Not to get off subject about this great idea Wendy has, but I do think its important to keep this thread also going with Tips & Suggestions on what works for toothing. In light of that Id like to make a few more points and even some clarifications on what works for me. This is no endorsement for everyone to try these things. My intention was to merely pass along to others what works well for me. It may not work well for another diver. I hope I dont cause others to develop bad habits. Certainly my goal is to help everyone out there have an excellent dive. Im still learning
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To that end, Walter:
Thanks for making that point about using one glove. Good point.
Concerning gloves not holding enough teeth, Im merely a recreational shark toother, but Ive always had enough room in my gloves for the teeth and other fossils that I find. As Ive mentioned putting 200+ teeth in my glove is not a problem. Maybe Im just finding small teeth
LOL. At least with the orange elastic gloves I use, I could stick 2 tennis balls in my gloves (including my hand) and be comfortable while shark toothing. I would state that if you do find something large that would make your gloved hand uncomfortable just put it in your BC pocket. Ive certainly carried around some nice bone fragments in my BC with no problem. A glove, a bag, it accomplishes the same purpose. Im just trying to minimize unnecessary movement, wasted time (repeated movements), and eliminate another piece of gear I dont have to carry.
You are right that using a buddy line can be an excellent tool. The last time I used one was when I was undergoing SCUBA training with the US Navy training in a Chesapeake Bay with zero vis (Im really USAF though). No doubt a buddy line is a good idea. I imagine it just depends on your experience level and how comfortable you are with your dive skills. Your suggestion is a good one for those wanting to stay positively connected.
Concerning your comment about Crawling on the bottom and Crawling on the bottom is a very bad habit, I beg to differ. At least concerning this dive. Where Im tooth hunting in Venice the bottom is entirely composed of sand. I dont really see a problem with someone pulling themselves along with their fingers and their fins lying on the sandy bottom. For sure thats a No-No on a coral reef. As a diver you should be flexible with different diving locations/environments and adapt your strategy to each dive. This is just my opinion, but as a Scientific Diver and Marine Ecologist I dont think the impact of pulling myself along the sandy bottom on this dive devastates the benthic (bottom) community to any detectable degree. Heck, just walking on the beach down to the waters edge impacts a very interesting community of living organisms. At some point you have to consider when caution should be exercised or not.
Concerning the lack of vis and why make it worse? (while being on the bottom), I should have stated I work up current so any silt disturbed works away from where Im working. I can also look at my fin marks on the bottom and see where Ive already searched if the tooth hunting becomes poor and I double back to a starting point a little further to the left or right.
I would also note that for a novice diver, being under weighted while diving an aluminum tank may prematurely end their dive as we all know that the aluminum tank gets lighter as the air is consumed. When that happens your expending energy to maintain your position in relation to the bottom. Thatll wear you out. Quite the contrary, I would recommend being over weighted by a small amount. Specifically for the Venice beach dive. You can always add air in a BC to get a position that is comfortable and effective for hunting. You do have a good point however, that it keeps you head down. Good points. It obviously works well for you as youve noted some good shark teeth finds in past posts (thanks for posting about your trips too as I enjoyed reading them when I did a search on the forum).
For sure there are many, many ways to fossil and shark tooth hunt. Im looking forward to hearing other peoples suggestions and what works well for them. Ive got a lot to learn!
Brian