Re: Curacao July 2003 Dive Trip Report Link

nospam@all.please.net wrote in message news:<bhms79$mne$1@cdm-66-63-26-nacd.cox-internet.com>...
> In <vjtbeugfs7ne94@corp.supernews.com> "Greg Mossman" wrote:
> > "Spider" <tuxxe@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:40a2ed1b.0308161132.4bafd3c@posting.google.co m...
> >
> > > Top-shelf boose wasn't included, but for serious
> > > divers I doubt that's a problem.
> >
> > Is that because serious divers only drink cheap booze, or because
> serious
> > divers are independently wealthy enough to afford the good stuff
> without a
> > care?
>
> No, it's because serious divers are adaptable to current conditions.

wahhh wahh wahhhh (muted trumpet)..

By the way I got some email that the page loads were painfully slow,
so I replaced the photos with thumbs.. If you have slow pageloads
please try again!

http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spyderdive/

Thanks for the comments guys hope it give some Curacao Sunset Waters
visitors a little preview anyhow..


Cheers,
T

tuxxe@hotmail.com (Spider) entertained us with:
:By the way I got some email that the page loads were painfully slow,
:so I replaced the photos with thumbs.. If you have slow pageloads
lease try again!

Worked fine for me, but I have some nude diving questions?

1. What about chafing from the BC & weightbelt?
2. Did any nudists dive with a wetsuit just to stay warm?


Dan Bracuk
As Big Ben said to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I've got the time if you've got the inclination.
The Best of Rec.Scuba
http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/


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Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote in message news:<rg70kvgfu0ijajgfin6pau2l2ugm4o0j1o@4ax.com>. ..
> tuxxe@hotmail.com (Spider) entertained us with:
> :By the way I got some email that the page loads were painfully slow,
> :so I replaced the photos with thumbs.. If you have slow pageloads
> lease try again!
>
> Worked fine for me, but I have some nude diving questions?
>
> 1. What about chafing from the BC & weightbelt?
> 2. Did any nudists dive with a wetsuit just to stay warm?
>
>
> Dan Bracuk
> As Big Ben said to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I've got the time if you've got the inclination.
> The Best of Rec.Scuba
> http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/
>
>
> -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
> http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
> -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

************************************************** ******************


Hey again Dan-

Good questions.



(1) What about chafing from the BC & weightbelt?

I had integrated weights (Dacor Rig), but as any of us know who have
used a conventional weightbelt on bare skin, it does chaffe.I suspect
it would have been annoying. I never tried it with a weightbelt.

The BC itself offered comfort even on bare skin. It has a paddded
velcro cumberbund which offered a good secure fit but no irratation.
No problems in 15 or so dives..




(2) Did any nudists dive with a wetsuit just to stay warm?

YES! in fact no one else did any boat-diving (60-100') nude, and most
wore wetsuits, even though at 80' I think it was still over 80 degree
water (F). The only day I got chilled was when I did 4 dives, and the
4th got cold at the end (even at 15'!). I think that was my limit for
non-wetsuit diving, since each of the dives that day were over an
hour.

Many went nude for the more shallow shore-dives however, some just to
try it once, others again and again.

Two other comments on nude-diving: (a) Makes bouancy control a breeze,
and (b) you tend to stay an extra foot or two off the reef! Oh yes and
those eels look even MORE threatening and hungry!


Cheers.

"Spider" wrote ...
> Two other comments on nude-diving: (a) Makes bouancy
> control a breeze, and (b) you tend to stay an extra foot or
> two off the reef! Oh yes and those eels look even MORE
> threatening and hungry!

A couple of years ago, we were down in Coz and during one of the surface
intervals where I was on the surface with our daughter and Grace was diving,
Kaitlyn kept putting her finger in the water since all the fish were around
the boat... I kept telling her not to do it since it might look like food to
them... One of them bit her finger... Nude diving sounds like tempting fate
(especially for a guy)...

"Grumman581" <grumman581@DIE-SPAMMER-SCUM@houston.rr.com> wrote in message news:<M1d0b.199780$xg5.105211@twister.austin.rr.co m>...
> "Spider" wrote ...
> > Two other comments on nude-diving: (a) Makes bouancy
> > control a breeze, and (b) you tend to stay an extra foot or
> > two off the reef! Oh yes and those eels look even MORE
> > threatening and hungry!
>
> A couple of years ago, we were down in Coz and during one of the surface
> intervals where I was on the surface with our daughter and Grace was diving,
> Kaitlyn kept putting her finger in the water since all the fish were around
> the boat... I kept telling her not to do it since it might look like food to
> them... One of them bit her finger... Nude diving sounds like tempting fate
> (especially for a guy)...


I can vouch for the aggressive fish in Cozumel. I took a bagel down
and started breaking off pieces and tossing them out to the fish.
After the 5th or 6th piece, I could no longer see anything except a
whirlwind of silver in which I was ensconsed. They were mostly like
2-3 feet silver fish, not sure what species. Aggressive and hungry I
can tell you that!

I threw the last piece (that was my mistake) and felt my hand being
tugged sharply. On the return to the boat I'd managed to attain a huge
gash in 2 fingers and a lot of pain for my bagel feeding experiment.

My wife said that once after a few seconds she could only see fish- no
more ME!

It was one of those times you bang your head and tell yourself "stupid
stupid stupid"!

My first several dives in Curacao with with a 3 mil suit to "scope
out" the dangers, and I saw very few fish I'd call threatening. I did
a little bagel feeding but they were pretty disinterested there. Maybe
the Cozumel fish told them the bagels taste OK but those human fingers
leave an aftertaste hahah!


Cheers..

"Spider" wrote ...
> I threw the last piece (that was my mistake) and felt my hand being
> tugged sharply. On the return to the boat I'd managed to attain a huge
> gash in 2 fingers and a lot of pain for my bagel feeding experiment.

So I suspect that you would agree that nude diving might not be in your best
interest... <grin>

> It was one of those times you bang your head and tell yourself "stupid
> stupid stupid"!

Well, I suspected what was going to happen, but I figured after the first
nip, Kaitlyn would realize that what I was saying was true, so I didn't push
it... Negative experiences in life are more meaningful than positive ones
from a learning perspective...

> My first several dives in Curacao with with a 3 mil suit to "scope
> out" the dangers, and I saw very few fish I'd call threatening. I
> did a little bagel feeding but they were pretty disinterested there.
> Maybe the Cozumel fish told them the bagels taste OK but those
> human fingers leave an aftertaste hahah!

Is the Curacao area a marine sanctuary? If not, they might have gotten to
the point where they associate free food with a sharp hook and a trip to the
surface... Since there is no fishing around that part of Coz, they would be
less likely to make that association...

Grumman-581 wrote:

> Is the Curacao area a marine sanctuary? If not, they might have gotten to
> the point where they associate free food with a sharp hook and a trip to the
> surface... Since there is no fishing around that part of Coz, they would be
> less likely to make that association...

There is a reserve in the south east part of the island stretching
from about Willemstad to the eastern end. The rest of the island, IIRC
is not protected. However, spearfishing is forbidden everywhere.

When we were there in June, there was an ocasional fishermen, but
very few. The shorline seems to be reserved for divers

/Marcin

Marcin Dobrucki <Marcin.Dobrucki@FAKE.nokia.com> wrote in message news:<dIJ0b.127$g4.2729@news2.nokia.com>...
> Grumman-581 wrote:
>
> > Is the Curacao area a marine sanctuary? If not, they might have gotten to
> > the point where they associate free food with a sharp hook and a trip to the
> > surface... Since there is no fishing around that part of Coz, they would be
> > less likely to make that association...
>
> There is a reserve in the south east part of the island stretching
> from about Willemstad to the eastern end. The rest of the island, IIRC
> is not protected. However, spearfishing is forbidden everywhere.
>
> When we were there in June, there was an ocasional fishermen, but
> very few. The shorline seems to be reserved for divers
>
> /Marcin

There were a few fishermen there- pretty much at any time 1-2 small
boats were visable. I spoke to one of the fishermen, he said he uses a
line and fishes for Tuna and other larger species at about 60'.

What was nice was there were NO TRAPS of any kind. Last time in
Jamaica there were huge traps all over the reefs full of dead fish.
NOT something a diver would fancy.

T

tuxxe@hotmail.com (Spider) entertained us with:
:What was nice was there were NO TRAPS of any kind. Last time in
:Jamaica there were huge traps all over the reefs full of dead fish.
:NOT something a diver would fancy.

Not until we got to the restaurant for a nice fish dinner anyway. Nothing wrong
with the local fisherman trying to earn a living.

Dan Bracuk
As Big Ben said to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I've got the time if you've got the inclination.
The Best of Rec.Scuba
http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/


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Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote in message news:<8tv7kvkrsoi0dq78ndpailbbrgpc088k2d@4ax.com>. ..
> tuxxe@hotmail.com (Spider) entertained us with:
> :What was nice was there were NO TRAPS of any kind. Last time in
> :Jamaica there were huge traps all over the reefs full of dead fish.
> :NOT something a diver would fancy.
>
> Not until we got to the restaurant for a nice fish dinner anyway. Nothing wrong
> with the local fisherman trying to earn a living.
>
> Dan Bracuk
> As Big Ben said to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I've got the time if you've got the inclination.
> The Best of Rec.Scuba
> http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/
>
>
> -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
> http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
> -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

I agree its easy for an American like me to point at a country like
Jamaica and say they are over-fishing, with everything here so
plentiful. But whether its Jamaica or elsewhere, sealife populations
are being devastated, so in reality there is a lot wrong with it. 50%
of the sharks have been eliminated in the past 10 years and 90% of
large fish are gone. If Jamaicans fished at a sustainable rate then
there would be more fish for everyone- fishermen and divers alike. But
they don't- there is essentially no conservation there and the reefs
are stripped. We've been visiting there for many years and each visit
has less life. The last visit was probably our last visit for that
reason, there is almost nothing left to see, and I've observed the
decline firsthand. Its depressing both for the sealife as well as
Jamaica as a country. Its a precious resource squandered.

We do our own share of over-fishing here, but obviously we've haven't
reached the point where we've stripped our whole coastline of sealife.

Here is a good example- on our last Jamaican visit a seaturtle came up
and laid eggs in the sand, and a guest notified resort management so
that area could be fenced off. Within 10 minutes like 5 guys showed up
with shovels- they dug up the nest, and took the eggs. One of the
guests asked why- they were told they were going to put them into a
blender and make shakes out of them.

I don't think that sort of ecological abuse is at all unusual there-
fishermen and other residents alike, they have zero regard for sealife
in any stage of development. I think that's wrong, and as for the
seaturtle eggs- the amount of energy they got from the shakes was
probably less than they expended digging them up.