GoPro3 Video & Stills - Ancient Mariner in 100 ft.+ Bluewater Visibility

[RickI]

Here is a scooter free diving video clip of the Ancient Mariner on a particularly good visibility day.

[video=vimeo;57017875]https://vimeo.com/57017875[/video]


I put together this composite image from some frame grabs shot amidships. At 165 ft., this is the largest object I have captured in a single image of underwater.

We did the dive with Dixie Divers out of Deerfield Beach

We encountered a shark on the second dive which came in close for some photos

There are lots more images from the dive including history of the
former Nemisis, Livingston's Landing now Ancient Mariner
at the link below.

Video - Free Diving The Ancient Mariner In Outstanding Bluewater Visibility! - FKA Kiteboarding Forums


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[RockyHeap]

Friggin Aye Awesome job.


Your balls are bigger than mine for sure!


breath hold scooter diving. WITH wreck penetration..........Man I salute you!

I must learn to teach that PADI specialty course. grins

thanks for sharing, great GoPro Work,

 

[toozler]

Did the structure collapsed recently?

We worked with Dixie Divers/Arilton Pavan on the feasibility studies to sink the M/V Miss Lourdes in 2009, now it's called the Miracle of Life. Haven't dove it yet, its at 140'.

 

[RickI]

Thanks RockyHeap! Scuba diving was great for the first 25 years but we want something different to do in time. Scooter free diving presents some options and capabilities that are hard to find elsewhere. There is some critical special training and skill development that go with it to improve the level of diver safety. As such I don't recommend it to folks. Not sure PADI is up for this yet. I know when I got my crossover PADI instructors from my YMCA cert. in 1976 for $20. and a one page application, they would have had a cow with the concept. Then again they had a cow with Nitrox initially too, who knows in time?

I think the vessel had some serious impact from Hurricane Sandy causing collapse of part of the superstructure. I recall the day they sunk the Mircale of Life. I free dove it within 2 hours of its sinking. Real technical diving with 20 ft. brown water viz. with a honking strong south running current in fairly deep water. You could seen the white of the gunwale when you got close enough to it but didn't know which way to turn to make to the forward section. Viz. was that bad. Here is a more recent clip of the MoL in excellent visibility with an uncorrected GoPro from the looks of it.

[video=vimeo;22872724]http://vimeo.com/22872724[/video]

 

[300winmag]

Dude that's insane!!!!!!
2 questions for ya.
What scooter do you use and how long can you hold your breath for?

 

[RickI]

I use an Apollo Evolution in sit on top mode. It works out very well for free diving leaving your hands free. I maintain short bottom times on these dives, no more than 90 seconds as a rule. There is a lot of breath hold technique and training that go into it. You need to always have sufficient air reserve and capacity to bail yourself out if you have a power failure, with or without the scooter.

 

[Divejones]

(a)There is a lot of breath hold technique and training that go into it. (b)You need to always have sufficient air reserve and capacity to bail yourself out if you have a power failure, with or without the scooter.

Salute

Could you say further on (a) & (b), any links would help

 

[RickI]

I took several course with FII, ( Certification Levels ) over a few year period. This in addition to being pretty active in free and many other types of diving in a pretty serious way since 1971. I recommend the Level II and III courses if you already have a good free diving foundation. If not, I would take the Level I for starters. These courses are important for building a strong foundation in free diving knowledge, technique and safety procedures. You need to work on skill development and general experience beyond the courses. FII doesnt currently have a scooter free diving course that I am aware of and I would be suspect of anyone who offered that course without all the other steps first. I would say you need to be a strong, well experienced free diver with a good knowledge set before bothering with an aid like a dive scooter. Used improperly it is an easy way to drown yourself, way too easily. This later point factors into your second question. You learn your limits through experience supported by many other factors, bottom time, depth, temperature, exertion, fatigue, how the day is going, etc.. Again, I don't recommend scooter free diving in general and as a casual undertaking in specific. All types of diving have hazards to varying degrees, proper training, skill development and good procedure are the best defense we have against problems or even death. Sorry for the departure into heavy tropics but like kitesurfing it can be "dangerously" or deceptively easy.