The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
As most of you know, I have dove Jets most of my life (since I was 12). A year or two ago, I fell in love with the Hollis Bat Fin (F-1) and abandoned the Jets. I love a good stiff paddle fin and they fit my boots.
Yesterday, I made a cardinal instructor sin: I forgot my fins and mask.
We were out of Largo Channel, when the realization came. I had been too preoccupied with my students' gear and getting set up to even notice. How embarrassing. When the implications of not being able to dive hit me, I jumped up to Noah, the Captain of the Garden Cove Diver (from Key Largo Dive Center), and asked him if he had any fins and mask on board.
"What size?" he asks. I wear a 10 1/2 and he was OK with me borrowing them. He didn't want me to stretch them out! "BTW, Pete: They're full foot fins!" O Rly? Again, if you have ever dove with me, you know that I am very particular about my footwear. I exclusively dive in OTB Boots. I think one time I wore running shoes in a pinch, but booties and me just don't mix. Well, beggars can't be choosers, so I strip off my boots to wear these full foot fins. Gadzooks, I don't think I have worn a full foot fin since before the turn of the century! It's kind of funny, but I am seriously concerned about my kicking techniques. I really concentrate on my students learning how to frog kick in OW and I have no idea how these will perform. I ask Noah how stiff they are. His reaction is that he doesn't know, but he thinks they are average. AVERAGE??? I put them on thinking that they'll be mushy the whole time. What's worse is that we have a current on the surface. I mentally kick myself again for my oversight!
Most people can do the "figure four" method of donning fins: not me. 30 years in the automotive field have robbed me of a lot of flexibility. I usually slip my feet into the fin, kneel on a bench and reach behind to snag the loop on my spring straps. In reality, all I had to change was to swipe my finger around the heel and fin slid right on. Kewlness. That wasn't so bad. I waddle over to the side and back roll in. At this point I would like to play with these fins a bit and get a feeling for them, but with two students in the water, that was a luxury I wasn't going to get. In fact, I have one up and one down right from the start. I deal with the student on the surface while monitoring the one below. After everything is sorted out, we start on the dive. My students have already completed all of their skills at this point, so I am looking at their overall dive competency. I tld them that I would lead the dives and act as a guide as well. The first couple of kicks, feel weird. Unlike split fins, they don't feel like they are collapsing under power. I modify my kick ever so slightly and ZOOOOOOOOM. Wow! Where did that come from? I don't remember my feet feeling so light in the water. I kick again, and my first impression is verified: These are going to be FUN. I turn around and realize that in a couple of easy kicks, I have completely outpaced my students. Ya rly! Since I am a bit below them I go on my back which is one of my favorite positions with students. They look great. Trim is decent, they are kicking well and bubbles are looking super! I look at my fins as I frog kick. They appear nice and fluid. I am barely kicking and still moving at a fairly decent speed. In cat I have to stop to allow my students to catch up with me.
As I wait, I decide to test out these fins and realize that all I know is that they are Mares. I don't even know the model. I flip on my stomach and proceed to do a helicopter pivot. That was easy! Either way, these fins are doing well! I find a Christmas Tree Worm and hover. My students are almost close enough for me to show them. I back kick and WHOA. That was nice. While I can back kick with my Bat Fins, this was easier and way more productive. The students just love the Christmas Tree worm and it ducks in at the best moment. This is turning out to be a really fun dive and instead of having to fight these fins, they are instant allies. I even get to a point where I am watching my students as I am back kicking. Not too shabby.
After 45 minutes, the student's air is down to 1000 and it's time for us to ascend. The fins have done great so far, but I have to take them off in the water to climb our ladder. They haven't let me down so far, so I reach back and free my heel. Then I notice the hole half down both sides of each fin! Kewl! I hook my thumb into on and the fin comes right off. That wasn't so hard after all.
On our second dive, the fins get tested a bit more. We splash, everyone descends together (yay!) and I start to lead the group. Again, I have to throttle down a lot as I am leaving my students behind. They normally don't have to work hard to keep up, but these are making me fly even while doing my gentle frog kick. Out of the corner of my eye I see a dark longish tail slip under some rocks. Then the largest nurse shark I have ever seen swims out the other side! She's massive! I make the shark sign and point rapidly in front of me, trying to get my students to come see the beast. Then it turns quickly and heads back the other way. At this point, I switch from frog to flutter for the speed. Again, I am impressed, I accelerate quickly and easily with little effort on my part. Keeping up with the shark is not so bad, and she's cruising pretty nicely. My students are impressed. They aren't even certified and they got to see their first shark! They also got to see a huge Queen conch, Lobzilla and a number of denizens of our reef. Good stuff, and not having to fight the fins made it possible for me to concentrate on finding them cool critters to look at.
Here's my overall report card:
Lightness: A+
Speed: B+
Ease: A+
Maneuverability: A+
Ease of donning/doffing: B
Air consumption: B
Flexibility: Medium+
Suitability for Keys Diving: A
Suitability for hunting: A-
Suitability for Cave Diving: ???
Yes, I was impressed. Was I impressed enough to get a pair for myself? We'll see.
Yesterday, I made a cardinal instructor sin: I forgot my fins and mask.
We were out of Largo Channel, when the realization came. I had been too preoccupied with my students' gear and getting set up to even notice. How embarrassing. When the implications of not being able to dive hit me, I jumped up to Noah, the Captain of the Garden Cove Diver (from Key Largo Dive Center), and asked him if he had any fins and mask on board. "What size?" he asks. I wear a 10 1/2 and he was OK with me borrowing them. He didn't want me to stretch them out! "BTW, Pete: They're full foot fins!" O Rly? Again, if you have ever dove with me, you know that I am very particular about my footwear. I exclusively dive in OTB Boots. I think one time I wore running shoes in a pinch, but booties and me just don't mix. Well, beggars can't be choosers, so I strip off my boots to wear these full foot fins. Gadzooks, I don't think I have worn a full foot fin since before the turn of the century! It's kind of funny, but I am seriously concerned about my kicking techniques. I really concentrate on my students learning how to frog kick in OW and I have no idea how these will perform. I ask Noah how stiff they are. His reaction is that he doesn't know, but he thinks they are average. AVERAGE??? I put them on thinking that they'll be mushy the whole time. What's worse is that we have a current on the surface. I mentally kick myself again for my oversight!
Most people can do the "figure four" method of donning fins: not me. 30 years in the automotive field have robbed me of a lot of flexibility. I usually slip my feet into the fin, kneel on a bench and reach behind to snag the loop on my spring straps. In reality, all I had to change was to swipe my finger around the heel and fin slid right on. Kewlness. That wasn't so bad. I waddle over to the side and back roll in. At this point I would like to play with these fins a bit and get a feeling for them, but with two students in the water, that was a luxury I wasn't going to get. In fact, I have one up and one down right from the start. I deal with the student on the surface while monitoring the one below. After everything is sorted out, we start on the dive. My students have already completed all of their skills at this point, so I am looking at their overall dive competency. I tld them that I would lead the dives and act as a guide as well. The first couple of kicks, feel weird. Unlike split fins, they don't feel like they are collapsing under power. I modify my kick ever so slightly and ZOOOOOOOOM. Wow! Where did that come from? I don't remember my feet feeling so light in the water. I kick again, and my first impression is verified: These are going to be FUN. I turn around and realize that in a couple of easy kicks, I have completely outpaced my students. Ya rly! Since I am a bit below them I go on my back which is one of my favorite positions with students. They look great. Trim is decent, they are kicking well and bubbles are looking super! I look at my fins as I frog kick. They appear nice and fluid. I am barely kicking and still moving at a fairly decent speed. In cat I have to stop to allow my students to catch up with me.
As I wait, I decide to test out these fins and realize that all I know is that they are Mares. I don't even know the model. I flip on my stomach and proceed to do a helicopter pivot. That was easy! Either way, these fins are doing well! I find a Christmas Tree Worm and hover. My students are almost close enough for me to show them. I back kick and WHOA. That was nice. While I can back kick with my Bat Fins, this was easier and way more productive. The students just love the Christmas Tree worm and it ducks in at the best moment. This is turning out to be a really fun dive and instead of having to fight these fins, they are instant allies. I even get to a point where I am watching my students as I am back kicking. Not too shabby.
After 45 minutes, the student's air is down to 1000 and it's time for us to ascend. The fins have done great so far, but I have to take them off in the water to climb our ladder. They haven't let me down so far, so I reach back and free my heel. Then I notice the hole half down both sides of each fin! Kewl! I hook my thumb into on and the fin comes right off. That wasn't so hard after all.
On our second dive, the fins get tested a bit more. We splash, everyone descends together (yay!) and I start to lead the group. Again, I have to throttle down a lot as I am leaving my students behind. They normally don't have to work hard to keep up, but these are making me fly even while doing my gentle frog kick. Out of the corner of my eye I see a dark longish tail slip under some rocks. Then the largest nurse shark I have ever seen swims out the other side! She's massive! I make the shark sign and point rapidly in front of me, trying to get my students to come see the beast. Then it turns quickly and heads back the other way. At this point, I switch from frog to flutter for the speed. Again, I am impressed, I accelerate quickly and easily with little effort on my part. Keeping up with the shark is not so bad, and she's cruising pretty nicely. My students are impressed. They aren't even certified and they got to see their first shark! They also got to see a huge Queen conch, Lobzilla and a number of denizens of our reef. Good stuff, and not having to fight the fins made it possible for me to concentrate on finding them cool critters to look at.
Here's my overall report card:
Lightness: A+
Speed: B+
Ease: A+
Maneuverability: A+
Ease of donning/doffing: B
Air consumption: B
Flexibility: Medium+
Suitability for Keys Diving: A
Suitability for hunting: A-
Suitability for Cave Diving: ???
Yes, I was impressed. Was I impressed enough to get a pair for myself? We'll see.
