Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
We were out there again on Sunday.
We got 1347 lbs. with 10 scuba divers and one freediver. It was a challenging day with pretty low vis, 6’ at best, very milky. It made it difficult to fill multiple bags since the first full bag gets the bright orange lift bag attached and a little huff of air just enough make into a planted marker buoy, then the other bag gets filled and both attached to the strap and sent up. The problem was getting any small distance away and the orange lift bag turned into a very faint orange glow. This was only being 8’-10’ away. So awareness needed to be exercised to make sure not to lose the first bag!
I also tested out a new commercial style gauntlet rake that proved to be amazing! I designed it a little smaller and shorter specifically for purples since the conventional rakes are for the much larger red urchins.
These two conventional rakes below are much longer. Photos courtesy of Erik Owens.
Then gauntlet style rake takes all the pressure off your wrist and elbow. It also works as a handy tool to grab the other handle on the bag to drag it around. They are an extension of your arm and can look a little creep even, like some sort if bionic claw that belongs in a horror movie.
They take a little getting used to but they are extremely effective at scooping very large mounts of urchins into the bag in a very short amount of time. I’m going to make several for the team.
Till next time….
We got 1347 lbs. with 10 scuba divers and one freediver. It was a challenging day with pretty low vis, 6’ at best, very milky. It made it difficult to fill multiple bags since the first full bag gets the bright orange lift bag attached and a little huff of air just enough make into a planted marker buoy, then the other bag gets filled and both attached to the strap and sent up. The problem was getting any small distance away and the orange lift bag turned into a very faint orange glow. This was only being 8’-10’ away. So awareness needed to be exercised to make sure not to lose the first bag!
I also tested out a new commercial style gauntlet rake that proved to be amazing! I designed it a little smaller and shorter specifically for purples since the conventional rakes are for the much larger red urchins.
These two conventional rakes below are much longer. Photos courtesy of Erik Owens.
Then gauntlet style rake takes all the pressure off your wrist and elbow. It also works as a handy tool to grab the other handle on the bag to drag it around. They are an extension of your arm and can look a little creep even, like some sort if bionic claw that belongs in a horror movie.
They take a little getting used to but they are extremely effective at scooping very large mounts of urchins into the bag in a very short amount of time. I’m going to make several for the team.
Till next time….
