Survival Techniques for the Underwater Hunter

1
Survival Techniquesfor the Underwater Hunter

• By Doug Van Mullem
• June 29, 2007

2
PURPOSE

• The purpose of this presentation is to help
  divers learn how to survive while doing the sport
  of underwater hunting. It is a compilation of
  mistakes I and others have made along with the
  collective wisdom of many experienced freedivers.
• The sea is unforgiving to those who come
  unprepared.

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Basic Safety

• Notify someone responsible of your dive plan just
  in case you dont return so they know when to
  call for a search and recovery and where to tell
  them to search. Remember to let them know you
  have safely return.
• Remember the weight belt has a quick release and
  be prepared to activate it.
• When talking to your partner on the surface,
  dont put your gun under your arm or between your
  legs because you are now pointing a loaded gun at
  him not a good thing.

4
Basic SafetyContinued

• Dont bring a loaded gun on the boat, even if you
  are just quickly hoping spots. It just isnt
  worth the risk.
• Make positive identification on the fish before
  you pull the trigger. It may save your thumb,
  your gun, or your life.
• Soupfin sharks are in breading at the same times
  and places as WSB and they can look surprisingly
  similar in the murk.

5
Basic SafetyContinued

• Consider taking a basic SCUBA course
• They are good at teaching the basics on safety
  plus you may need it to recover a deep fish,
  anchor or buddy.
• Be sure your dive knife can quickly cut your
  shooting line because you can be tied up by big
  fish to a stock of kelp as you are trying to cut
  the fish free of the kelp.
• This is especially important when changing from
  mono to cable.

6
Basic SafetyContinued

• Consider the amount of gear for the dive
  conditions you are entering and adjust as
  required.
• Rock entry with lots of kelp Keep it simple.
• Dont try to take too much gear with you.
• Streamline your gear so you can slide through
  kelp or travel a long distance easily.
• Lobster bag, 2-3 lights, gage, gun, stringer,
  float, float line, knife, weight belt, signal
  buoy, camera, etc is too much under most dive
  conditions.

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Basic Safety Kelp DivingContinued

• Before surfacing in thick kelp, put your right
  arm up over your head, bending it so the hand is
  above your snorkel on the left and when you start
  to push into the kelp canopy pull the kelp to one
  side clearing the way for your head and snorkel
  to get to air.
• What are the three best ways to get to the other
  side of a really thick kelp bed?
• Go around it. This is the safest.
• Go under it if you have the skills to surface
  safely and repeat multiple dives. This can be
  the fastest.
• Go over it by turning your gun upside down and
  grabbing it 2/3 back and then pushing down the
  kelp so you can swim over it. Keep your gun at an
  angle being careful to not let your point go
  below the surface. The guns handle should be
  below your lower chest. This can be a very
  stealthy method and a good way to sneak up on
  openings and look for fish in them. It is also
  surprisingly easy to cross over the kelp in this
  way, if you are streamlined.

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Basic SafetyContinued

• Get yourself trained in CPR and First Aide.
• Consider taking a freedive/apnea class
• Understand leg cramps, sooner or later you will
  get them so know what to do and do it quickly.
• Divers will dehydrate, loose electrolytes and get
  leg cramps.
• Some divers get them in their upper legs and
  others in the calf. Either can stop you from
  swimming/diving.
• Stretch out the cramped area immediately, return
  to take fluids, carbs and rest a bit.

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Basic Safety continued

• Know the Wet Suit Weight Formula, use it for an
  estimated weight for your belt.
• For 3 Mil one piece suits with no vested hood,
  take 5 of your body weight and add 4 pounds. If
  you weigh 150 this formula comes to 11.5 pounds.
• For 6.5 mil (or ¼ inch) suits, take 10 of your
  body weight and add 4 pounds. If you weigh 150
  this formula comes to 19 pounds. 23 pounds if
  you are doing shallow water diving for halibut.
• For new suits (first 10 uses) add about 3 extra
  pounds
• For shallow water diving (under 15) add 2 pounds
  for 3 mil suits 3 pounds for 5 mil suits and 4
  pounds for 6.5 mil suits.

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Basic SafetyContinued

• After using the Wet Suit Weight Belt Formula to
  estimate the needed weight, verify you have the
  right weight. You should be 1 to 2 pounds
  positive on the surface when no air is in your
  lungs. Test this before you take off on your
  dive. This positive buoyancy is especially
  important in Shallow Water Blackout (SWB)
  situations since you reach the surface while in
  the exhalation phase.

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Train Like an Athlete

• Work out for diving. It is a sport and you need
  to be an athlete. Train like your life depends
  on it because it does.
• Ideas for training, and there are hundreds of
  them. Here are just three
• Body surf to get your legs in shape plus this
  will teach you about going through the surf.
• Well balanced gym workouts remember to include
  sit-ups and pulls so you can cock your gun and
  paddle your kayak.
• Dive regularly. There is no better exercise for
  diving, than diving.
• If you are a beginner, dont plan a 5-6 hour
  competitive dive with the Fathomiers. Plan to do
  half the dive. Work up to longer dive days.

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How to Pick A Dive Partner

• Based on your experience level
• Strong enough to rescue you at the end of a
  tough dive under worse conditions than you
  expected to encounter.
• Experienced enough to select a good spot for
  your level of ability.
• Wise enough to know when to go and when to stay
  on the beach/boat.
• Mature enough to stay with you during the dive
  and not run off with Buck Fever.

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Now That You Have Your Partner, Plan Your Dive
Together

• Before entering the water, discuss with your
  partner the dive plan. Dont just say you go
  that way and Ill go this way.
• Discuss
• Buddy diving one up and one down and how tough
  that will be in these conditions.
• How tight you plan to stay together and what to
  do if separated
• Pattern of planned search.
• Approximate duration before tagging up or
  returning to shore or boat.
• DIVE YOUR PLAN

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Make Your Own Personal Diver Safety Kit

• Make your own first aide kit.
• Meds you need, bandages, antibiotics, Hydrogen
  Peroxide, Sudafed, Musinex D, seasick pills, etc.
• Flares, flashlight, water proof matches
  whistle.
• Buy your own hand held ship to shore radio for
  emergencies.
• Rent/buy a satellite cell phone and a EPERBs for
  dangerous long distance trips to the Tuna
  grounds.
• Take your own GPS to report location to rescue
  teams.
• Be sure to take this kit with you on your trips.

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Choosing a Dive Location

• Pick your day, your location and timing of your
  dive, based on dive conditions.
• Know your limits, strength and skill level and
  match those up to the dive location and
  conditions.
• Understand surf conditions and shore conditions
  (rocks versus beach) when considering an entry
  point.
• Plan your exit point before getting in and know
  how the tide will change during your dive and
  what that will do to your exit point.

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Kayak Safety

• In the surf, even small surf, a kayak is a deadly
  weapon.
• It can break knees, heads and drown people.
• Watch out for kids in the surf line.
• Untie your paddle rope and tuck it away before
  going through surf.
• The line can easily wrap around you and it will
  cut fast, even in small surf.

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Kayak SafetyContinued

• Dont wear your weight belt when going through
  the surf.
• Learn to kayak in calm conditions and then try
  harder conditions.
• Never get between the kayak and surf line, they
  can easily break your knees.
• Wear your hood going through surf, that little
  bit of protection may prevent getting yourself
  knocked out or seriously cut.

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Know When The Boat Is Too Small For The
Conditions"
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Picking a Boat Captain

• Know the experience of the skipper.
• Know the capabilities condition of his boat.
• Stay away from poorly maintained boats.
• Have him show you all the emergency gear.
• Ask him teach you how to operate the boat.
• Learn how to use his radio and what station to
  call for emergencies.
• Know how to quickly disconnect his anchor in case
  of emergency. Pulling an anchor can loose
  precious time in a rescue situation.
• Remember There is only one rule on the boat and
  that is The Captain Rules. Listen to him.

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Sea Sick Pill Recommendations

• I recommend Trip Tone ... it doesn't make you as
  sleepy as the others and no after headaches. I
  wouldn't even wait until you see what the seas
  are like...take one before bed and another dose
  in the morning with something solid to eat. There
  is nothing worse than being sick on a boat!!! By
  Larry Carter
• Another Good type of pill is Meclizine HCL

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Real Shallow Water Blackout StoriesOnce was Not
Enough

• In 1969 Roy Rogel, a member of the San Diego
  Delta Free Diver Club and my teammate was diving
  off Solana Beach in a club tournament. During
  the meet, a fellow diver came across Roy lying
  motionless on the bottom at 40 feet in 15 foot
  visibility. What a coincident, but wait, there
  is more. The diver pulled his belt off and
  surfaced Roy. It happened that a commercial
  abalone diver boat was near by. He shouted to
  the boat hand and she pulled her husband up by
  the air hose. His day job happened to be Chief
  Lieutenant of San Diegos City Life Guards and
  yes he was trained in the new science of CPR
  (rare in those days to find someone trained in
  CPR). What a coincident, but wait, there is
  more. He had just installed a radio on his boat.
  He called for an ambulance and in those days
  they were called meat wagons since the drivers
  had no medical training and only rushed the
  ill/dieing/dead to the hospital but there was one
  crew in all of SD County that had just been
  certified in CPR, you guesses it, Roy got that
  crew. Solana Beach, the location for the
  tournament, had just put a road ramp from the
  high cliffs to the shore and finished it just
  weeks before the tournament so the ambulance
  could go straight to wet sand and get Roy off the
  ab divers boat. What a coincident, but wait,
  there is more. At the hospital the emergency
  doctor on duty just happened to have interned in
  Hawaii and he had actually seen several cases of
  Shallow Water Blackout (SWB). Keep in mind, Roy
  showed no sign of life from the moment he was
  found until he got into the emergency room. The
  doctor revived Roy and he lived to dive another
  11 years. Roy died in 1980 from his second SWB
  occurrence which also happened during a dive
  tournament. This time he was found on the
  surface but too late to recover. Roy was a
  highly decorated soldier and POW in WWII and
  escaped 5 times from the Germans and was
  recaptured 4 times. In his escapes well over 100
  other men who were escaping with him died. Only
  7 of his fellow escapees from all those escapes
  lived past the end of the war. Roy was already
  on his 8th life when I met him. A great diver, a
  great athlete, a great American and a dear friend
  lost to SWB.
• Written In Memory of Roy Rogel, by Doug Van
  Mullem.

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Real Shallow Water Blackout StoriesToo Good for
My Own Good

• I almost lost it last November in Belize.
  Unfortunately I was feeling too comfortable free
  diving to 45 feet and hanging for 2-2.5 minutes
  taking pictures of fish. No wetsuit and warm
  water made me feel like superman. As a result, I
  spent too much time waiting for a fish to turn
  the right way and as I headed for the surface my
  vision was super starry (which I've had mild
  cases before) then as I got to about 10 feet my
  brain could not control the muscle movements in
  my legs. I was saying to myself Kick, Kick and
  nothing was happening. Lucky for me I had enough
  momentum and positive buoyancy to get me up. As
  my face came out I almost couldn't figure out how
  to breath. I was telling myself inhale, inhale!
  but my brain forgot how to do that. As I gasped
  for air and sputter kicked to keep my head out I
  recovered. That was the worst "close to blackout"
  as I've ever come. Like an idiot I was by myself,
  in my own little world mentally and 500 yards
  from the boat at the edge of a 250' drop off.
  That one event has changed my entire vision on
  how I dive in the future. That was a warning shot
  from the guy above and it was heard load and
  clear.
• In a way I can see how my good friend Steve Seo
  bought it. He went to Mexico with the mental
  place that he would return with a world record
  catch and permanent club record. I told Steve
  this story the day before he left. I wonder if
  he just blew it off thinking that could never
  happen to him....

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Real Shallow Water Blackout Stories When I was
a Young Jock

• Many years before I learned of SWB, I use to
  believe that if I came up before seeing little
  white stars floating in my eyes that meant I
  wasn't pushing myself hard enough. Some days I
  would see stars on 20 to 30 dives. I also use to
  swim underwater in pools with no fins and go for
  100 meters. In those swims, I always came up
  seeing stars and the last time I did it I could
  see nothing but BLACK lasting for three breaths
  after surfacing and my friends, who I couldnt
  see, were saying "Look at how purple his lips
  are." That was my last time swimming 100 meters
  underwater.
• Signed, Slow to Learn and Lucky to Still be
  Alive, DVM

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Lessons to Prevent SWB

• If you are surfacing and seeing little bright
  stars floating in your eyes (they look really
  cool) then you are pushing yourself too hard and
  are only a few seconds from death by SWB. Dont
  do that again!
• If your legs are giving out as you push for the
  surface that is because the muscles are out of
  oxygenated blood. If your legs give out, you
  die. Dont do that again!
• If you surface and feel like puking but you dont
  have the muscle strength to do it because there
  is no oxygen in them then you dove too hard.
  Dont do that again!
• SWB victims can be recovered - take the time to
  be a responsible partner and learn CPR.
• An interesting thing about SWB is that you can
  shut off your throat and not take water into your
  lungs. You can also bite your snorkel so hard
  that it is hard for the rescuer to take it out of
  your mouth. If a rescuer turns you over with
  your snorkel in the mouth and you recover your
  first breath will be seawater. Rescuers need to
  be aware of this and try to get that snorkel out
  fast with a jerk when turning over the victim.
  This will hopefully open the airway, if not open
  it and do CPR.

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Lessons to Prevent SWBContinued

• Here is one tip that few realize and it can save
  your life. You know you can dive 60 with no
  problem. But if you are doing extra hard long
  dives, like when you are recovering a fish which
  is held up in the rocks or kelp, then your dive
  needs to either be shorter since your exertion is
  greater or your recovery time needs to be longer.
  It will take you a longer time to recover with
  each successive hard dive. You may feel like you
  are ready after 30 seconds because your lungs are
  full but you have deeply depleted the reserves of
  oxygen in your blood. Take an extra minute to
  recover all of your blood in your body. Your
  legs will tell you when you are truly ready to
  dive because the numbness from a lack of oxygen
  will have left them. It takes a long time to
  recycle all your blood through your lungs to
  replenish the oxygen fully. Repeated deep hard
  dives will get you. Take the time to save your
  life! The fish isnt going anywhere but you may
  be if you dont take that extra breath.

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Lessons to Prevent SWBContinued

• When you know you are on a tough dive, be
  prepared to drop your weight belt, it is not
  invaluable. Keep your hand on the weight belt
  release while ascending, releasing it if you feel
  you are in trouble or at the first sign of
  blackout.
• The USAs only world champion spear fisherman,
  Terry Lentz, who won the world tournament in
  1959 says Dropping my belt saved me once, and
  divers who pay attention to this thought may have
  their lives spared some time in the future.
  Terry is still competing in this sport 48 years
  later!
• Your attitude (or mind set) is what will keep you
  alive. Dive with safety as your first thought.
  It will be too late to have it as an after
  thought if you dont.

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Why a Whistle is a Good Idea

• We were diving on Santa Barbara Island and heard
  a man yelling. The yell was coming from the
  direction of the setting sun and wind and seemed
  to be 300 plus yards away so we could not make
  out who was making the noise. At first, we
  assumed it was a kayak party coming around the
  island. After the yelling continued for some
  time we got alarmed and decided it was time to
  get our divers out of the water and go rescue
  this guy. It turned out to be a diver from the
  other small boat in the area. His boat was about
  100 yards away from him but up wind so he wasnt
  heard for a very long time by his boats driver.
  The diver had shot a large white sea bass and
  it had tied up to kelp about 60 feet down in 100
  foot of water. This was deeper than he could
  reach. He couldnt leave his spot since he had
  no way to mark it so he stayed there and yelled
  and yelled for 30 minutes until he finally got
  our attention. If he had carried a whistle, both
  boats would have easily heard him and known he
  needed help. Also, if he had an inflatable float
  to tie to the float line or kelp to mark the spot
  then he could have swam to his boat to retrieve
  the tank he needed to recover his fish.

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Why a Whistle is a Good IdeaContinued

• This diver was not prepared for the type of
  hunting he was doing. You can buy a pocket size
  (when not inflated) salami shaped 3 - 6 long
  marking float for 30 to 40. Also, Skip Hellen
  has very big inflatable floats for sell that can
  lift 100 pounds and can give you the horse power
  to lift that fish out of kelp. Another important
  thing to remember when hunting large fish that
  are in an area that may go out of your
  capabilities is to be more careful of your shot
  and shoot for the head. It is much easier to
  control a fighting fish if you have control of
  their head and dont let it get turned for deep
  water or structure. Fish will almost always go
  down and out to deeper water and look for
  structure when scared or hurt. If you want to
  hunt game fish, then be prepared for the
  conditions you plan to be diving in. Your boat
  should have a tank on board plus you should have
  a float line or reel line 25 longer than the
  depth of water an inflatable float to mark your
  spot and hold up a fish a sharp knife capable of
  cutting steel shooting cable if you are using it
  and at a minimum shooting line and kelp and a
  whistle is always a good idea.

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Dangers of Using a Float Line

• I know of only one diver who died because he had
  his shooting line wrapped around his wrist
  several times to tug harder on the fish and then
  the grouper when deeper under the rock and wedged
  his hand in a crack. One death is enough.
• I was off Santa Barbara Island and decided to go
  out past the kelp bed to look for YT in the
  deeper water. There were no boats around so I
  figured it was safe to take my 125 float line
  out there. Since I had planned to stay in the
  kelp I had no signal float attached. On my way
  back in from deep water an 80 yacht cruising at
  low speed and completely silent to my ears drove
  past and caught my shooting line just 30 feet
  behind me ripping my gun out of my hands. I
  turned and started yelling and luckily the crew
  with a fisherman trolling on the back was alert
  and stopped the boat quickly. To my amazement I
  got the float line untied and with no damage to
  it. The crew was real nice to me considering
  what a jerk I was. My boat was a mile away and
  around the corner. They had no way to know I was
  there. I was amazed that a huge yacht could get
  so close to me without me hearing it.

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Dangers of Using a Float LineContinued

• It is easy to be tied up in your own shooting or
  float line during the commotion of fighting a
  large fish. Be careful to not let your float
  line pile around you when recovering a fish. Try
  to keep swimming up current while pulling a fish
  up. This will keep the line behind you. If you
  stay still when pulling a line up it will pile up
  all around you and then when the fish takes off
  on another tug-of-war you may end up getting tied
  up and drowned. This happened to me once even
  though I was swimming up current because there
  was a strong wind blowing the opposite direction
  and I didnt know that the surface conditions
  were keeping the line around my leg area. When
  the slip tip that was stuck in the backbone of a
  56 pound amberjack pulled out a bit it released
  the nerves of the fish so it could fight and the
  fish took off for the abyss and took me with it.
  My leg was wrapped and in seconds I found myself
  40 feet down being pulled by the fish below and
  the buoy above. I figured I had about 15 seconds
  to untie the wrap around my leg or I would have
  to pull my knife out and cut the line and loose
  the fish and gear. I won that battle with just
  seconds to spare.

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Dangers of Using a Float LineContinued

• I was diving for white sea bass off Palos Verdes
  and was in 20 feet of water with plenty of kelp
  all around when I shot a 35 pound white sea bass.
  The fish bolted and quickly wrapped on a kelp
  stock at the bottom. I knew from experience to
  not get excited and rush down to recover the
  fish. I caught my breath and waited until the
  fish looked tired out and then dove to recover
  the fish. I was down looking at the kelp stock
  trying to figure out where to cut the kelp
  without cutting my shooting line and float line
  when all of a sudden the fish took off for
  another fight and I found myself instantly
  wrapped several times around to the kelp stock.
  If I hadnt taken the time to catch my breath and
  if I hadnt been in great diving shape this could
  have my last dive. I kept calm and used the
  knife already in my hand to cut my way free and
  surfaced with the fish in hand and the knife
  secure in its head. No more tricks for that
  fish.

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Dangers of Using a Float LineContinued

• I was diving with two other divers last year in
  Florida and in the excitement of our first day of
  diving and first dive there of the trip, we
  forgot to put up a dive flag on our boat (we had
  one in the boat). We jumped in the water with
  float lines and Riffe flagless floats. Minutes
  later while we were in maybe 25 feet of water, a
  boat came by at 25 miles per hour and its
  outboard drive hit my float line pulling my
  loaded 130 cm gun out of my hands. My boat was
  at fault as we had not posted our boat dive flag
  or did we have dive flags on our buoys.
  Fortunately, no one was hurt and somehow my float
  line did not get cut, but I learned a hard lesson
  no to get too over-anxious at a unfamiliar dive
  location and forget about safety and safety
  rules. We should have had all are flags up as
  this was a relatively high traffic dive spot
  compared to the kelp beds of Northern California.
  I also learned that due to the higher number of
  fast boats in Florida, that I had to dive more
  defensively, particularly on weekends and stay
  closer to my boat. By Dave Edlund

33
Float Line Versus Reel,When Why to Use Them

• Float Lines
• Very effective when you need a float to wear down
  a game fish especially if remember to pull up and
  then clip the line off to your float.
• Great in kelp, allowing you to get to the surface
  and still hold on to your fish. Is highly
  visible when diving down through the kelp to
  recover your fish.
• The long trail behind you creates a hazard when
  boats are in the area.
• The longer the line the higher the risk of
  getting tied up in your line.
• Reels
• A lot safer when diving in areas where there is
  boat traffic and the extra line gives you the
  ability to reach the surface when fighting a
  tug-of-war with a game fish.
• Watch for a reel to make your gun heavier that
  water and then it will sink away to the abyss if
  you let it go.
• It is hard to attach signal or recovery float to
  your system without a float line.
• Consider this combination, a 60 foot bungee float
  line with buoy attached and a reel with another
  100 feet of line. This gives you advantages of
  both.

34
Reasons to Use a Float

• First, and the major one in importance to me is
  the concept of "pulling and clipping" when
  bringing up a game fish. All the videos etc.,
  show some "super hero" "dancing and drowning" in
  free water pulling up the fish swimming out of
  the coils (or not) and its just plain nonsense.
  A 30lb fish can instantly turn into a 530 lb fish
  with the help of a seal or shark and if you have
  line around you, you can be in great danger. The
  simplest and safest way to land a fish is to
  "pull and clip. By Larry Carter
• Floats wears out the fish and keeps your gear in
  reach of recovery.
• Floats, when properly placed on your float line,
  can keep a fish from reaching the bottom and
  tying up in rocks too deep to recover.
• Floats mark your location (kind of) but dont
  expect the average boat driver to see your float
  and abide by the laws. Boaters and Jet skiers
  love to come see what that float is doing there
  and run right over you.
• Diver down flags greatly increase the range a
  float can be seen from.
• Remember your 30 lb fish can quickly become a
  530 lb fish so, utilize the Pull and Clip"
  ability that your float and tuna clip affords
  you."

35
Seal Danger

• Seal Danger _at_ SBI ... This is a warning about a
  dangerous and aggressive seal based on the
  experiences of 3 divers, on different trips, that
  have recently had troubles with perhaps the same
  seal off SBI NE end. Here is the account of one
  of the divers and the other two incidents were
  very similar in respect to the size, persistence
  and aggression of the seal. Please remember that
  seals have a bite 4 times stronger than a full
  size German Sheppard guard dog so these wild
  animals should be considered extremely dangerous.
  
• I'm writing this to share with you a dangerous
  experience I had at Santa Barbara Island while
  spear fishing. I had just speared a white sea
  bass when a very large male sea lion grabbed my
  fish and tried to swim off with it. I fought a
  tug of war with it but it was dragging me through
  the water and sometimes down 5 to 10 feet as I
  kept pulling the fish towards me. I would pick
  up the pace pulling hand over hand when he would
  let go of the fish ... as he sometimes did.

36
Seal Danger Continued

• Although I tried not to get tangled in my
  shooting line, it still happened twice in all the
  commotion, once around my upper arm and once
  around my ankle. Luckily it was during breaks in
  his strong tugging. I was able to untangle
  myself before he started to pull again. When I
  finally got the fish in my hands, I thought he
  would circle around yet keep his distance, but he
  didn't. He had no hesitation in coming right up
  to me, getting in my face and grabbing the fish
  still in my hands. I tried to fend him off by
  kicking him with my fin and poking him with the
  back end of my shaft (the font end still had the
  fish on it) but he just kept on coming. He
  finally pulled the fish out of my hands and swam
  off with it. My 125' float line was moving
  through the water so fast that I thought he might
  take it all so I grabbed it and hung on as I
  inflated my utility float. I worked the float to
  the shooting line and he still pulled the float
  down 10 feet. I was tired and well aware of the
  danger I was in of drowning so I decided to give
  him the fish....but not the shaft and tip. By
  this time the fish had no head and the body was
  getting mangled as he bit it and thrashed it
  about in order to eat it. I pulled the fish in
  again between his tugging at it and finally got
  it in my hands again.

37
Seal Danger Continued

• In my hurry to get the tip through the fish it
  toggled inside of it. He yanked it away and swam
  off with it again. Little by little I pulled it
  back in again and then pulled out my knife to cut
  the tip out. Meanwhile the sea lion was in my
  face again ready to get his meal back. I stabbed
  him in the side of the head with my knife
  thinking that this will get him to back off but
  he only flinched back momentarily.......and then
  kept on coming. I don't think my poke penetrated
  his thick hide. I concentrated on cutting the
  fish open so I could pull out my spear tip out
  and was able to get it just as he grabbed the
  fish again and swam off with it to finish his
  feast. The ordeal was over and I was OK.
  Luckily "Murphy" was occupied elsewhere and I get
  to tell the story. I share this with you hoping
  that someone else doesn't drown from one of these
  encounters. Although it would not have prevented
  this incident, from now on I'm going to swim my
  fish back to the boat ASAP when I'm at SBI.
  Swimming around with a fish around your waist is
  tempting fate. As for my story...Yes, I know
  that harming a marine mammal is a federal crime
  but in this instance I was the endangered
  species......It was self defense!

38
You Can Smile Only When You Come Back Safely
39
Remember, There Are Many Good Reasons to Dive Safe
40
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripLast Updated 8 March 2007

• Below is a great list of diving/boating/sea
  conditions weather forecast websites that is a
  combined product of Skip Hellen and my research
  over the years.  If saving time, ensuring safety
  and having good boating/diving conditions is
  important to you, along with the ability to plan
  a dive trip somewhat reliable up to 3 days in
  advance then you will love this list.  I have
  tried to make the listing as user friendly as
  possible.  The most important categories to check
  are prioritized and listed first to last plus my
  favorite site in each category is listed first.
  The other sites are backup and additional depth
  if further analysis is needed.
• Three-Day Swell Forecasthttp//cdip.ucsd.edu/?na
  vrecentsubforecast Current Swell Conditions
  in SC
• http//cdip.ucsd.edu/?navrecentsubnowcastxitem
  socal_now
• http//www.diver.net/weather/all_cat_chnl_wam.shtm
  l

41
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• Key SC Weather Buoys Providing Current and Past
  Swell Conditions, Wind Speed/Direction,
  Air/Water Temperatures
• http//www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?statio
  n46063 Point Conception
• http//www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station
  46025 Santa Monica Bay
• http//www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?statio
  n46047 Tanner Banks
• http//www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?statio
  n46086 San Clemente Island, S.E. End
• Other Off Shore Weather Buoys and Master List of
  Buoyshttp//www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southwest.sht
  ml http//facs.scripps.edu/surf/socal.html
  http//facs.scripps.edu/surf/buoylist.html
• Marine Weather Forecast - Local synopsis
• http//meteora.ucsd.edu/climate/calif_marine_fcst.
  southern
• http//meteora.ucsd.edu/climate/calif_disc.los_ang
  eles http//www.nwsla.noaa.gov/
  http//www.myoc.com/weather/ocean.shtml

42
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• Best overall Water condition site is
• http//www.wetsand.com/swellwatch/
• Winds for SC Ocean Coastal Speed and
  Direction Providedhttp//www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/
  weather/mugu/mesodata/analysis.html
• Tideshttp//cdip.ucsd.edu/?navrecentsubforeca
  stxitemtidexindex016xindex012
• http//tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?siteCa
  brilloBeach2CCalifornia http//facs.scripps.ed
  u/cgi-bin/plottide.pl
• Moon Calendar - shows phases of the moon
• http//www.krellworkshops.com/test/

43
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• The Big picture Via Satellite (Great
  Stuff)http//www.intellicast.com/Local/USNationa
  lWide.asp?locusasegIntlSatprodgrpWorldproduc
  tPacificHIRESLoopprodnavnone Pacific
  Satellite weather
• http//www.intellicast.com/Local/USNationalWide.as
  p?locusasegIntlSatprodgrpWorldproductWorld
  prodnavnone world satellite weather view
• http//www.weather.com/weather/map/90045?fromLAPm
  apsnameindex_large_animatedday1 SoCal
  Weather/rain radar loop
• http//radar.wrh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS.p19r0/si
  .ksox.shtml SoCal Radar showing
  rainhttp//facs.scripps.edu/surf/sepa.html
  http//www.wrh.noaa.gov/Oxnard/javaLinks/animatio
  n.1km.vis.html http//www.wrh.noaa.gov/Oxnard/jav
  aLinks/animation.4km.ir.htmlhttp//diver.net/weat
  her/npac_anim.shtmlhttp//www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/
  WCIR.JPG

44
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• Water Visibility Indicator. Note, this is a pay
  site http//www.terrafin.com/sstview/latest_chl.h
  tm
• Surface Water Temp http//www.terrafin.com/sstvie
  w/samples/freesocal.htm
• http//www.diver.net/weather/img.shtml?128.160.23.
  54/products/OFA/epeofa.gif
• http//www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html

45
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• Islands San Clementehttp//tenby.ucsd.edu/t
  wo/realtime_index.htm http//www.scisland.org/
  San Nicholashttp//weather.yahoo.com/forec
  ast/San_Nicolas_Island_CA_US_f.html
  http//www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/weather/mugu/mesoda
  ta/nsis/lasthour.htmlChartshttp//www.4seatow.
  com/charts.htm Artificial Reefs off
  Californiahttp//www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/artificialre
  efs/index.html

46
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• Department of Fish Game (DFG) Regulation
  website 
• http//www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/sportfishing_regs2005.h
  tml
• Jet Stream Analyses
• http//squall.sfsu.edu/crws/jetstream.html
• Fishing Info / Hot bites
• http//www.pacificedgetackle.com/fishreport.aspx
• This is a map of recent fish catch reports
• http//www.biteson.com/messageboard.shtm
• http//www.sport-fish-info.com/
• http//www.fishingnetwork.net/

47
Web Sites to Help You Plan a Safe, Productive
and Fun Dive/Boat TripContinued

• I saved the best till last. Here is the best
  site of all for scouting an area for reefs and
  for getting GPS wave-points for locations you
  want to go to
• http//mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?la
  t33.54571051568571lon-118.35729949565865scale
  868003zoom50type0icon0width498height498
  searchscopedomCFID1554425CFTOKEN34536242scri
  ptfilehttp//mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index
  .cfmlatlontypeDMS
• Learn how to use this site and you will be able
  to develop an incredible amount of knowledge
  about an area before you ever get there.

48
Introducing the Author, By Skip Hellen

• It is my pleasure to introduce Doug Van Mullem
  to the audience of this survival safety
  presentation. I have dove with Doug since 1993
  and know him to be a safe and wise diver. With
  this presentation, Doug brings a lot of safety
  and practical experience to the diving community.
  
• Doug started freediving and spearfishing in the
  Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Turkey in 1961
  at the age of 7. At the age of 11, he chose to
  train for diving by joining a swim team and
  continued to swim competitively until age 30. He
  was an All American swimmer at the Nations
  junior college level, and used this skill to
  become a California beach lifeguard for 5 years
  until joining the United States Air Force for 23
  years. His first diving mentor was Chris
  Blakesley, son of one of our legendary
  grandfathers of our sport, Chuck Blakesley, the
  founder of Skin Diver Magazine. Chris was a
  lifeguard legend and a great diver too. He
  taught Doug the art of hunting halibut and today
  Doug has published the best paper on halibut
  hunting I have ever seen .

49
Introducing the Author, By Skip HellenContinued

• Doug has been in 3 dive clubs. The first was a
  freediving spearfishing club called the Delta
  Divers of San Diego where he won Diver of the
  Year in 1976. In 1980, while in the Air Force,
  he came to Los Angeles and met a great diver and
  grandfather of our sport - Charlie Sturgill.
  Charlie was too old to dive but he was still
  making great dive gear in his garage and had
  great knowledge which he was willing to share.
  Doug learned from Charlie too. Then in 1984 he
  was transferred to Vandenberg Air Force Base
  (VAFB) in Northern Santa Barbara County and
  joined the base dive club. He became president
  for a year and safety officer for several years.
  The ocean dive conditions there were dangerous
  and club officers were required to take every
  applicant for a safety check out dive before they
  could become members. He returned to Los Angeles
  in 1993 and joined the Fathomiers and 2 years
  later was the president of the club. As a
  Fathomier, he competed in two US Nationals.
  Today, he likes to give back to our great sport
  by writing safety and hunting technique articles.
• Contact information
• Phone [phone] Email dvanmullem_at_socal.rr.c
  om