this week! I learned a lot today. I had a lot of fun. Anyone have a gun I can borrow?
