tinman
Contributor
Ok, "attack" maybe isn't the best verb but it got your attention, got mine too. So I'm snoozing in front of the tele last night and a scuba story comes on. "Diver attacked by Giant Pacific Octopus" and lives to tell the tale. It was a story on the Discover channel featuring other death defying events of some sort...
So help me out, this story sounds wrong on so many levels that I had to get some PNW folks input. Did anyone else see this telecast last night? As best as I can recall, here are the facts:
Experienced BC drysuit coastal diver takes photographer from Southern clime for first drysuit dive to try and take video pictures of giant pacific octopus. As they recreated the "attack", I heard/noticed a few things:
Both divers were diving with plastic backplates and webbing with no apparent BCD. Presumably using drysuits as sole inflation system.
Both divers appeared to be wearing neoprene drysuits and single tanks. Apparently was the first time the photographer had ever tried a drysuit...wait it gets better....
Photographer comments on having bouyancy problems, floaty feet, etc and the need to hang onto some rocks, along with his camera...wait the best part's comin'...
At 30 minutes into the dive at ~ 80 fsw, they are at the point of ascending, the photographer spots an octopus and starts filming, meanwhile his buddy thinks he has spotted another 'pus hiding in a crevice and starts poking at it to come out and play...which it does and while the photographer starts filming this encounter, the tentacles start wrapping around his buddy's mask, reg and head. The 'pus is still comfi in his crevice and precedes to remove the diver's mask. It seems that the photographer was too busy hanging on to rocks and his camera filming this to think that perhaps some assistance might be called for...
Ok, I'll hold my tongue, last night I was bitting it so I could hold off the urge to throw my TV remote at both of them...
P.S. They and the 'pus lived, and the 'pus has a great story to tell the grandkids about how he defended the homestead ...
So help me out, this story sounds wrong on so many levels that I had to get some PNW folks input. Did anyone else see this telecast last night? As best as I can recall, here are the facts:
Experienced BC drysuit coastal diver takes photographer from Southern clime for first drysuit dive to try and take video pictures of giant pacific octopus. As they recreated the "attack", I heard/noticed a few things:
Both divers were diving with plastic backplates and webbing with no apparent BCD. Presumably using drysuits as sole inflation system.
Both divers appeared to be wearing neoprene drysuits and single tanks. Apparently was the first time the photographer had ever tried a drysuit...wait it gets better....
Photographer comments on having bouyancy problems, floaty feet, etc and the need to hang onto some rocks, along with his camera...wait the best part's comin'...
At 30 minutes into the dive at ~ 80 fsw, they are at the point of ascending, the photographer spots an octopus and starts filming, meanwhile his buddy thinks he has spotted another 'pus hiding in a crevice and starts poking at it to come out and play...which it does and while the photographer starts filming this encounter, the tentacles start wrapping around his buddy's mask, reg and head. The 'pus is still comfi in his crevice and precedes to remove the diver's mask. It seems that the photographer was too busy hanging on to rocks and his camera filming this to think that perhaps some assistance might be called for...
Ok, I'll hold my tongue, last night I was bitting it so I could hold off the urge to throw my TV remote at both of them...
P.S. They and the 'pus lived, and the 'pus has a great story to tell the grandkids about how he defended the homestead ...