Doc Wong Pt Lobos Scootering Video

[Diving Demon]

This is not meant to be a diatribe against DocWong's scootering... I have a number of friends who use scooters as well. However, am I one of the few "purists" who feels that scooters are an assault on the underwater world similar to that of jet skis topside?

I can certainly see uses for scooters... to get to difficult to access dive sites (reefs far offshore, deep sites, inaccessible sites in areas adjacent to an access point). However, I think their use by divers in general detracts from the experience by other divers in the area (having had a few burst out of thick kelp cover and nearly run me over). I also question the impact on marine life in the area. Besides, what does a scooter diver really see of the environment other than a "small scale" perspective similar to that of flying over terrestrial terrain in a commercial jet aircraft.

Now who's going to loan me their scooter so I can film Farnsworth Banks?

I think you make some good points here Dr Bill. I kind of liken the divers riding scooters to my buddies who bring hookers back to the barracks. The come back in and make all sorts of noise all night long. They are having fun, but don't realize that they are keeping everyone else awake with their noise. It also angers me a bit, because you know their joy wasn't really worked for. They went and paid for the night rather than earning it.

That said, I guess I must be diving wrong. While some of the small scale stuff is cool to me, I am more impressed by swimming in and around the big structures. I suppose from this mindset, a scooter might do me good, but like I said, it feels like it'd be cheating.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I can definitely see diving the Northern California coastline (Mendicino, Humbolt, etc) you need to have only what you need. Hiking down hillsides, rocks, ledges with rough rock entrys is not very conducive to lots of gear.

Last time I dove up there I was in a plastic backplate by Scuba Pro, single tank with a "J" valve, weight belt, Scuba Pro Jet fins, round mask and a 7 mil wetsuit. That was all. BCs or wings were not yet invented. Limited, but it made for light rig and allowed me to do those "waves crashing on the rocks exits".

Honestly I don't know how I did it, but it was routine. I and everyone else would come in, wait for a big wave to crash over a rock, ride THAT wave in and let it land you on top of the rosk and that was how we routinely got out.

You guys still do that? I wouldn't even think of that now, seem hairball to me now.

I think I've been spoiled rotten and gotten soft!

Yeah, I guess you could say I dive a modern version of of the old school style.
Instead of the plastic back pack I use one of my stainless Freedom Plates which is similar but modern. I've dove with no wing but most of the time I use a little Oxycheq donut wing which causes almost no drag. Instead of the oval mask I use a low volume Shadow mask. I'm still using a steel 72, jet fins, one single spg, a watch, a manual depth guage, and a good 'ol regular weight belt. My suit is an old school beavertail style which was custom made and the patterns are from the 60's so that's authentic.
Scuba grew out of skin diving which was the old way of saying freediving. they used all the same stuff except all they did was strap on a tank, in the beginning with a double hose, and later with a second stage, and that was it. It worked then and it still works now.
All in all by todays standards I'm very minimalist and when you think about it, for the times and depths that we normally dive there really isn't a reason for all the extra fluff.

We still do some semi hairball entries and exits once in a while but most the time I pick places that are a bit less treacherous or I kayak dive or dive off my boat. I'm feeling more vonerable as I get older with new aches and pains so I'll let the other heros do the crazy stuff.

 

[DocWong]

Yeah, I guess you could say I dive a modern version of of the old school style.
Instead of the plastic back pack I use one of my stainless Freedom Plates which is similar but modern. I've dove with no wing but most of the time I use a little Oxycheq donut wing which causes almost no drag. Instead of the oval mask I use a low volume Shadow mask. I'm still using a steel 72, jet fins, one single spg, a watch, a manual depth guage, and a good 'ol regular weight belt. My suit is an old school beavertail style which was custom made and the patterns are from the 60's so that's authentic.
Scuba grew out of skin diving which was the old way of saying freediving. they used all the same stuff except all they did was strap on a tank, in the beginning with a double hose, and later with a second stage, and that was it. It worked then and it still works now.
All in all by todays standards I'm very minimalist and when you think about it, for the times and depths that we normally dive there really isn't a reason for all the extra fluff.

We still do some semi hairball entries and exits once in a while but most the time I pick places that are a bit less treacherous or I kayak dive or dive off my boat. I'm feeling more vonerable as I get older with new aches and pains so I'll let the other heros do the crazy stuff.

That's awesome! I've seen your stainless steel Freedom Plate, very nice. I've gone completely in the other direction, drysuit, doubles, scooters, etc. This allows me (with training) to go deeper and do longer dives.

Sunday we did a 235 minute dive, almost 4 hours! Temps were at 53 degrees, warm for our waters!