Winter, rain, wind and diving

Did I put diving in the heading? Well there has been very little of that done over the past 6 weeks. Port Elizabeth has received almost 4 years of rain in just 2 weeks resulting in widespread floods and mayhem. This has not done anything for the viz in and around PE, with record swell of up to 7 meters been recorded. Many of the local rivers and estuaries also came down in flood with the Swartkops river being the worst hit resulting in a seriously trashed eastern Algoa Bay after all the mud/silt that was pushed out the system by the flood waters.

OK, I have vented my frustrations. I have to admit however that its not all doom and gloom in Port Elizabeth. As mentioned in my previous post PE now has its very own Spearfishing Club called Gully Jumpers. We had our inaugural AGM just 2 weeks back and elected in our committee. It is encouraging to see how many guys are so eager to see the sport grow in an area some up Natal way might scoff at for its lack of viz.

Well the club is officially off the ground thanks to the likes of Nick Horn and Richard Leonard and we can already look forward to our first comp the Gully Challenge. This will eventually become the main annual club comp, while only catering for club members in its formative year, we look forward to expanding it to include all national clubs. We have secured some amazing sponsorship for the comp from all of the local spearfishing suppliers and can happily say that everyone will walk away winners!

The clubs mission is based on the growth of spearfishing as a sport and is therefore geared towards development and beginners, helping interested people experience the sport for what it really is - Amazing!

So if you are in PE and interested in the sport of spearfishing now is the best time to get involved. Head over to www.gullyjumpers.co.za and sign up as a member, trust me you wont be sorry!

Gully Jumpers - Port Elizabeth's own spearfishing club

So this Saturday the 4 June 2011 will mark the opening meeting and the formation of Gully Jumpers Spearfishing Club!

It was about 3 weeks back that I recieved the following email:

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GREAT NEWS!

A new spearfishing club is being launched in PE - Gully Jumpers!!!!



Gully Jumpers Searfishing club is being officially registered with Sauff (South African Underwater Fishing Federation) and we will be holding monthly and annual competitions as well as social events with the first one being the CLUB LAUNCH!

It’s all kicking off on the 4th of June at no. 28 Albert rd Walmer, 6pm. We will be introducing you to the club, what we are about and giving you an opportunity to register. Club fees are R200 for a single member and R100 per family member there after; this includes your Full membership to SAUFF. There will be a free club T shirt for everyone who joins on the night. We will also be doing the briefing for the first competition (Gully Champs 101) to be held on Sunday, the 5th of June, weather permitting. (If not the next date will be advised)

There will be fires on the go, salads and rolls, so please join us for a braai and the latest action packed spearfishing movie called One Fish will be on for all of us to enjoy! www.onefish.co.za

So come along and make some new friends, bring your own chow and bar and lets enjoy this great sport together!

If we have missed out some of your friends with this mail please feel free to forward on to them, please pass on their details to us for record purpose.

Shot for all your responses

For more info call:
Nick Horne: 083 447 1482
Richard Leonard: 074 102 3385

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002432970343

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I am not one to get excited over much, but dam this is good news. I spent the best part of 6 months learning about spearfishing the hard way, and now that I have a better idea of things up pops a group of guys who have some seriously good knowledge of the sport and are more than eager to share.

I hope for those interested in the sport, that Saturday is marked on their calenders with a huge red X, that their cell phones have reminders and that every alarm in the house is set.

Oh, and did I mention that there is a comp on the following Sunday. Yip, these guys are not messing around!

See you there!

I finally have a boat!

I feel like I just got my first car! The effort required to get on the water has many more parallels to my first car purchase. Money, hidden costs, effort oh and did I say money? Yip, buying a boat is not for the feint hearted and in hind sign not for the shallow pocketed.

I eventually found a rubberduck I thought would do the trick. Many hours were spent on gumtree searching through the classifieds looking for that needle in a haystack deal. When what appeared to be a good deal surfaced I pounced and I towed home a 4.7m Prestige CAT duck with a 90HP Yamaha 2 stroke. 

Boat with old pontoons

Now I might be a hands on sort of person but I am not a mechanic and even less so a marine/boat mechanic. So for peace of mind I dropped the boat off at a local Yamaha dealer for its service and a general once over. Well thats when the first foot hit my nether regions, they saw me coming. I was way to trusting and ended up with a bill for R7000.00, thats R5000.00 more than I was quoted. Did they phone me to get the "all good" for the extra work? No, that would be customer service, and we live in PE, we just bend and take it. The best of all was a charge of R250.00 to replace a single bolt on the tow hitch of my trailer! 

OK, enough with the venting. The moral of the story is, pretend you know what you are talking about and try hard not to look like a walk over. It also helped that the owner was a few feet shorter than me, but I got a decent discount on the original invoice after I raised my voice. It's also comforting to know that there is a new Yamaha agency that has opened in PE to add a little competition to the industry, let hope like hell that pans out well for us plebs.

Well I towed home a boat that now was not such a great deal after all. But wait the best is still to come, the pontoons, like a knife to my heart that word still rings in my ears. Yip, my ignorant self thought "well they look in decent condition" when I bought the boat. How ignorant I was, it was becoming more evident each time I took the boat out that I would soon need to have the boat re-pontooned. Well my suspicions were realized when after a scorcher of a day in PE the one tube in the pontoons burst a seam. Yes I know what you are going to say, "don't leave the boat in the sun", "deflate the tube when not being used" blah, blah. and I was new to the inflatable boat scene and coupled with being somewhat forgetful I now had to re-pontoon the boat. 

Boat with new pontoons 

Well now the "good deal" was totally out the window! But hey, I have a new boat, as over capitalized as it is. But then one day I stumbled on the C-Ski 440 and suddenly I need to find a buyer for my rubber duck. This is never ending!

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part8 - Gloves & Dive Knife)

We have covered our feet with fins and socks, we have covered our body with a wet suit and we have covered our face with a mask. One of the only things left exposed is our hands and this brings us to the need for gloves. The sea has some pretty abrasive and sharp things just waiting for your exposed flesh!

When diving in a decent swell you might find the need to hold on to a rock. When handling a fish you have just caught you would want to protect yourself form the sharp dorsal spines and gills common on many species. So there are many logical reasons to don a pair of gloves, but what gloves?

Most wet suit manufacturers also produce a few variants of neoprene gloves of varying thicknesses. Although these do their job in protecting you from the elements they come at a sacrifice. Wearing a pair of 5mm neoprene gloves is like trying to thread a needle while wearing a pair of boxing gloves, you loose allot of your hands sensitivity and accuracy. But when you are hanging on a rock encrusted with sea urchins you might see the sacrifice as worth the effort. 

Neoprene Spearing Gloves

One of the most noticeable areas effected by the loss of sensitivity is your trigger finger, you don't want to be swimming along and accidentally pull the trigger of your gun. For this reason I opt to not wear a glove on my right hand (trigger hand). I can hold on to the reef with my gloved left hand while still maintaining sensitivity and accuracy with my right trigger hand.

These neoprene gloves are not cheap. You can expect to pay in the region of about R500 - R600 for a good pair. It's for this reason that I opted for a cheaper option. I am sure you can remember your mother pottering around in the garden with a pair of fabric gloves? Well these double up as a very good alternative. You could also use a pair of crayfish gloves as these have the added benefit of a non-slip palm surface that might assist you in holding on to your catch while stringing it. These gloves you can pick up from your local fishing tackle store for as little as R30!

Crayfish Gloves

Another item that should be in every spearfishermans kit is a dive knife. Almost all the areas you will dive will also be frequented by traditional line fisherman, many of them leaving the remnants of their efforts by means of   fouled fishing line. Many of the deeper reefs are also frequented by commercial long-liners, their line is substantially thicker and stronger than average and can pose a serious danger to a spearfisherman especially if there are hooks still attached. Find yourself caught up or entangled in this line and you will be ever thankful for your dive knife. Another use of a dive knife is to kill the fish before stringing them. This is not only humane but it also avoids the now distressed fish attracting sharks.

If a whale can become entangled so can you!

There are a few variants of dive knives out there, but most of them will suffice. I like the feature on my Kershaw dive knife that has a line cutter at the top of the blade that makes it easier to cut fishing line. Make sure the knife has a decent sheath that is easily attached to the inside of your leg or upper arm. Make sure the knife is out of harms way as your float line can easily become entangled in it.

A knife also doubles up as a tool, be it a screwdriver or just to pry off a muscle to use to chum the water, it is a very versatile and useful part of your kit.

Kershaw Dive knife with line cutter

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part7 - Buoy, Floatline, Stringer )

when referring in an earlier post to the different style spear guns I mentioned the use of a buoy & float line. These items are generally more popular with shore entry divers as it provides them with the security of attaching their catch to a buoy/float that is held a few meters away. While boat divers tent to find them cumbersome as well as them having the luxury of a boat to load their catch on.

The buoy/float however serves another purpose in my opinion other than just to hold the stringer containing your catch. They are normally brightly colored and for good reason. Most of us will opt for a natural colored wet suit and other gear so as not to spook the fish. With this gear you as a diver become very difficult yo spot in a decent swell never mind behind the breakers. Using a buoy/float that is easily visible will help the skipper of a boat to spot you should you need assistance as well as avoid drifting to far off your position.

I also found that while diving out at Cape Recief, a shore entry that required a decent 800m swim to the reef it was my buoy that kept my wife sane on the beach. I have also heard of divers diving in high traffic areas that have had very close misses by other ski boats due to not having a buoy.

Buoy/Float with an Alpha (diver down) flag

The stringer is attached to th buoy/float to secure your catch. It is generally made of a stainless steel spike about 200mm long with a cable attached to the middle of the spike. The other end of the cable is then attached to th buoy. This spike is then threaded through the gills of the catch to secure it to the buoy/float. It might be a good idea to attach a decent swivel between the buoy/float and the stringer as the swell might cause the fish and stinger to become entangled in your float line.

Stringer

Float line is basically just a nylon line (rope) that is joins your spear gun to your buoy/float. There are a few different options available for color and thickness. Try to get a line that does not float (yes, this might sound odd), as a float line can easily become caught up in a boats propellers. You often find that when diving the bright color of the float line might spook some fish. To defeat this you can setup a "ghost leader". There are different designs but it is essentially just a thick piece of clear fishing line (3-5mm) attached to the float line for the last 5m and then attached to your spear gun.  

Various colors of float line

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part6 - Weight Belt)

As you have seen from previous posts, a spearfisherman carries a decent amount of equipment, from wet suit to fins, mask and snorkel. All these items displace water and therefore increase your buoyancy, this is counteracted by carrying weights.

There are two main different types of weighting methods. Firstly let's look at the traditional belt. Most spearfishing/freediving specific weight belts are made from rubber as most spearfisherman/freedivers spend allot of their time descending head first into the ocean, as depths increases so do pressures, with pressure your wet suit will compress as well as your body, this will leave a standard webbing weight belt loose compared to its initial fitting on the surface. With a rubber weight belt one can fit it with a slight bit of elasticity to compensate for the decreased body size at depth. The rubber weight belt can be used with conventional scuba diving lead weights.

Rubber Weight Belt

Conventional Diving Lead Weights

The one drawback of a weight belt is that the weight is centered around your waist while most of the bodies displacement is due to the torso. This brings us to the other weighting option, the harness. The weight harness fulfills the same purpose as the weight belt but enables a diver to distribute the weights so as to attain a certain buoyancy of certain areas of the body. One can also use wrist or ankle weights to further fine tune weight distribution.

Weight Harness

When deciding how much weight a person needs to take on a dive there are a few things to consider. The rule of thumb is 10% of your body weight but this changes depending on the depth you are planning on diving. Remember that you wet suit as well as your body compresses under pressure at depth, this results in less displacement of the body and therefore less buoyancy. You would therefore need less weight when diving deeper, exactly how much less would be a matter of individual trial and error. Another important thing to remember when donning your weights, be it a weight belt or harness, is how easy it is to release should you need to do so in an emergency. Weight belts do not have loops for securing the slack of your belt, this is so it is easily accessible so the belt can be release with just a tug of the belt. Most harnesses have equally easily operated safety releases, make sure they work smoothly before descending for your first dive.

Spearfishing kit - What and where? (part5 - Wetsuit)

We all want to be protected from the elements and maintain a comfortable body temperature, this is where a wetsuit comes becomes a necessity. In Port Elizabeth as well as along most of the Cape coast temperatures can drop well bellow the comfortable 13°C mark and when spending extended periods of time in such temperatures you want to make sure you are warm.

Most common wetsuits you see come with a "closed cell" neoprene. This is when both sides of the neoprene have a protective layer of nylon fabric This has the added benefit of protecting your wetsuit from tears caused when donning your suit (jaggered fingernails) but it does result in a loss of thermal insulation due to the water it allows to flow between the skin and the suit. An "open cell" suit on the other hand has a layer of nylon fabric only on the outside of the suit thereby allowing you skin to come into direct contact with the neoprene and forming a good seal that will keep the cold water out and your body warm. Obviously one would have to take proper care of an open cell suit, this I will cover in a later article.

Another positive aspect of wearing a wetsuit is that it adds protection from more than just the weather elements but also from the critters that live in our oceans. We are hunters, and as such we are often required to conceal ourselves so as to make that prized catch, this might require us to lay in a gully, or in a bit of seaweed, actions that if unprotected, might bring with it some nasty scratches and grazes, many of which can become infected and painful. I have personally experienced a coral rash (hydroid sting), something I will do everything possible to avoid in the future.

Coral Rash

In Port Elizabeth we also get a fair amount of Blue Bottles (Portuguese Man O' War) blown into the bay by some of the seasonal Southerly winds. These and other Cnidaria can inflict very painful stings that can very quickly put a person into shock and ruin a days diving. A decent wetsuit while not providing full cover (face, hands and feet) does reduce the risk of extensive stings considerably. 

Blue Bottle Sting 

An added feature of wetsuits that has become popular over the last few years is the camo print. this obviously enables a person to blend in a little more with their environment making them a little more likely to fool that prized catch. Although this is a great feature one must remember the limitations when diving multiple locations where the colour of the water and fauna change considerably as this could end up having the opposite effect to the desired camouflage. 

Camo Print Wetsuit

Most spearfishing wetsuits will be in a 2-piece configuration. This will give the added benefit of a double layer of neoprene over the torso increasing the thermal protection, but also making it easier to don the wetsuit. Most will also come with a built in hoodie that covers the head, this drastically helps retain warmth as its been said that the body can loose up to 50% of its body heat through the head. As you can imagine most wetsuit manufacturers make wetsuits in a variety of thicknesses from 2mm all the way to 7mm. One will have to look at the average sea temperatures where they plan on diving when making this selection.

Here are a couple of the main local (South African) manufactures of good spearfishing wetsuits:

Free Divers

Rob Alan

Coral Wetsuits