Scooter free diving the Tracey

[RickI]

Went to the Tracy and Scutti yesterday. Viz. was pretty limited at around 30 ft. It looks a lot better although fuzzy in this video clip from a GoPro Wide camera.

[vimeo]5881445[/vimeo]
Scooter Free Diving the Wreck Of the Tracy on Vimeo

 

[Decker]

RickI:

Thanks for sharing the very cool video! Tell us more. What kind of scooter? What kind of mount? How fast does it go? Where you the only freediver? What dive operation did you freedive with? What is the deepest wreck you freedive? Where can we see more videos...

Decker

 

[siegelreptiles]

cool!---looks like quite a bit better than 30ft vis

 

[RickI]

I use an Apollo Evolution, its a sit on top. For photography and free diving having both hands free and all that easy maneuvering using your fins is a big help. You can have tremendous mobility and it may be the only way you'll be able to free dive a stationary wreck in much current. Scooters can get you into serious trouble in a number of ways free diving though, some less obvious than others. I was carrying a camera in each hand and one in a chest mount. Sounds like a lot, it is but the GoPros can eat batteries at a very fast rate at times. I was out with South Florida Divers out of Hillbsboro Inlet, they do a good job. They take lots of free divers out although usually on FII events. The deepest wreck I've scooter free dove so far is the Vandenberg. You can see that video and quite a few more at: RickI's videos on Vimeo


Here's another one from the Tracy shot yesterday.

[vimeo]5892512[/vimeo]

RickI:

Thanks for sharing the very cool video! Tell us more. What kind of scooter? What kind of mount? How fast does it go? Where you the only freediver? What dive operation did you freedive with? What is the deepest wreck you freedive? Where can we see more videos...

Decker

 

[RickI]

Yes, it does. I was also shooting with an Olympus 1030 in a housing, not my favorite for video. It shows the viz. closer to what it actually is and far less than shows up in the GoPro images. If you checkout the GoPro stills from the Vandenberg video at the link above, you would swear viz. was far better than 60 ft.. If only the image resolution was sharper, it would be a revolutionary UW camera. Still, it is a novel one.

cool!---looks like quite a bit better than 30ft vis

 

[RickI]

Here's another one coming across the bottom and up and over the bow running aft over the length of the vessel.

[vimeo]5911237[/vimeo]

 

[sportxlh]

that is insane but very very cool: I don't think I have the guts or lungs to do something like that. Thanks for sharing

 

[RickI]

There is quite a lot of preparation and safety procedures still in development unfortunately. At the same time it is a very sublime, peaceful experience. You drop down 70 ft. cover the entire length of a 130 ft. vessel at deck level and surface. Current can be running within reasonable limits and it really isn't a big deal. You may do that a dozen times. The dives are usually short, about a minute to a minute and a half. As you're not kicking, there is minimal exertion and usually no need to push things at all. Far less than when doing normal finning in free diving. Still, if your power dies, you hit something, get tangled, , stay too long into blackout territory, do too many rapid repetitive dives and get a nasty Type II DCS hit, things can go wrong. I don't know anyone providing instruction in this at this point, maybe Martin Stepanek with FII. I've been using DPVs in one form or another for free diving since the late '70's. Doesn't make me immune to screwups hopefully just drops the odds a bit on a good day. I don't recommend it for all the normal reasons. It is an interesting variant of free diving.

Here's a quick one from the Jay Scutti from the same session. Looks like the viz. may have improved a small amount.

[vimeo]5930922[/vimeo]

 

[pygar]

Wow!!! You are a madman. Those are some of the coolest dive videos I have ever seen. Scooter video..Good. Scooter -Free dive Video...Discovery channel stuff..ya know?

 

[RickI]

Thanks, it is a different way to cover a lot of distance and grab an interesting video perspective. Hope to use a couple of GoPros scooter free diving on the Speigel Grove tomorrow. Viz. was supposed to be good today, could make for some nice video. There are processed video's from the Speigel, Vandenberg, Rodeo and a few other spots using different cameras on a scooter at: Something Rich And Strange ... Diving Tales From The Water Underworld - FKA Kiteboarding Forums Wish the quality was good enough for the Discovery Channel. Need better camera gear! Those folks are thorough, did an interview for them related to an infamous kiting accident a few months back. They must have shot 4 1/2 hours of video for a six minute segment.