I'm a scuba diver messing about happily, snorkling with a scooter and my best friend.
I'm not a serious free-diver and have no aspirations to be one.
Depths: Oh my... I don't have the ears for repetitive deep free-diving, nor the inclination. It's thrilling to me to flash down to 25 or 30 fsw max, level out and just FLY through the water next to the towering kelp....for a loooong time! This is plenty deep for me, and I can do this for long sessions without ticking off my ears too much.
Teamwork with two scootering free-divers? Yes, I like keeping the team together, but my absolute favorite routine was alternating current. One person dived while the other watched and tracked from the surface. Partly it was security to think that my buddy above me had lungs full of air and could help if needed. But my favorite part was watching Ken free-dive while I tracked him. The movement of a strong, athletic diver roaring along the kelp in rippling sunshine was mesmerizing. It looked so effortless and smooth. Very fun. I was always ready to dive down if needed, but all was good, all the time.
Photog on scuba with free-diving buddy? I watched constantly, turning away only when I passed the camera, or when I was opening up the distance so I could drop and then scooter by horizontally. I couldn't donate air, but we stayed shallow, and I could have arrived quickly in case Ken got entangled in the current driven kelp. We're GUE trained. I know his gear like it's my own. Ken's a strong, fit, smart diver with lightening reactions and fast, correct decisions. We always have a plan. This is not casual stuff. 250+ dives a year. We take this seriously so we can have outrageous amounts of fun and always come home.
Knife? Oh yeah... always in the holster in my waist strap. And I can unclip the scooter with one flick of either hand. Or cut the tow cord. We stayed out of the kelp, but had walked through the scenarios if entanglement were to happen.
Buoyancy? Yes, I was postive at the surface, and the scooter motored me down fast. On the ascent, it was a delightful acceleration as all the airspaces expanded and I rocketed upwards. If I'd had to ditch the scoot, I could have easily kicked upwards a short way and then would have sailed up from 15fsw.
Long fins? Nah... tried 'em. No benefit during scootering as they don't steer well for tight fast maneuvers. Short fins work better for steering, but the Rocket fins I wore in this series were too heavy and had too much drag.
I don't go deep. I don't need massive fin power to drive me upwards in case I lose the scoot. What works best for me with this kind of breath-hold scootering is light-weight plastic snorkling fins. Less drag when roaring around being pulled by the X-team of horsepower, but enough surface area to use to steer. And enough fin to kick me to the nearby surface if I'm suddenly scooterless.
*jonesing*craving*needing*dreaming*
It's the best.
~~~~
Claudette
