Giant Stride with Fins or Not

[Lucy's Diver]

I giant stride in without fins all the time.

When I'm wearing a Superlite 17b commercial diving helmet, trailing a surface supply line, am intentionally over weighted, have no way to control my bouyancy, and intend to walk around on the bottom when I get there. My tender is trained (as I am when I tend) to let out just enough line to let me get maybe 10 feet down before the line goes taught and he drags me back up for bubble and com checks.

What I know from this is that if I jump in without fins when geared for a recreational dive and suffer a bouyancy problem (BC fails, or I just forgot to fill it) I am plummeting to the bottom, possibly too fast to clear (which is a real concern with a helmet or AGA, which makes clearing more difficult). Sure I could ditch weights (assuming a tropical dive set up with a AL80) but if you're set up reasonably you can swim you and your rig up with your fins on no problem witout ditching.

When I dive doubles I have no weight to ditch, so that's not an option. I don my fins before my tanks in this and virtually every other case. Somehow I've been able to get around the boat just fine with my fins on, even in not so good seas, with twin steel 120s, a can light, a Jersey reel, and all the other crap on my rig.

 

[tfsails]

Once, and only once, at Oil Can in Bonaire, I did a giant stride with no fins on. I carried them in my hand. I did this because I had to traverse the rock shelf from which I jumped, and I considered it more dangerous to walk that walk with fins than without 'em. I was also jumping into benign seas in the lee of the island. This rock shelf is about 6-8' above the water and falling and bouncing into the water didn't particularly appeal to me.

Every other giant stride I've done has been with fins.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

When the conditions are calm and clear, with gear that was working only minutes/hours ago, tank changed, air on, gauge checked, mask on, breathing from reg; if your afraid of giant stride holding fins tightly under your arm gripping the blades, you may need more training

Not much different than floating out from shore on your back to put your fins on for a shore dive.

 

[Phrenzy]

Like the others, I say this is not a good "skill to practice". You run the risk of getting caught in a surface current which you need fins to fight OR you could very easily lose a fin which would also not be a good thing. Swimming in circles would get boring.

I take it you are not a NASCAR fan? <ducks>

I have only done a few boat dives and I always had my fins on. If I could figure out a way to put my fins on before a shore dive, I would do that too.

 

[perdidochas]

Never tried without fins. Wonder what you would do with your fins until you put them on?

Loop them around your wrist.

 

[Colliam7]

He gives many reasons. for example, when entering the water with double and a stage he thinks that there are to many places for fins to get hooked on thus tripping in the boat.

Interesting. In fact, that is a specific time when I most want them on my feet. When I step to the edge, with double 120s on my back, an 80 slung from a chest D-ring, etc. the last thing I want to worry about is dropping one of my fins as I hit the water. I want my right hand on my reg and mask and the left on that bottle Yes, with fins, there is a somewhat greater possibility of tripping, and I may wait to put them on til I am at the edge (side or stern). To each his own, though

 

[twinkles]

Hmmm. I have always put my fins on before hand. But last week I did contemplate putting them on in the water. I am old and stiff and it seemed like it would be easier to put them on in the water.

But you guys have convinced me...and I bought some spring straps as soon as I got home.