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Diving Safety, Accidents and Incidents Post here to discuss accidents, incidents, ideas, gear, or anything else to improve spearfishing safety. Memorials and condolences threads should be placed in that separate forum.

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Old 12-23-2014, 03:52 PM   #1
MAKO Spearguns
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Safety Reminder

We recent received a report from a MAKO customer. Luckily, he had the presence of mind to drop his weight belt when he felt the situation was getting out of hand.

Connor has given me the OK to share his narrative – we both hope that it serves as a valuable reminder that diving can be a very challenging (and even dangerous) pursuit and we must prepare for situations before they occur. This includes the MENTAL preparation to ditch the belt should things get serious.

As a reminder, we have a free replacement policy for MAKO weightbelts which are ditched and unrecoverable during an actual emergency.

http://www.makospearguns.com/Freediv...lt-p/mfdwb.htm

Below is the un-edited note we received- Thanks again, Connor

Dive Safe!

Dano


Dear Mako team,

I would like to say thank you. I have had many successful dives and hunts in the water using majority your equipment from the weight belt, mask, snorkel, fins and 2mm reversible wet suit. I'm am emailing you in appreciation for the affordable and effective quick release weight belt for I beleive without it I would have lost my life today. It was just another day out to the beach to do a little shore diving. I still beleive I am a beginner diver and try not to push my limits too hard.

We'll today it was very stormy water in Dana Point but I made the drive so I went in the water. I was only about 30 meters out when I realised I shouldn't be out there. First thing that happened was I saw my friend get picked up by a wave and smacked and next I hear him screaming Connor No. My name is connor. Next moment I see a giant wave coming towards me. Strange thing is,is that it was unusually shallow. Around 12 foot which is very unusual for this area. Next thing I know is I'm being tossed and turned by a wave and one of my Mako competition dive fins gets ripped away.

At this point I know it's time to get back onshore ASAP. Unfortunately it was just wave after wave and set after set and the next wave I tried to dive under Sept me away and I rolled and rolled and I had been kicking so hard before that I had no breath left and truly believed that I was going to drown. Suddenly I surficed saw another wave coming. I was already struggling trying to stay afloat with only one fin so I decided nothing in my posting is worth my life.

With that realization I dumped my weight belt and instantly felt more boyent I was able to begin swimming in to shore but not before another wave picked me uo and hurled me and ripped off my Mako mini maske. Fortunately it was over I was finally able to stand up and get onto shore.

I left one fin 10 lbs of weights a dive belt and a mask behind today but I walked away with my life. Thank you for making such an affordable and reliable product
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Old 12-23-2014, 04:20 PM   #2
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Re: Safety Reminder

Glad he was okay. Cool policy...

Easy to play armchair diver and the list of dumb things I still do on a regular basis is staggering but also sounds like he was weighted kinda heavy--10 lbs on 2mm would be a lot even for a seriously big lung diver. Ted Harty had a post a while back that really ought to be a sticky. He broke down proper weight, how and why....
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Old 12-23-2014, 05:47 PM   #3
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Re: Safety Reminder

Good on MAKO for such a policy. It encourages people to not hesitate to drop weights when the financial loss is taken out of the equation. That is a great contribution to diver safety.
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Old 12-23-2014, 05:48 PM   #4
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Re: Safety Reminder

Quote:
Originally Posted by growingupninja View Post
Glad he was okay. Cool policy...

Easy to play armchair diver and the list of dumb things I still do on a regular basis is staggering but also sounds like he was weighted kinda heavy--10 lbs on 2mm would be a lot even for a seriously big lung diver. Ted Harty had a post a while back that really ought to be a sticky. He broke down proper weight, how and why....
Can you cite the thread for me? Thanks.
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Old 12-23-2014, 06:21 PM   #5
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Re: Safety Reminder

Quote:
Originally Posted by North Star View Post
Can you cite the thread for me? Thanks.
I will try and find it when I am at a desk. A lot of newer guys weight themselves kinda heavy, tough call, sometimes I dunno... They are diving shallow and in what is really
a swimming depth as oppossed to a diving depth so it is hard to weight for that. Anyway enough armchair from me and good on Mako.
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Old 12-23-2014, 07:49 PM   #6
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Re: Safety Reminder

"Around 12 foot which is very unusual for this area"

Pesky unusual tides
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Old 01-15-2015, 08:07 AM   #7
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Re: Safety Reminder

Glad he didnt die. Its hard sometimes to back out when you want to go bad and have made effort, but when the sea is angry, you have to do the right thing. Luckily I live at the coast and can go anytime, we pick our days. Some friends coming from inland are weekend warriors and that's when they go, and the ocean doesn't care what day it is. I tell them I am a weather diver and go when conditions allow, not because its the only time I can go and try to make due of it. And that goes along with letting a nice fish pass because you are low on air/bottom time and not risking safety over a dang fish.
My objective is to have fun and always come home safe, and if I shoot some fatass fish, well hell yeah. We dive 20-45 miles offshore in 100'-130' average....there is no lifeguard in the pool and the pool goes all the way to east Africa, north to greenland, south to cuba/puerto.....
Dive safe!
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