This place is soo dead - Does anyone really Kayak dive?

[iluvtheocean]

I tow the dive flag behind the kayak. As mentioned above, if it is affixed to the yak the flag must be much larger. I just clip the flag/float's line to my stern.

Towing the kayak is very easy, no more trouble than towing a flag. When I still had my yak I had a small folding anchor attached to the reel.

What I do is unfurl the line to the length of the depth and throw the anchor overboard before gearing up. That way, if I drop something that is not tethered, it will sink to under the yak. Once I'm ready to dive, I toss my tank overboard (tethered of course) then slide in wearing mask/fins/snorkel, then don my gear. Then descend the line and off we go!

A sweet thing about towing a yak is that when you find something heavy (think anchor, humongous lobster, treasure chest!) you can put it on your yak and keep diving. Another is that you can put a water resistant hand held GPS on the boat and when you find a honey hole, ascent to the yak and hit the "mark" button and you can return to the site time and time again. DO put a lanyard on the GPS and clip it to your boat.

When I lived in the USVI, conch were plentiful and legal to take but you sure don't want to tow those heavy things back on a beach dive...they fit very nicely into my boat.

I sure do miss having a kayak. I sold my uber-sweet Ocean Kayak Prowler 13 in St. Croix because it cost too much to ship to Hawai'i, then I sold my fairly sweet Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro 15 in Hawai'i because it cost too much to ship to Florida. Once I find a job and catch up on a few bills, I'll be cruising Craigslist for my next plastic boat.

Good to see some interest in yak diving again...it is an absolutely wonderful sport.

another option for the GPS is to use a GPS logging app on your phone & record the time/depth/compass heading on a slate. the time will match up with a logged point on the phone (kept dry in the yak) and there is an excel file to adjust for depth drift. ---that way don't have to ascend/descend too much. might be able to do with a handheld gps if it will do continuous logging and you can export it.

ok... so better to just clip the flag to an eyelet ---

i missed the kayak clinic cause i was out of town in P.R. for a family reunion. hopefully i make the next one.

 

[DebbyDiver]

another option for the GPS is to use a GPS logging app on your phone & record the time/depth/compass heading on a slate. the time will match up with a logged point on the phone (kept dry in the yak) and there is an excel file to adjust for depth drift. ---that way don't have to ascend/descend too much. might be able to do with a handheld gps if it will do continuous logging and you can export it.

Simply pressing "mark" on a handheld marine GPS is uber-easy. After the dive I just change the name of the mark(s) to something I'll remember for the next time. It's extremely rare to have one or more marks per dive anyway, since I return to favorite marks.

And my phone is safely tucked away in a dry bag in the hatch. Why complicate things?

So far as 250' of line, why? I don't want to be out so far offshore in a kayak as to need more than about 60' of line, and I rarely dive deeper than about 35' offshore of Broward with my yak. And I have had no problems unrolling about 30' of line and then tossing anchor over to keep the yak from drifting when I suit up. That's also a good way to assess current. And as previously mentioned, if you drop something over, you won't drift away from it.

I leave it anchored until I'm safely back on board and ALL gear is tethered and tied down. Again...something drops...I know where it is. Then I pull the anchor up and re-do the reel. NOTE: I've given up on using modern reels and have returned to the old-school yellow reel like this:



My notes are just what works for me. My attitude is that if something different works for you, then that's what you should do.

 

[Mouth Breather]

So far as 250' of line, why?

Still figuring this out but I don't think 60' is out of the question from a kayak, and I want to be at a decent angle to it to make it easier to drag around. I plan to try my old school reel first and see how it goes.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Simply pressing "mark" on a handheld marine GPS is uber-easy. After the dive I just change the name of the mark(s) to something I'll remember for the next time. It's extremely rare to have one or more marks per dive anyway, since I return to favorite marks.

And my phone is safely tucked away in a dry bag in the hatch. Why complicate things?

So far as 250' of line, why? I don't want to be out so far offshore in a kayak as to need more than about 60' of line, and I rarely dive deeper than about 35' offshore of Broward with my yak. And I have had no problems unrolling about 30' of line and then tossing anchor over to keep the yak from drifting when I suit up. That's also a good way to assess current. And as previously mentioned, if you drop something over, you won't drift away from it.

I leave it anchored until I'm safely back on board and ALL gear is tethered and tied down. Again...something drops...I know where it is. Then I pull the anchor up and re-do the reel. NOTE: I've given up on using modern reels and have returned to the old-school yellow reel like this:

View attachment 158668

My notes are just what works for me. My attitude is that if something different works for you, then that's what you should do.

I use the old school yellow thing too.. Sounds like a good idea.. haven't rigged up the anchor yet though..
Something about my last ocean kayak dive.. coming up in the middle of a raging storm and couldn't see shore.. getting flipped a few times.. and washing gear off in the culvert on the side of A1A...

 

[diver 85]

i'd be interested... just got to figure out where to attach the flag

Here's where I ride mine ---& leave it there........Do everything---ie myself & diving gear--off & on the left side..

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[Mouth Breather]

No thanks to the weather over the last few weeks, I've been able to practice a few times. Here is what I've learned so far:

Don't trust any knots you didn't tie yourself. If you find a barely-used anchor and line in 26' off John U LLoyd it's mine!
Better to straddle the kayak when loading/offloading tank & BC. I didn't dump but my kayak was thinking about it.
Better to have the reel/line board with you and wind up as you ascend.
Not so easy to BC dive with a hookah diver. By the time you get all geared up they will have drifted quite a ways from you.

Need some more practice, and would like to see if there is a depth level (up to 60') at which diving from a kayak becomes a hassle. Will be hitting up some of you to go with after mini-season

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Sounds like some good learning went on! Always good to learn, to improve...

 

[tddfleming]

What time is the meeting?

 

[Bobbear]

Hi All,

I can't seem to make it to any Kayuba meetings and all they have is a facebook presence. I have started a meetup group, South Florida Kayak Diving South Florida Kayak Diving (Deerfield Beach, FL) - Meetup to try to get all the kayak divers together in one place.

I do quite a bit of offshore kayak fishing as well as diving and have been talking it up to the other extreme kayak fishermen. They have the skill set and confidence to be out on the open water.

I am hosting a Free 1-hour Introduction to Kayak Diving seminar on October 25, 6 pm at Dixie Divers in Deerfield Beach.

I have also had my outline approved by PADI and am now a certified Kayak Diving Instructor, YIPPEE!