When using a long hose, how best to stow it?

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Is anyone else worried about the clip looking like a shiny barracuda lure right next to your nose? I wish mine was black.

Yes!! In Coz a BIG barracuda made a couple really slow really CLOSE passes right in front of my face and kinda seemed to be eyeing me. The DM pointed at his own hose indicating he thought it might be my clip that was drawing the cuda in. Kinda gave me pause. I cover the clip with my hand when I see a cuda now.

Black clip would be nice...does stainless come in black?

 

[Thalassamania]

Firstly let me say that I DO NOT CAVE DIVE. Even so, more then ten years ago I went to a 5' (over the right shoulder and coiled about my head) and then a few years later to a 7' (under the right arm, etc.). I do use a DIR octopus, for reasons that are not germaine to this thread.

I try and make sure that my buddy and other folks on the boat see what I'm diving before we get in the water. It gives us a chance to talk about it. Sure I get some ribbing before dives, "what's that thing?" etc.

I always try to answer, "why ... that's your regulator." Then comes the discussion of why I choose to give up the regulator that's in my mouth and be responsible, myself, for whatever backup system I choose to use (that's where I go in a different DIRection). But what it comes down to is, I offer the other divers a chance to try it with me. They alway like it and I can't tell you how many times they've bought a long hose when the boat reached the shop and I've helped them learn to use it the next day.

So my advice is that you not hide the hose, but use it to create a non-threatening teachable moment. Too many times most of these folks have ahd some big bearded guy (like you or me) all decked out in matching silver and black (underwater Oakland Raiders?) growl at them when they expressed interest in their rig. Don't growl at the folks, start the conversion process. This may be the FIRST TIME time they've been asked to THINK about their gear and how they dive.

Face it, and you see it on these boards all the time, most divers seem to want their instructor to do their thinking for them and most instructors seen to want their agency HQ to do the thinking for them. Where does that leave us?

 

[cuberoot3i]

i agree with aleman, i change my hose to suit the diving i'm doing.

 

[H2Andy]

why is a 7-foot hose not suitable for OW diving?

 

[Lightning Fish]

I think that the tails of barraudas and jewelry is an urban (submarine? sub-urban?) myth. I've known two people who were hit by barracuda and in both cases they were highly experienced "feeders" engaged in feeding them. In both cases they got their hand shreaded and need fifty or so stiches to put it back together. I guess they could be glad that they were not holding the food item in their teeth as I've seen done in some places.

In both cases they had just taken the fish out of their can, they could not see the Barracuda (or at least did not see it) and ... boom ... blood everywhere. I used to feed barracuda a lot, I don't anymore, not even with a mesh butcher's glove. Too bad, it was really a lot of fun, but you should see the damage that a barracuda can do.

But barracuda hitting jewelry? Not that I actually know of.

According to this thread, http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=33429&highlight=barracuda, there have been 29 reported attacks since 1873.

Cheers,
Bill.

 

[dherbman]

Typically I don't have to deal with close quarters because I cave dive 90% of the time, but I am headed to some salt water soon and am looking into some options for keeping my hose outta harm's way, so if something works for you or you have an idea, post it up for me please!

Stretch that baby out across deck and clip it off on someone elses Dring. It's a great way to break the ice.

OK, coiled and clipped seems to work best.

 

[Meng_Tze]

According to my log.....

Cuddas do attack more frequent than we think. Especially the nice HID lights during a night dive......scary when all of the sudden you feel a 'THUNK' on your tank when a cudda sped up and last moment decided to change his mind.

 

[Meng_Tze]

BrightGator,

Just keep your config as normal. Long hose is long hose, deployment is the same i OW as in cave. Just make sure buddy understands what is going to happen in case of an emergency. If you dive with a regular buddy in this OW, you should be fine.

 

[Thalassamania]

Originally Posted by Thalassamania: I think that the tails of barraudas and jewelry is an urban (submarine? sub-urban?) myth.

Looks like I can pretty much stand by that.

Feeding is problematical, clearly.

As for other incidents, some can be chalked up to tame barracuda that think they're about to be fed, or hungry barracuda that have not been fed (you should have seen the barracuda around Grand Cayman just after Hurricane Gilbert!).

Remember that barracuda are top predators, they're always looking for a meal and a fish that is disturbed by your presence or light is dinner. The hubbub that you cause disturbs the fish in the area and that disturbance is transmitted to the barracuda that may hit you as they dash at a fish that you never saw.

In any case, even 29 cases in 130 years don’t really make me wary, that's way below risks that we accept without and fear or trepidation.

 

[AquaHump]

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