SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
Yesterday I decided I needed some down time. I was going to go diving. I checked and double checked my gear. Everything was good to go.
Weight Belt
B.C.
Main Tank
Bail Out Bottle
Main Knife and secondary
Regulators
Mask
Fins
Snorkel
Flag and Float
Goody Bag
Compass
Computer
Spear Gun
Lift Bag
Safety Float
Finders Floats
Wet Suit
Etc. (Yes gearing up is much like getting ready for space.)
This morning I drove down to one of my favorite spots to dive only to find it closed. No one could tell me why it was closed but closed it was. Okay this was a bit of a pain in the ass but I could work around it. I went to a place I have dove before but am not overly enamoured of. Getting there I found it cluttered with Jet Ski's and a dredge barge. Damn.
By this time I was getting irritated. I wanted to dive. I talked it over with the wife and we decided on a twenty mile drive north to a place I have never dove. A nice long pier going out into the ocean. One of the reasons I have never dove there is getting to the water.
You park across the road from the beach and have to walk about a mile down the road to get to the beach access. (You can just cross the street and walk out on the pier but getting to the beach is another matter.) Then you have to walk back up the beach to get to the pier. This is a bit of a pain while carrying a cooler and towels, carrying a full rig is even more of a pain. We did it though with my wife carrying my dive bag and me carrying the BC with both tanks attached.
After cooling off a bit I geared up and waded into the water. Once past the surf zone the water cleared up and I was starting to relax. From the surface I could look down and see the bottom. Because I hate sawimming on the surface I decided enough was enough and dumped the air from my BC. Down I went into 15 feet of water. This was much better even though I was still working against some surge. Visibility was around 30 feet and the water was nice and warm.
As I worked my way into deeper water I was dealing less and less with the surge. Now I could relax and really enjoy myself. I moved over and started making my way among the pilings. Oh yeah now this was what I'm talking about. I pulled out my Goody Bag and kept going.
Okay so I was dealing with a lot of fishing line in the water. I can work with that. I was seeing a lot of lures and weights and started picking them up. These went into my bag along with any fishing line I could grab. Hell I even found a couple of watches and a fishing pole complete with reel on it.
About 3/4 of the way out the pier I stopped. Not by choice mind you but because I had to. I couldn't move. I was anchored. WTF? I dumped the air from my BC and dropped the couple off feet to the bottom and rested there for a minute. Reaching down I undid the clips holding my vest closed and shrugged out of it. Turning around while holding the BC I could clearly see the fishing line streaming back from it. I had been entangled. This wasn't a big deal, I've dealt with it a time or three before this. Reaching into a pocket I pulled out my scissors and started cutting the lines free of the vest and tank. (Most of it was wrapped around the tank stem.)
Once I had cut my gear free I put the rig back on and started reeling in the fishing line. I got most of it and stuffed it into my bag then off I went again.
By the time I finished the dive I had been entangled twice more. I had filled my bag with fishing line, weights and lures. I had also found two more poles and had seen a lot of critters including a nice spotted Moray and an entangled Turtle. (I cut the turtle free.)
All in all it was a fun dive and one that got me comfortable in the water again.
What pissed me off about this though was all of the fishing line in the water. Most of it was what is called dumped line. This is from people taking the line off their rods and tossing it into the water rather than throwing it out.
I can imagine the new divers or those who have only dove in easy spots running into this. They would have drowned.
Cat
Weight Belt
B.C.
Main Tank
Bail Out Bottle
Main Knife and secondary
Regulators
Mask
Fins
Snorkel
Flag and Float
Goody Bag
Compass
Computer
Spear Gun
Lift Bag
Safety Float
Finders Floats
Wet Suit
Etc. (Yes gearing up is much like getting ready for space.)
This morning I drove down to one of my favorite spots to dive only to find it closed. No one could tell me why it was closed but closed it was. Okay this was a bit of a pain in the ass but I could work around it. I went to a place I have dove before but am not overly enamoured of. Getting there I found it cluttered with Jet Ski's and a dredge barge. Damn.
By this time I was getting irritated. I wanted to dive. I talked it over with the wife and we decided on a twenty mile drive north to a place I have never dove. A nice long pier going out into the ocean. One of the reasons I have never dove there is getting to the water.
You park across the road from the beach and have to walk about a mile down the road to get to the beach access. (You can just cross the street and walk out on the pier but getting to the beach is another matter.) Then you have to walk back up the beach to get to the pier. This is a bit of a pain while carrying a cooler and towels, carrying a full rig is even more of a pain. We did it though with my wife carrying my dive bag and me carrying the BC with both tanks attached.
After cooling off a bit I geared up and waded into the water. Once past the surf zone the water cleared up and I was starting to relax. From the surface I could look down and see the bottom. Because I hate sawimming on the surface I decided enough was enough and dumped the air from my BC. Down I went into 15 feet of water. This was much better even though I was still working against some surge. Visibility was around 30 feet and the water was nice and warm.
As I worked my way into deeper water I was dealing less and less with the surge. Now I could relax and really enjoy myself. I moved over and started making my way among the pilings. Oh yeah now this was what I'm talking about. I pulled out my Goody Bag and kept going.
Okay so I was dealing with a lot of fishing line in the water. I can work with that. I was seeing a lot of lures and weights and started picking them up. These went into my bag along with any fishing line I could grab. Hell I even found a couple of watches and a fishing pole complete with reel on it.
About 3/4 of the way out the pier I stopped. Not by choice mind you but because I had to. I couldn't move. I was anchored. WTF? I dumped the air from my BC and dropped the couple off feet to the bottom and rested there for a minute. Reaching down I undid the clips holding my vest closed and shrugged out of it. Turning around while holding the BC I could clearly see the fishing line streaming back from it. I had been entangled. This wasn't a big deal, I've dealt with it a time or three before this. Reaching into a pocket I pulled out my scissors and started cutting the lines free of the vest and tank. (Most of it was wrapped around the tank stem.)
Once I had cut my gear free I put the rig back on and started reeling in the fishing line. I got most of it and stuffed it into my bag then off I went again.
By the time I finished the dive I had been entangled twice more. I had filled my bag with fishing line, weights and lures. I had also found two more poles and had seen a lot of critters including a nice spotted Moray and an entangled Turtle. (I cut the turtle free.)
All in all it was a fun dive and one that got me comfortable in the water again.
What pissed me off about this though was all of the fishing line in the water. Most of it was what is called dumped line. This is from people taking the line off their rods and tossing it into the water rather than throwing it out.
I can imagine the new divers or those who have only dove in easy spots running into this. They would have drowned.
Cat
