Safety stops in OW with no line - tips?

[Hatul]

Hatul, I hope that was a joke. You are not supposed to hold the kelp or ease your way to the surface with it. It is a living, somewhat delicate being. Neutral buoyancy and control of your position at all times are key!

Not a joke. I thought kelp was a hardy and strong plant, growing a foot or so per day?

 

[TSandM]

I have a hard time getting exercised about damage to kelp. The stuff is a weed, and tolerates being tugged on quite well. (I have friend who anchor their boat by tying off to it!)

Ideally, one manages one's own buoyancy. But the day I had a five pound soft weight slither out of my pocketed belt, you can bet your bippie I was managing my ascent with kelp stipes. You do what you have to!

 

[Hatul]

I have a hard time getting exercised about damage to kelp. The stuff is a weed, and tolerates being tugged on quite well. (I have friend who anchor their boat by tying off to it!)

Ideally, one manages one's own buoyancy. But the day I had a five pound soft weight slither out of my pocketed belt, you can bet your bippie I was managing my ascent with kelp stipes. You do what you have to!

What if your weight does not drop and you're happily levitating and see a nice inviting kelp stalk beckoning you like an anchor line. Would you not be tempted to take a grip?

 

[Ayisha]

That's usually true about kelp growing quickly and thickly, but it doesn't always. A DM off Catalina told us not to hold onto the kelp as it is more delicate than people think and had been growing more slowly and not as tall. Dr Bill has been writing about the threat of Sargassum horneri and other varieties for several years and the effects on the kelp forest. Kelp is also harvested for it's medicinal properties.

Dr Bill has written many articles on the effects of the sargassum on kelp, but here's an excerpt from one of them:

...My dives this past weekend revealed great progress in its disappearance. The ocean floor is now covered in juvenile blades of our native giant kelp (Macrocystis) that have sprouted over the last week as sunlight finally penetrates down to the tiny spores waiting on the bottom. Starting last fall, the Sargassum had effectively out competed them for substrate to attach to, light to photosynthesize and even nutrients to grow. The incredible density of the Sargassum needs to be viewed as a "sink" or trap for many of the nutrients that our giant kelp needed to grow during winter and spring. The Sargassum appears to be more efficient in capturing the "tasty" nitrates, phosphates and other nutrients to build its tissues, leaving less for our native species to utilize.

This means that some of our giant kelp will begin its growth cycle a few months late, and in what is probably a nutrient depleted ocean. Instead of developing into the magnificent forests over the winter and spring as it should, many stands of giant kelp are starting to grow at a time the water is warming up. Giant kelp, like Sargassum, is a cold water species and does not do well in warmer periods. One major reason is that the warm water in late spring, summer and early fall contains fewer nutrients. So our native giant kelp is beginning its life cycle at a very bad time and may not reach its full glory. In addition, plankton blooms usually start in the spring and the phytoplankton or plant plankton also consumes a great deal of nutrients. Our Macrocystis has survived one competitor only to begin a new duel with another.

A second observation also bodes poorly for our own kelp forests. I was surprised to see that many of the very young giant kelp blades have attached to the dying stipes ("stems") of the Sargassum, making them look like an odd terrestrial shrub! Of course the Macrocystis juveniles are looking for any substrate they can attach to, but by adhering to the Sargassum in large numbers they will simply "drift away" (to the tune of Dobie Gray) when the Sargassum finally expires. Thus the nasty Asian kelp keeps tormenting our own giant kelp even in death. To my shock, I spotted a number of juvenile Sargassum on the bottom after the mature ones started dying off. I feel pretty confident that they will die in the warmer water of summer, but if there is the possibility of two "generations" of this nasty stuff in a single year this is not good news.

Another interesting conclusion from my dives this weekend relates to the fact that I am seeing lots of late season algae growing on the rocks left largely bare by the death of the Sargassum. These are species that I normally don't see until summer. They are often much better at utilizing the low nutrient levels common when the water is warmer. Their presence this early in the year seems to establish additional evidence that our waters are currently somewhat nutrient poor. If my hypothesis is correct, the Sargassum has altered the normal seasonal cycle of both nutrients and of the native algae that depend on them. By shifting much of the giant kelp growth to later in the year, and creating conditions suitable for normally late summer species to appear in spring, the devil weed has radically altered our marine environment not only during the eight months it is actually present, but also in the four months it is not...

I don't know how effective the cleanup of sargassum horneri has been and how well the kelp is thriving now, it may no longer be an issue. Despite the value we place on the "weed" or not, IMHO we shouldn't advocate holding onto the kelp. That's quite different from handling it in an emergency situation. We can make similar excuses for interfering with other organisms we devalue.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hatul, I hope that was a joke. You are not supposed to hold the kelp or ease your way to the surface with it. It is a living, somewhat delicate being. Neutral buoyancy and control of your position at all times are key!

It depends on circumstances, but there are times when using kelp as an aid can be a benefit ... and there are times when the presence of kelp is a potential hazard to be avoided. But there is nothing delicate about the stuff. It grows at an amazing rate ... a couple feet per day in some areas ... and is so strong that in some cases you couldn't break it if you tried to.

Neutral buoyancy and control of your position are goals ... not always achievable. Currents will often determine how well you can control your position in the water ... and if grabbing a kelp stem or three can help prevent me from getting blown off a site, or to undesired depths in a downwelling, then I'll do it without a second thought.

Safety first ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have a hard time getting exercised about damage to kelp. The stuff is a weed, and tolerates being tugged on quite well. (I have friend who anchor their boat by tying off to it!)

Ideally, one manages one's own buoyancy. But the day I had a five pound soft weight slither out of my pocketed belt, you can bet your bippie I was managing my ascent with kelp stipes. You do what you have to!

I'm trying to remember the name of the pinnacle in Port Hardy where we were told to use the kelp to ascend ... not doing so would mean finding yourself well away from the dive site by the time you surfaced ... in open ocean ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)