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Old 03-14-2018, 02:13 PM   #73
spearq8
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Join Date: May 2009
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Re: Our friend has passed. Kostadin SEAL

What a horrible sad human tragedy. I have to admit I have had some disagreements with Kosta but this shows how insignificant and petty all these things are. Hope his family and friends are able to find the body so they can have closure and wish them strength as they try to overcome this terrible incident.

Overweighting is certainly a very dangerous thing and that caused my brother to have a very serious SWB episode as well and his buddy who had to go down and bring him up as he was sinking almost blacked out as well. Fortunately he finally just pulled the weight belt off and let him slowly float up. It took him a long time to recover from that. Spearfishing is really dangerous even if you have everything setup up right and are extra cautious. Obviously going to an unfamiliar location introduces a ton of new unknowns and that is why a good guide who is familiar with the area is worth his weight in gold. Not only will he tell you of dangers you are not aware of, but he also will put you on fish. Spearfishing is one of those few sports where more experience and more ability do not translate in making the dangers go away.

As for the FRV's, after my brother's incident I bought two for the both of us, but I am almost ashamed to say that neither of us even tried them. One time on a trip I wanted to take it with me but security at the airport flagged the little canisters as they looked "dangerous". It does take some discipline to get yourself to use it even if you have it. I think this year I will finally give it a try. Sometimes I wonder if it is not a good idea to also have some sort mini compressed air compartment that can give you a few extra seconds of breathing time. But most likely that would also introduce some other dangerous factors as breathing compressed air in lungs that are already full needs the person to be aware of the dangers. I remember one free dive instructor tell me that even the little amount of air in your mask can give you a few extra seconds and avoid a black out if you pull it in on your last few feet of ascent.
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