Broke one of my own rules - I dived with Hunters....

Anyone who's been here awhile knows my three basic dive buddy rules:

1) I won't buddy up with a Rebreather diver

2) I won't buddy up with the mobidly obese

3) I won't buddy up with a hunter


So this weekend I'm diving in the No Channel Islands. And the dive boat I'm on does 4 dives on Sat. I'm in a dry suit, intended buddy is diving wet. After the 3rd dive, buddy announces they're cold and want to sit out number 4.

Fine. I'll insta-buddy myself onto someone else.

So there was this group of really nice guys we were talking with between dives on the trip. Intellegent, fit, funny, engaging, sweet guys. I'm all, "cool. I'll hang with these two on dive 4..." I know they're hunting (spearguns) but I figure its no biggie - I'll just hang out and hover over them out of the way...I mean, I need a back up gas supply, and these guys seem competent and experienced enough. They were cool with it, so there it is.

I wrote rule number 3 for Lobster Hunters... notoriously poor buddies. I've never dived with people with, you know, loaded weapons before. I thought how bad can this be...

I need to stick to my own rules.

The dive was mercifully short because these guys are MOTORING around this reef. I mean, I've never seen anyone dive so fast. KICK KICK KICK KICK and hoovered through most of their gas. Plus there were no fishy targets to skewer. But what an ugly profile - up down up down up down... Yikes.

I was looking at my download today, and noticed I was all saw tooth, up to about the 8 minute mark - then I decided to chill out and hover over them and not follow them around. I kept my HID18 beam within their site, so they always knew where I was - and after a few minutes they got the idea to stop swinging around and look for me (with associated speakgun swinging) and just hunt while I hovered like a helecopter over the next LA high-speed pursuit.

It was OK. It was short. I probably could have selected a buddy who was more into diving and less into scurrying about - but these were good guys and I picked the divers and not the diving, you know. Dive 4 was sort of a wash. It was my own fault. Lesson learned.

I gotta follow my own rules.

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Ken

Mo2vation:

I gotta follow my own rules.

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The best lessons of life are either painful, humiliating, or expensive.

You got off cheap!

Mo2vation:

Anyone who's been here awhile knows my three basic dive buddy rules:

1) I won't buddy up with a Rebreather diver

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I understand the other two rules, or atleast the reasoning behind them, but why rule #1?

Kriterian:

I understand the other two rules, or atleast the reasoning behind them, but why rule #1?

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Because I don't know what could happen, or how to get them out of a jam. There's too much going on over there with gauges, and hoses, and counter lungs and hammer heads and all manner of technology that I just don't have a clue with. Knobs everywhere, tanks, containers, giant vacuum cleaner hoses, some funky mouthpiece thing, I think there's a BC in there someplace. Plastic all over the place. Who knows what's under the hood of that beetle. Friggen robodivers. No way, man.

If I'm diving with you - I gotta know your rig. You gotta know mine. I've had two bad experiences diving with RB'ers that put them on the fecal roster. Never again. They can bring their own buddy or dive solo. I'm not a candidate.

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Ken

Mo2vation:

If I'm diving with you - I gotta know your rig. You gotta know mine. I've had two bad experiences diving with RB'ers that put them on the fecal roster. Never again. They can bring their own buddy or dive solo. I'm not a candidate.

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Ken

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Ah, that makes alot of sense too. I figured it would be the varying bottom times or what not, but getting a rebreather out of a jam would be hard if you don't know the system.

Being a hefty fellow myself, I'm curious if you've had problems with an obese diver in the past or are you just trying to avoid them (the problems of the unfit) in general?

Ken,


Would you buddy with me?

There is an off chance I may be spending some time in SoCal a couple of months from now, I would love to get together since it has been somthing like 27 years since we have seen each other.

I'm not morbidly obese but I am not the skinny guy I was in high school either.

No rebreather but I do dive a Hogarthian rig.

I don't hunt and I also don' like diving with hunters of any kind because you are either both diving solo, or the hunter has a buddy while you dive solo.

Mark Vlahos

Kriterian:

Ah, that makes alot of sense too. I figured it would be the varying bottom times or what not, but getting a rebreather out of a jam would be hard if you don't know the system.

Being a hefty fellow myself, I'm curious if you've had problems with an obese diver in the past or are you just trying to avoid them (the problems of the unfit) in general?

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I'm not talking a about a big guy. I'm talking about the person that can't yank themselves up the swimstep unless they take off their BC.

I'm not talking about someone with a few extra LBs who may get a bit winded from a long surface swim as a result of a poorly navigated return dive. I'm talking about someone who is completely unable to manage the even most modest surface swim and demands to be picked up by the chase boat.

I'm not talking about the unfit. I'm talking about the person who can't manage their own rig from the bench to the gate, and needs to don it in the water.

A morbidly obese person can't get themselves out of a jam - there is no way they're getting me out of a jam, or towing me back to the boat, etc. You gotta see the differences between a hefty fellow and the morbidly obese.

Diving with this type of diver is simply not an option for me. Been there, done that, no thank you.

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Ken

Mark Vlahos:

Ken,


Would you buddy with me?

There is an off chance I may be spending some time in SoCal a couple of months from now, I would love to get together since it has been somthing like 27 years since we have seen each other.

I'm not morbidly obese but I am not the skinny guy I was in high school either.

No rebreather but I do dive a Hogarthian rig.

I don't hunt and I also don' like diving with hunters of any kind because you are either both diving solo, or the hunter has a buddy while you dive solo.

Mark Vlahos

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I would love to see you and dive together for sure. PM me when you get in, and we'll get together for sure!!!!!!!

Me? I look just like I did in HS (yeah right...)

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Ken

Mo2vation:

A morbidly obese person can't get themselves out of a jam - there is no way they're getting me out of a jam, or towing me back to the boat, etc.

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Ken,

I'll tow you back to the boat, but first I'll have to knock you out!

That would be a challenge.


Mark Vlahos

Mo2vation:

3) I won't buddy up with a hunter

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I typically don't buddy up with hunters either....

I'm a hunter and like to hunt alone...It is safer...I find more fish...and I don't have to share...

I need to get back in the water to see if I can get a third halibut....I've only gotten two this season so far...