TN Traveler
Contributor
About 20 years ago I watched an episode of the crew of the Calypso in their exploration of the ocean. What I noticed was the fins they wore (along with the streamlined tank backpacks) – they were a long, thin and moved like no other fin I had ever seen. It appeared that the divers were exerting minimum effort but moving much faster than I had ever seen.
Move forward several years and I discovered Force Fins. I have a wide foot with a narrow heel and low ankle bones, so almost all standard open heel fins cramp my feet and full foot fins fall off or rub my ankles. They were the first fins that I had found that fit my feet and allowed me to do extended dives without discomfort. I tried numerous styles and had settled on Tan Delta Excellerating FFs until Bob allowed me to test a pair of the “new” Hockey Fins, made with a new material that provided better performance with less effort (and exceptional performance under high current conditions) - these then became my "go to" fins.. Over the next couple of years Bob and I became friends and have even worked together on his Underwater Desalinization Project.
I admitted to Bob that I had wanted to get a pair of the OPS blades to go with his Launch Pad Foot Pockets since watching the Cousteau documentary but Bob said that he did not have any – they had made only a limited number of them and all had gone to Underrwater Futures Society (Michel Cousteau’s group) for the crew. He said he might have some Launch Pad Foot Pockets and some odd blades but nothing matching and besides they were all packed up and in storage.
Fade into a couple of months ago and Bob announced that he was going to clear out the storage area. I told Bob that if he came across even a mismatched pair, I would still like to try them – and he told me that there was probably little hope but if he found a matching blade and pocket, he would send it to me for my office wall. Well a week and a half ago, when Bob announced that the storage area was now empty and he had started selling off some of the “stuff” in there like mold parts and some fins, like the SD-1’s, he called me to tell me I had a package on the way. He said there was one of the original FF molds – for my office wall and a set of OPS fins.
They arrived the day before we were heading to St Croix, so all I had time to do was quickly pack them into a suitcase but I did notice that they matched. Well, the day after we arrived, I got them out of the suitcase and found they were a matching set of Blue (well one blue and one blue-green) Tan Delta blades and foot pockets. Needless to say, they were quickly assembled and into the pool I went. The pool is only 25 feet long but I could easily feel how the fins performed. You quickly develop a rhythm that matches the fins and maximizes the performance. I could not wait to get them in the ocean – so the next morning we headed for the beach to at least try them snorkeling. I have never liked any Force Fins except the Rip Force for snorkeling/surface swimming – but the OPS blades performed much better than I expected. The only problem was I had to keep stopping to let my wife catch up (and I was expending almost no energy). Heading into the current was no different than riding the waves back to shore. Next week – off to the Pier to dive.
Normally when you have a dream and finally get the chance to fulfill it, the reality does not match the dream. Only 3 other times in my life has the reality exceed the dream – 1) marrying my wife, 2) Driving a Shelby Cobra on the track, 3) Driving a Ferrari on the track – now I have 4.
THANKS BOB!!!
Brings back nice memories, when 3 years ago I got my hands on a pair of Force Fin Pro... Waited almost 20 years for that. 
