Survival Techniques
for the
Underwater Hunter
By Doug Van Mullem
August 3, 2009
1
PURPOSE
To help divers learn how to survive while
doing the sport of underwater hunting.
It contains the collective wisdom of many highly
experienced freedivers as well as the lessons
learned from mistakes I and many others have
made.
The sea is unforgiving to those who come unprepared.
2
Basic Safety
• Notify someone responsible of your dive plan
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just in case you don’t return so they know when
to call for a search and recovery and where to
tell them to search. Remember to let them
know you have safely return.
Remember the weight belt has a quick release
and be prepared to activate it.
When talking to your partner on the surface,
don’t put your gun under your arm or between
your legs because you are now pointing a
loaded gun at him – not a good thing.
3
Basic Safety
Continued
• Don’t bring a loaded gun on the boat,
even if you are just quickly hoping spots.
It just isn’t worth the risk.
• Make positive identification on the fish
before you pull the trigger. It may save
your thumb, your gun, or your life.
• Soupfin sharks are in breading at the
same times and places as WSB and they
can look surprisingly similar in the murk.
4
Basic Safety
Continued
• Consider taking a basic SCUBA course
– They are good at teaching the basics on
safety plus you may need it to recover a deep
fish, anchor or buddy.
• Be sure your dive knife can quickly cut
your shooting line because you can be tied
up by big fish to a stock of kelp as you are
trying to cut the fish free of the kelp.
– This is especially important when changing
from mono to cable.
5
Basic Safety
Continued
• Consider the amount of gear for the dive
conditions you are entering and adjust as
required.
– Rock entry with lots of kelp = Keep it simple.
– Don’t try to take too much gear with you.
• Streamline your gear so you can slide through
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kelp or travel a long distance easily.
Lobster bag, 2-3 lights, gage, gun, stringer,
float, float line, knife, weight belt, signal buoy,
camera, & etc is too much under most dive
conditions.
6
Basic Safety – Kelp Diving
Continued
• Before surfacing in thick kelp, put your right arm up over
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your head, bending it so the hand is above your snorkel on
the left and when you start to push into the kelp canopy
pull the kelp to one side clearing the way for your head and
snorkel to get to air.
What are the three best ways to get to the other side of a
really thick kelp bed?
– Go around it. This is the safest.
– Go under it if you have the skills to surface safely and repeat
multiple dives. This can be the fastest.
– Go over it by turning your gun upside down and grabbing it 2/3
back and then pushing down the kelp so you can swim over it. Keep
your gun at an angle being careful to not let your point go below
the surface. The gun’s handle should be below your lower chest.
This can be a very stealthy method and a good way to sneak up on
openings and look for fish in them. It is also surprisingly easy to
cross over the kelp in this way, if you are streamlined.
7
Basic Safety
Continued
• Get yourself trained in CPR and First Aide.
• Consider taking a freedive/apnea class
• Understand leg cramps, sooner or later you will
get them so know what to do and do it quickly.
– Divers will dehydrate, loose electrolytes and get leg
cramps.
– Some divers get them in their upper legs and others
in the calf. Either can stop you from
swimming/diving.
– Stretch out the cramped area immediately, return to
boat or beach to take fluids, carbs and rest a bit.
8
Basic Safety
continued
• Know the Wet Suit Weight Formula, use it
for an estimated weight for your belt.
– For 3 Mil one piece suits with no vested hood, take
5% of your body weight and add 4 pounds. If you
weigh 150 this formula comes to 11.5 pounds.
– For 6.5 mil (or ¼ inch) suits, take 10% of your body
weight and add 4 pounds. If you weigh 150 this
formula comes to 19 pounds. 23 pounds if you are
doing shallow water diving for halibut.
– For new suits add about 3 extra pounds
– For shallow water diving (under 15’) add 2 pounds for
3 mil suits; 3 pounds for 5 mil suits and 4 pounds for
6.5 mil suits.
9
Basic Safety
Continued
• After using the Wet Suit Weight Belt
Formula to estimate the needed weight,
verify you have the right weight. You
should be 1 to 2 pounds positive on the
surface when no air is in your lungs. Test
this before you take off on your dive. This
positive buoyancy is especially important
in Shallow Water Blackout (SWB)
situations since you reach the surface
while in the exhalation phase.
10
Survival When Diving in Current
• When diving for game fish you will often want to choose a location that has
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current so it is important to learn how to dive in current safely.
First, always be prepared for the current to go from mild to strong in a
matter of minutes on in a few yards especially near points and pinnacles.
Consider live boating dive spots with current. If you put all the divers in at
once and none of you can beat the current then … have a plan.
Know that the current is weaker when ever there is some protection like a
rocky bottom, kelp bed or points and coves. When the current comes up you
may only be able to make headway by diving to the bottom and working
yourself up current in the lower turbulence or swimming inside the kelp bed.
Know the topography of the location you are diving and understand the more
water that is being restricted from passing, the stronger the current. That is
why there is more current near pinnacles, underwater walls, islands and
points.
Know the tide tables for the day and expect the current to be stronger when
the slop of the tide is highest. Also watch for the current to change
directions when the tide changes but sometimes it will just get stronger with
a tide change.
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Survival When Diving in Current
(Cont.)
• Last Saturday my four dive buddies and I were diving near the West
End of Catalina and the current was rushing us to the end of the
island. There we put all five experienced divers in the water but I
made sure one went up current into a small kelp bed and cove for
WSB while the rest of us went down current looking for YT. He was
our backup in case we couldn't get back. I had told the three other
divers when it was time to head back to the boat we would have to
swim close to the island so we could beat the current. I was
surprised how easy it was to swim up current right next to the
island. It gave us a lot more protection than I had expected.
• The last thing about diving in current - if you just can't get back to
the boat go to the island before you get exhausted and get on top
of a big rock so you can be easily seen. If you have a whistle,
flasher of flare with you, be ready to use it to call passing boats.
Another safety item that I always have with me is my orange
inflatable long signal tube. This long tube fits in my leg pocket.
12
Survival When Diving in Current
(Cont.)
• Current related rescue: On a recent trip, where we were diving a
underwater wall at the end of San Clemente Island, my partner got swept
over the wall and was heading out to sea. He spent all his energy trying to
beat the current and go straight back to the boat anchored just in front of
the wall but found himself unable to get back over the current generated by
the hump of the wall. Finally he called for help and was heard by the
safety diver in the boat and myself. He had spent all the energy trying to
get over the wall. I swam to him and when I saw him lying on his back and
exhausted I planned for the worse and called for the boat. There was a
better way to handle this situation that would have allowed him to get
himself back to the boat but after he had gotten so exhausted that was the
only option left. After seeing that the current was too strong to beat he
needed to head to the island versus keep trying to battle the current until
exhaustion. Along the shallow waters of the island there is a break from
the current and then he could have swam up current past the boat and
then headed back across the current in front of the wall. Once you get
near the wall it can suck you over to the other side and then take you out
to sea.
13
Train Like an Athlete
• Work out for diving. It is a sport and you need to be
an athlete. Train like your life depends on it … because
it does.
• Ideas for training, and there are hundreds of them.
Here are just three:
– Body surf to get your legs in shape plus this will teach you
about going through the surf.
– Well balanced gym workouts & remember to include sit-ups
and pulls so you can cock your gun and paddle your kayak.
– Dive regularly. There is no better exercise for diving, than
diving.
• If you are a beginner, don’t plan a full 5-6 hour
competitive dive tournament. Plan to do half the dive.
Work up to longer dive days.
14
Know What Your Dive Capability
is for Your Next Dive
• Your ability to hold your breath changes from year to year, month to month, day to
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day and even dive to dive. Just because your computer tells you that yesterday
morning you could go down for 2 minutes doesn’t mean you can repeat that dive
today. Here are some factors:
Energy has a correlation to dive time, if you are full of energy your dive time is
maximized; if you are tired it is reduced. Apnea divers learn to do their deep diving
in the morning after a high carbohydrate meal the night before then they don’t eat in
the morning so there is no oxygen/energy going to digest the breakfast and all the
oxygen and energy is available for the dive.
On long dive days we need to eat but remember after eating our bodies are working
hard to digest the food and that absorbs some of our oxygen. Choose your dive food
carefully, something easy to digest. Eat/drink small amounts during a dive day.
When you are cold your body is using higher levels of energy and oxygen to keep
you warm. Wearing the right suit for the conditions you are in will greatly help your
dive time.
When you are out of energy and still want to dive there are ways to do that but be
prepared for a loss in capabilities. Energy drinks help me go that extra hour of diving
but they do speed up my heart and that does cut down on dive time just a little.
They also help me “beat the cold” and that actually helps me dive longer.
The more fatigue you are the shorter your dive time will be so plan to that.
15
How to Pick A Dive Partner
• Based on your experience level:
– Strong enough to rescue you at the end of a
tough dive under worse conditions than you
expected to encounter.
– Experienced enough to select a good spot for
your level of ability.
– Wise enough to know when to go and when
to stay on the beach/boat.
– Mature enough to stay with you during the
dive and not run off with “Buck Fever”.
16
Now That You Have Your Partner,
Plan Your Dive Together
• Before entering the water, discuss with your
•
partner the dive plan. Don’t just say you go that
way and I’ll go this way.
Discuss:
– Buddy diving: one up and one down and how tough
that will be in these conditions.
– How tight you plan to stay together and what to do if
separated
– Pattern of your planned dive.
– Approximate duration before tagging up or returning
to shore or boat.
DIVE YOUR PLAN
17
Make Your Own Personal
Diver Safety Kit
• Make your own first aide kit.
– Meds you need, bandages, antibiotics, Hydrogen
Peroxide, Sudafed, Musinex D, seasick pills, etc.
• Flares, flashlight, water proof matches & whistle.
• Buy your own hand held ship to shore radio for
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emergencies.
Rent/buy a satellite cell phone and a EPERBs for
dangerous & long distance trips to the Tuna
grounds.
Take your own GPS to report location to rescue
teams.
Be sure to take this kit with you on your trips.
18
Choosing a Dive Location
• Pick your day, your location and timing of your
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dive, based on dive conditions.
Know your limits, strength and skill level and
match those up to the dive location and
conditions.
Understand surf conditions and shore conditions
(rocks versus beach) when considering an entry
point.
Plan your exit point before getting in and know
how the tide will change during your dive and
what that will do to your exit point.
19
Kayak Safety
• In the surf, even small surf, a kayak is a
deadly weapon.
– It can break knees, heads and drown
people.
• Watch out for kids in the surf line.
• Untie your paddle rope and tuck it away
before going through surf.
– The line can easily wrap around you and
it will cut you fast, even in small surf.
20
Kayak Safety
Continued
• Don’t wear your weight belt when going
through the surf.
• Learn to kayak in calm conditions and
then try harder conditions.
• Never get between the kayak and surf
line, they can easily break your knees.
• Wear your hood going through surf, that
little bit of protection may prevent getting
yourself knocked out or seriously cut.
21
Know When The Boat Is Too
Small For The “Conditions"
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Picking a Boat & Captain
• Know the experience of the skipper.
• Know the capabilities & condition of his boat.
– – Stay away from poorly maintained boats.
• Have him show you all the emergency gear.
• Ask him teach you how to operate the boat.
• Learn how to use his radio and what station to
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call for emergencies.
Know how to quickly disconnect his anchor in
case of emergency. Pulling an anchor can loose
precious time in a rescue situation.
Remember: There is only one rule on the boat
and that is “The Captain Rules”. Listen to him.
23
Sea Sick Pill Recommendations
• I recommend Trip Tone ... it doesn't make
you as sleepy as the others and no after
headaches. I wouldn't even wait until you
see what the seas are like...take one
before bed and another dose in the
morning with something solid to eat.
There is nothing worse than being sick on
a boat!!! By Larry Carter
• Another Good type of pill is Meclizine HCL
24
Real Shallow Water Blackout Stories
“Once was Not Enough”
•
In 1969 Roy Rogel, a member of the San Diego Delta Free Diver Club and my teammate was
diving off Solana Beach in a club tournament. During the meet, a fellow diver came across Roy
lying motionless on the bottom at 40 feet in 15 foot visibility. What a coincident, but wait, there
is more. The diver pulled his belt off and surfaced Roy. It happened that a commercial abalone
diver & boat was near by. He shouted to the boat hand and she pulled her husband up by the air
hose. His “day job” happened to be Chief Lieutenant of San Diego’s City Life Guards and yes he
was trained in the new science of CPR (rare in those days to find someone trained in CPR). What
a coincident, but wait, there is more. He had just installed a radio on his boat. He called for an
ambulance and in those days they were called “meat wagons” since the drivers had no medical
training and only rushed the ill/dieing/dead to the hospital but there was one crew in all of SD
County that had just been certified in CPR, you guesses it, Roy got that crew. Solana Beach, the
location for the tournament, had just put a road ramp from the high cliffs to the shore and
finished it just weeks before the tournament so the ambulance could go straight to wet sand and
get Roy off the ab diver’s boat. What a coincident, but wait, there is more. At the hospital the
emergency doctor on duty just happened to have interned in Hawaii and he had actually seen
several cases of Shallow Water Blackout (SWB). Keep in mind, Roy showed no sign of life from
the moment he was found until he got into the emergency room. The doctor revived Roy and he
lived to dive another 11 years. Roy died in 1980 from his second SWB occurrence which also
happened during a dive tournament. This time he was found on the surface but too late to
recover. Roy was a highly decorated soldier and POW in WWII and escaped 5 times from the
Germans and was recaptured 4 times. In his escapes well over 100 other men who were
escaping with him died. Only 7 of his fellow escapees from all those escapes lived past the end
of the war. Roy was already on his 8th life when I met him. A great diver, a great athlete, a
great American and a dear friend lost to SWB.
•
Written In Memory of Roy Rogel, by Doug Van Mullem.
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Real Shallow Water Blackout Stories
“Too Good for My Own Good”
• I almost lost it last November in Belize. Unfortunately I was feeling too
comfortable free diving to 45 feet and hanging for 2-2.5 minutes taking
pictures of fish. No wetsuit and warm water made me feel like superman. As a
result, I spent too much time waiting for a fish to turn the right way and as I
headed for the surface my vision was super starry (which I've had mild cases
before) then as I got to about 10 feet my brain could not control the muscle
movements in my legs. I was saying to myself Kick, Kick and nothing was
happening. Lucky for me I had enough momentum and positive buoyancy to
get me up. As my face came out I almost couldn't figure out how to breath. I
was telling myself inhale, inhale! but my brain forgot how to do that. As I
gasped for air and sputter kicked to keep my head out I recovered. That was
the worst "close to blackout" as I've ever come. Like an idiot I was by myself,
in my own little world mentally and 500 yards from the boat at the edge of a
250' drop off. That one event has changed my entire vision on how I dive in
the future. That was a warning shot from the guy above and it was heard load
and clear.
• In a way I can see how my good friend Steve Seo bought it. He went to
Mexico with the mental place that he would return with a world record catch
and permanent club record. I told Steve this story the day before he left. I
wonder if he just blew it off thinking that could never happen to him....
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Real Shallow Water Blackout Stories
“When I was a Young Jock”
• Many years before I learned of SWB, I use to believe that
if I came up before seeing little white stars floating in my
eyes that meant I wasn't pushing myself hard enough.
Some days I would see stars on 20 to 30 dives. I also
use to swim underwater in pools with no fins and go for
100 meters. In those swims, I always came up seeing
stars and the last time I did it I could see nothing but
BLACK lasting for three breaths after surfacing and my
friends, who I couldn’t see, were saying "Look at how
purple his lips are." That was my last time swimming
100 meters underwater.
Signed, Slow to Learn and Lucky to Still be Alive, DVM
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Lessons to Prevent SWB
• If you are surfacing and seeing little bright stars floating in your eyes
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(they look really cool) then you are pushing yourself too hard and are
only a few seconds from death by SWB. Don’t do that again!
If your legs are giving out as you push for the surface that is because
the muscles are out of oxygenated blood. If your legs give out, you
die. Don’t do that again!
If you surface and feel like puking but you don’t have the muscle
strength to do it because there is no oxygen in them then you dove too
hard. Don’t do that again!
SWB victims can be recovered - take the time to be a responsible
partner and learn CPR.
An interesting thing about SWB is that you can shut off your throat and
not take water into your lungs. You can also bite your snorkel so hard
that it is hard for the rescuer to take it out of your mouth. If a rescuer
turns you over with your snorkel in the mouth and you recover your
first breath will be seawater. Rescuers need to be aware of this and try
to get that snorkel out fast with a jerk when turning over the victim.
This will hopefully open the airway, if not open it and do CPR.
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Lessons to Prevent SWB
Continued
• Here is one tip that few realize and it can save your life. You know
you can dive 60’ with no problem. But if you are doing extra hard &
long repeated dives, like when you are recovering a fish which is
held up in the rocks or kelp, then your dive needs to either be
shorter since your exertion is greater or your recovery time needs to
be longer. It will take you a longer time to recover with each
successive hard dive. You may feel like you are ready after 30
seconds because your lungs are full of fresh air but you have deeply
depleted the reserves of oxygen in your blood. Take an extra
minute to recover all of your blood in your body. Your legs will tell
you when you are truly ready to dive because the numbness from a
lack of oxygen will have left them. It takes a long time to recycle all
your blood through your lungs to replenish the oxygen fully.
Repeated deep hard dives will get you. Take the time to save your
life! The fish isn’t going anywhere but you may be if you don’t take
those extra breaths.
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Lessons to Prevent SWB
Continued
• When you know you are on a tough dive, be prepared to
drop your weight belt, it is not invaluable. Keep your
hand on the weight belt release while ascending,
releasing it if you feel you are in trouble or at the first
sign of blackout.
– The USA’s only world champion spear fisherman, Terry Lentz,
who won the world tournament in 1959 says: “Dropping my belt
saved me once, and divers who pay attention to this thought
may have their lives spared some time in the future.” Terry is
still competing in this sport 48 years later!
• Your attitude (or mind set) is what will keep you alive.
Dive with safety as your first thought. It will be too late
to have it as an after thought if you don’t.
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Why a Whistle is a Good Idea
• We were diving on Santa Barbara Island and heard a man yelling.
The yell was coming from the direction of the setting sun and wind;
and seemed to be 300 plus yards away so we could not make out
who was making the noise. At first, we assumed it was a kayak
party coming around the island. After the yelling continued for
some time we got alarmed and decided it was time to get our divers
out of the water and go rescue this guy. It turned out to be a diver
from the other small boat in the area. His boat was about 100
yards away from him but up wind so he wasn’t heard for a very long
time by his boat’s driver. The diver had shot a “large white sea
bass” and it had tied up to kelp about 60 feet down in 100 foot of
water. This was deeper than he could reach. He couldn’t leave his
spot since he had no way to mark it so he stayed there and yelled
and yelled for 30+ minutes until he finally got our attention. If he
had carried a whistle, both boats would have easily heard him and
known he needed help. Also, if he had an inflatable float to tie to
the float line or kelp to mark the spot then he could have swam to
his boat to retrieve the tank he needed to recover his fish.
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Why a Whistle is a Good Idea
Continued
• This diver was not prepared for the type of hunting he was doing.
You can buy a pocket size (when not inflated) salami shaped 3’ - 6’
long marking float for $30 to $40. Also, Skip Hellen has very big
inflatable floats for sell that can lift 100 pounds and can give you
the horse power to lift that fish out of kelp. Another important
thing to remember when hunting large fish that are in an area that
may go out of your capabilities is to be more careful of your shot
and shoot for the head. It is much easier to control a fighting fish if
you have control of their head and don’t let it get turned for deep
water or structure. Fish will almost always go down and out to
deeper water and look for structure when scared or hurt. If you
want to hunt game fish, then be prepared for the conditions you
plan to be diving in. Your boat should have a tank on board plus
you should have a float line or reel line 25% longer than the depth
of water; an inflatable float to mark your spot and hold up a fish; a
sharp knife capable of cutting steel shooting cable if you are using it
and at a minimum shooting line and kelp; and a whistle is always a
good idea.
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Dangers of Using a Float Line
• I know of only one diver who died because he had his shooting line
wrapped around his wrist several times to tug harder on the fish and then
the grouper whet deeper under the rock and wedged his hand in a crack.
One death is enough.
• I was off Santa Barbara Island and decided to go out past the kelp bed to
look for YT in the deeper water. There were no boats around so I figured it
was safe to take my 125’ float line out there. Since I had planned to stay in
the kelp I had no signal float attached. On my way back in from deep
water an 80’ yacht cruising at low speed and completely silent to my ears
drove past and caught my shooting line just 30 feet behind me ripping my
gun out of my hands. I turned and started yelling and luckily the crew with
a fisherman trolling on the back was alert and stopped the boat quickly. To
my amazement I got the float line untied and with no damage to it. The
crew was real nice to me considering what a jerk I was. My boat was a
mile away and around the corner. They had no way to know I was there. I
was amazed that a huge yacht could get so close to me without me hearing
it.
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Dangers of Using a Float Line
Continued
• It is easy to be tied up in your own shooting or float line during the
commotion of fighting a large fish. Be careful to not let your float
line pile around you when recovering a fish. Try to keep swimming
up current while pulling a fish up. This will keep the line behind
you. If you stay still when pulling a line up it will pile up all around
you and then when the fish takes off on another tug-of-war you
may end up getting tied up and drowned. This happened to me
once even though I was swimming up current because there was a
strong wind blowing the opposite direction and I didn’t know that
the surface conditions were keeping the line around my leg area.
When the slip tip that was stuck in the backbone of a 56 pound
amberjack pulled out a bit it released the nerves of the fish so it
could fight and the fish took off for the abyss and took me with it.
My leg was wrapped and in seconds I found myself 40 feet down
being pulled by the fish below and the buoy above. I figured I had
about 15 seconds to untie the wrap around my leg or I would have
to pull my knife out and cut the line and loose the fish and gear. I
won that battle with just seconds to spare.
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Dangers of Using a Float Line
Continued
I was diving for white sea bass off Palos Verdes and was in 20 feet
of water with plenty of kelp all around when I shot a 35 pound
white sea bass. The fish bolted and quickly wrapped on a kelp
stock at the bottom. I knew from experience to not get excited and
rush down to recover the fish. I caught my breath and waited until
the fish looked tired out and then dove to recover the fish. I was
down looking at the kelp stock trying to figure out where to cut the
kelp without cutting my shooting line and float line when all of a
sudden the fish took off for another fight and I found myself
instantly wrapped several times around to the kelp stock. If I
hadn’t taken the time to catch my breath and if I hadn’t been in
great diving shape this could have been my last dive. I kept calm
and used the knife already in my hand to cut my way free and
surfaced with the fish in hand and the knife secure in it’s head. No
more tricks for that fish.
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Dangers of Using a Float Line
Continued
I was diving with two other divers last year in Florida and in the
excitement of our first day of diving and first dive there of the trip,
we forgot to put up a dive flag on our boat (we had one in the
boat). We jumped in the water with float lines and Riffe flagless
floats. Minutes later while we were in maybe 25 feet of water, a
boat came by at 25 miles per hour and its outboard drive hit my
float line pulling my loaded 130 cm gun out of my hands. My boat
was at fault as we had not posted our boat dive flag nor did we
have dive flags on our buoys. Fortunately, no one was hurt and
somehow my float line did not get cut, but I learned a hard lesson not to get too over-anxious at a unfamiliar dive location and forget
about safety and safety rules. We should have had all our flags up
as this was a relatively high traffic dive spot compared to the kelp
beds of Northern California. I also learned that due to the higher
number of fast boats in Florida, that I had to dive more defensively,
particularly on weekends and stay closer to my boat. By: Dave
Edlund
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Float Line Versus Reel,
When & Why to Use Them
Float Lines:
• Very effective when you need a float to wear down a game fish especially if
remember to pull up and then clip the line off to your float.
• Great in kelp, allowing you to get to the surface and still hold on to your fish.
Is highly visible when diving down through the kelp to recover your fish.
• The long trail behind you creates a hazard when boats are in the area.
• The longer the line the higher the risk of getting tied up in your line.
Reels:
• A lot safer when diving in areas where there is boat traffic and the extra line
gives you the ability to reach the surface when fighting a tug-of-war with a
game fish.
• Watch for a reel to make your gun heavier that water and then it will sink
away to the abyss if you let it go.
• It is hard to attach signal or recovery float to your system without a float line.
Consider this combination, a 60 foot bungee float line with buoy attached and a
reel with another 100+ feet of line. This gives you advantages of both.
37
Reasons to Use a Float
• First, and the major one in importance to me is the concept of "pulling and
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clipping" when bringing up a game fish. All the videos etc., show some
"super hero" "dancing and drowning" in free water pulling up the fish
swimming out of the coils (or not) and its just plain nonsense. A 30lb fish
can instantly turn into a 530 lb fish with the help of a seal or shark and if
you have line around you, you can be in great danger. The simplest and
safest way to land a fish is to "pull and clip“. By Larry Carter
Floats wears out the fish and keeps your gear in reach of recovery.
Floats, when properly placed on your float line, can keep a fish from
reaching the bottom and tying up in rocks too deep to recover.
Floats mark your location (kind of) but don’t expect the average boat driver
to see your float and abide by the laws. Boaters and Jet skiers love to
come see what that float is doing there and run right over you.
Diver down flags greatly increase the range a float can be seen from.
“Remember your 30 lb fish can quickly become a 530 lb shark or seal so,
utilize the “Pull and Clip" ability that your float and tuna clip affords you."
38
Seal Danger
• Seal Danger @ SBI ... This is a warning about a dangerous and
aggressive seal based on the experiences of 3 divers, on different
trips, that have recently had troubles with perhaps the same seal off
SBI NE end. Here is the account of one of the divers and the other
two incidents were very similar in respect to the size, persistence
and aggression of the seal. Please remember that seals have a bite
4 times stronger than a full size German Sheppard guard dog so
these wild animals should be considered extremely dangerous.
• I'm writing this to share with you a dangerous experience I had at
Santa Barbara Island while spear fishing. I had just speared a white
sea bass when a very large male sea lion grabbed my fish and tried
to swim off with it. I fought a tug of war with it but it was dragging
me through the water and sometimes down 5 to 10 feet as I kept
pulling the fish towards me. I would pick up the pace pulling hand
over hand when he would let go of the fish ... as he sometimes did.
39
Seal Danger
Continued
Although I tried not to get tangled in my shooting line, it still
happened twice in all the commotion, once around my upper arm
and once around my ankle. Luckily it was during breaks in his
strong tugging. I was able to untangle myself before he started to
pull again. When I finally got the fish in my hands, I thought he
would circle around yet keep his distance, but he didn't. He had no
hesitation in coming right up to me, getting in my face and grabbing
the fish still in my hands. I tried to fend him off by kicking him with
my fin and poking him with the back end of my shaft (the font end
still had the fish on it) but he just kept on coming. He finally pulled
the fish out of my hands and swam off with it. My 125' float line
was moving through the water so fast that I thought he might take
it all so I grabbed it and hung on as I inflated my utility float. I
worked the float to the shooting line and he still pulled the float
down 10 feet. I was tired and well aware of the danger I was in of
drowning so I decided to give him the fish....but not the shaft and
tip. By this time the fish had no head and the body was getting
mangled as he bit it and thrashed it about in order to eat it. I
pulled the fish in again between his tugging at it and finally got it in
my hands again.
40
Seal Danger
Continued
In my hurry to get the tip through the fish it toggled inside of it. He
yanked it away and swam off with it again. Little by little I pulled it
back in again and then pulled out my knife to cut the tip out.
Meanwhile the sea lion was in my face again ready to get his meal
back. I stabbed him in the side of the head with my knife thinking
that this will get him to back off but he only flinched back
momentarily.......and then kept on coming. I don't think my poke
penetrated his thick hide. I concentrated on cutting the fish open
so I could pull out my spear tip out and was able to get it just as he
grabbed the fish again and swam off with it to finish his feast. The
ordeal was over and I was OK. Luckily "Murphy" was occupied
elsewhere and I get to tell the story. I share this with you hoping
that someone else doesn't drown from one of these encounters.
Although it would not have prevented this incident, from now on I'm
going to swim my fish back to the boat ASAP when I'm at SBI.
Swimming around with a fish around your waist is tempting fate. As
for my story...Yes, I know that harming a marine mammal is a
federal crime but in this instance I was the endangered
species......It was self defense!
41
You Can Smile Only When
You Come Back Safely
42
Remember, There Are Many Good
Reasons to Dive Safe
43
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Last Updated 8 March 2007
• Below is a great list of diving/boating/sea conditions &
weather forecast websites that is a combined product of
Skip Hellen and my research over the years. If saving time,
ensuring safety and having good boating/diving conditions
is important to you, along with the ability to plan a dive trip
somewhat reliable up to 3 days in advance then you will
love this list. I have tried to make the listing as user
friendly as possible. The most important categories to
check are prioritized and listed first to last plus my favorite
site in each category is listed first. The other sites are
backup and additional depth if further analysis is needed.
• Three-Day Swell Forecast:
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub=forecast
Current Swell Conditions in SC:
• http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub=nowcast&xitem=socal_now
• http://www.diver.net/weather/all_cat_chnl_wam.shtml
44
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Continued
Key SC Weather Buoys Providing Current and Past Swell Conditions, Wind
Speed/Direction, & Air/Water Temperatures:
• http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?station=46063 = Point Conception
• http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46025 = Santa Monica Bay
• http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?station=46047 = Tanner Banks
• http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?station=46086 = San Clemente
Island, S.E. End
Other Off Shore Weather Buoys and Master List of Buoys:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southwest.shtml
http://facs.scripps.edu/surf/socal.html
http://facs.scripps.edu/surf/buoylist.html
Marine Weather Forecast - Local synopsis:
• http://meteora.ucsd.edu/climate/calif_marine_fcst.southern
• http://meteora.ucsd.edu/climate/calif_disc.los_angeles
http://www.nwsla.noaa.gov/
http://www.myoc.com/weather/ocean.shtml
45
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Continued
Best overall Water condition site is:
• http://www.wetsand.com/swellwatch/
Winds for SC Ocean & Coastal – Speed and Direction Provided:
http://www.weatherflow.com/navair/analysis.html
This is a great site to see what the current winds are doing.
• Tides:
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub=forecast&xitem=ti
de&xindex=016&xindex=012
• http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?site=Cabrillo+B
each%2C+California
http://facs.scripps.edu/cgi-bin/plottide.pl
Moon Calendar - shows phases of the moon:
• http://www.krellworkshops.com/test/
46
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Continued
• The Big picture Via Satellite (Great Stuff):
http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USNationalWide.asp?loc=usa&seg
=IntlSat&prodgrp=World&product=PacificHIRESLoop&prodnav=non
e= Pacific Satellite weather
• http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USNationalWide.asp?loc=usa&seg
=IntlSat&prodgrp=World&product=World&prodnav=none = world
satellite weather view
• http://www.weather.com/weather/map/90045?from=LAPmaps&na
me=index_large_animated&day=1 = SoCal Weather/rain radar loop
• http://radar.wrh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS.p19r0/si.ksox.shtml
SoCal Radar showing rain
http://facs.scripps.edu/surf/sepa.html
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Oxnard/javaLinks/animation.1km.vis.htm
l
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Oxnard/javaLinks/animation.4km.ir.html
http://diver.net/weather/npac_anim.shtml
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/WCIR.JPG
47
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Continued
• Water Visibility Indicator. Note, this is a pay site:
http://www.terrafin.com/sstview/latest_chl.htm
• Surface Water Temp:
http://www.terrafin.com/sstview/samples/frees
ocal.htm
• http://www.diver.net/weather/img.shtml?128.1
60.23.54/products/OFA/epeofa.gif
• http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html
48
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
• Islands:
Continued
San Clemente;
http://www.scisland.org/
San Nicholas;
http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/San_Nicolas_Island_C
A_US_f.html
http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/~weather/mugu/mesoda
ta/nsis/lasthour.html
Charts:
http://www.4seatow.com/charts.htm
Artificial Reefs off California:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/artificialreefs/index.html
49
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Continued
• Department of Fish & Game (DFG) Regulation
•
website:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/sportfishing_regs20
05.html
• Jet Stream Analyses:
• http://squall.sfsu.edu/crws/jetstream.html
Fishing Info / Hot bites;
• http://www.pacificedgetackle.com/fishreport.as
px
– This is a map of recent fish catch reports
• http://www.sport-fish-info.com/
• http://www.fishingnetwork.net/
50
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe,
Productive and Fun Dive/Boat Trip
Continued
•
I saved the best till last. Here is the best site of
all for scouting an area’s bottom to find reefs and
for getting GPS wave-points for locations you
want to go to, to see the temperature and
chlorophyll count to approximate visibility. I
don’t know how they do this for free but I love it.
http://www.tempbreak.com/#
Learn how to use this site and you will be able to
develop an incredible amount of knowledge about
an area before you ever get there.
51
Introducing the Author,
By Skip Hellen
It is my pleasure to introduce Doug Van Mullem to the audience of this
survival & safety presentation. I have known and dove with Doug since
1993 and know him to be a safe and wise diver. With this presentation,
Doug brings a lot of safety and practical experience to the diving
community.
Doug started freediving and spearfishing in the Mediterranean Sea off the
coast of Turkey in 1961 at the age of 7. At the age of 11, he chose to train
for diving by joining a swim team and continued to swim competitively until
age 30. He was an All American swimmer at the Nation’s junior college
level, and used this skill to become a California beach lifeguard for 5 years
until joining the United States Air Force for 23 years. His first diving mentor
was Chris Blakesley, son of one of our legendary grandfathers of our sport,
Chuck Blakesley, the founder of Skin Diver Magazine. Chris was a lifeguard
legend and a great diver too. He taught Doug the art of hunting halibut
and today Doug has published the best paper on halibut hunting I have
ever seen .
52
Introducing the Author,
By Skip Hellen
Continued
Doug has been in 3 dive clubs. The first was a freediving & spearfishing club
called the Delta Divers of San Diego where he won “Diver of the Year” in 1976.
In 1980, while in the Air Force, he came to Los Angeles and met a great diver and
grandfather of our sport - Charlie Sturgill. Charlie had great knowledge and he
was always willing to share it. Then in 1984 he was transferred to Vandenberg
Air Force Base (VAFB) in Northern Santa Barbara County and joined the base dive
club. He was president for a year and safety officer for several years. The ocean
& dive conditions there were dangerous and therefore club officers were required
to take every new member applicant out for a safety check-out dive before they
could become members. He returned to Los Angeles in 1993 and joined the
Fathomiers and 2 years later was the president of the club. As a Fathomier, he
competed in two US Nationals.
Today, he likes to give back to our great sport by writing safety and hunting
technique articles.
Contact information:
Phone (714) 378-1562 Email dvanmullem@socal.rr.com
53