Don,t do this!

[Geoff]

This was a true incident. Having nearly lost my Band speargun to the depth,s, I thought I,d tie a 1 Mtr long lanyard to it,& to myself, (onto my life jacket).this was O.k,it worked well,then one day,(I dont know why) I changed the tie point to my rist,around my glove.So,there I am,looking for a decent fish,when, I see one! it,s at about 4 Mtrs depth.I swim down to it,it,s a big one,about 3kg, I realy want it,it see,s me & dives further down,into some rock,s. I,m getting short on breath,I,ve been under about 30s, depth,6 Mtrs,I know I,ll have to surface very soon,but just a little more time, please!. I,ve nearly got him,I fire,....missed!.... but,...the spear has wedged itself in a rock,I can,t pull it out,it just wont move,I give it one last desperate yank,but nothing,I,ve stayed down too long,I need air!,I start for the top,I can see the surface,I,m gasping,just a Mtr or so more,then,absolute panick!!,I,m tied to the gun,the gun is tied to the spear, the spear is stuck fast in a rock!.I cant get to the surface,I know I have about 10 seconds to get free,I think about getting my knife & cutting myself free,but I know,if I cant do it in the next 5 seconds,I,m DEAD!,what if I stumble?,if I drop it?, I give one last almighty pull, & yes, I,m free!.The spear did not give way,it was the GLOVE, it came straight off of my hand. DO NOT EVER TIE YOUR GUN TO YOUR SELF!.......... Geoff.

[sanso]

Impressive story, dude! Scares the heck out of me just to think of that.

That's why I always use a shackle with a panic release mechanism whenever I tie anything to myself (e.g. Lanyard for deep diving) such a shackle is about €4 that feel oh-so comfortable when something gets stuck.

[vali]

all divers should carry a knife
good to have you alive

[Geoff]

Sanso, I now know to use this device.Thank you.You know, when we walk about on dry land, we take nearly every thing for granted, but, if we,(Divers), miss just one breath, yes , just one breath, we are in DEEP trouble,& there,s no one to help us!.It,s very lonely out there,but I, (As well as you, I suspect), would,nt have it any other way. Vali,you said it was "good to have you alive", well, considering that you dont know me, & that,to you, I,m just another person, what a kind & thoughtfull Man you must be.Respect to you both,............keep safe,..... Geoff.

[nostres]

That is great story for us to read and lesson to learn, and quite a experience for You. I bet it was "high torque" pull to freedom, probabbly You don't even realize how strong it was...

[shoutatthesky]

It would have been interesting if you had speared a really big fish. You could have gone on a very long trip.
Good to hear you made it out of this situation alive and with a big lesson to take home with you.

[Geoff]

Nostres,Hi,yes, it was a "High torque" pull, I actually tore my skin,(the lanyard cut right through the glove,into my hand)I did,nt feel it at the time, but it "Hurt like hell" an hour or so later,but I did,nt mind,I was just so glad to still be breathing!.It scared me, "bad".Shoutatthesky,Hi,thank you so much for that,it made me laugh really hard,(I,m still laughing!),That would have been some "Trip",& yes,I learn,t an important lesson.....keep safe,....Geoff.

[Whopperhead]

Geoff - I attach my speargun to my float with a float line - not only can I get away from the Gun, but the 25-30lb Carp I shoot can drag my float around and tire before I can handle the fish. Plus when I'm handling the fish I can let go of my speargun and focus on getting the fish to a stringer, then go to my float and pull up my gun. I'm not saying a 30lb carp would keep me under - but, this seems to work well for me. Scary story.

[deep thinker]

Hey man firstly good to see you survived it, it could have gone much worse. In a world and a comunity like this where you interact with divers and realize there are not that many of us its allways good to hear someone survived an incident and allways sad when someone doesnt.
Thank you also for sharing your story, its exactly the thing people need to hear just to realize once again that anything can happen out there. And even though it was a stupid mistake I can see that you learnt well from it.
So like Whopperhead said I hope you now use either a float or a reel, anything that can let you get away from the spear while enabling you to reach the survace safely. If your not using either of these then I suggest you rig that new gun of yours with something like this, do a search on floats or reels as I know there are loads of threads on here that covers the subject extensively.
Good luck and save diving mate

[Geoff]

Hi Whopperhead,Good, lodgical, technique.Wow,25/30Kg,How I,d love to have the chance to spear one of those Baby,s.The fish here in LLanca,Girona,(Pronounced, "Jansa")are nowhere near that big, (4/5 kg Max)at least inshore,amongst the rocks, where I hunt.I,m getting up the ball,s to go out further,into "blue water"(About 150 Mtrs)problem is,I,m solo,with no boat & the "water skies" & "speedboat,s" are a danger,I,ve already been crack,d on the head by a "cano,ist",she did,nt see me, & hit me with her paddle!. What do these carp eat like?,I envy you.

[Geoff]

Hi Deep thinker,Yes, your right,it was a "stupid" mistake,I should have known better.If,by reading this, some one is stopped from makeing the same one I,m happy.When I go out further,deeper,I will indeed use a float.Safe diving to you too,....Geoff.

[deep thinker]

I use a float even in the shallows, take a 5m tuna bungee as float line and you can get down to 7-8m easily with the stretch and also you can shoot fish when it runs into deeper water it just stretches the rope out. This way you have a place to keep your fish and your safe when your gun gets stuck, just let go and go get it when your ready

[Pinggene]

Deep Thinker...

where does one pick up tuna bungie?

Thanks,

Gene

[octpora]

Pinggene, here in the US you can get one from just about any spearo supplier, or if you find the right supplier, purchase all the blah blah necessary. That way you get exactly the size for you

[covert]

Originally Posted by Pinggene

where does one pick up tuna bungie?

Thanks,

Gene

These are readily available at most spearo shops/workshops and major brand online retailers.

Spearfishing and Freediving Equipment - Floats & Float Lines - 60' Norprene Bungee - Technosport Inc.

Is an example of what it looks like with a bit of specs and a description.