Re: [Paddlewise] Diving From Kayaks

Elmar,

   I have done a fair amount of diving and spearfishing from my kayak, an
enclosed boat (yes it can be done with the right technique). You have a few
options as far as what to do with your boat while you are in the water. If the
water is relatively calm I will often just allow my boat to drift free while
keeping an occasional eye on it. Otherwise you will need to anchor it. If you
are diving in kelp then it is a simple matter of tying the boat to the kelp
floating on the surface. I tried an anchor with some success (a four pound
diving weight is generally sufficient). Since I try to minimize the amount of
equipment in my boat I eventually opted to simply dive down and tie the boat
to the bottom. 
   As far as the boat being visible, I have never found this to be a problem.
I toyed with dive flags in the past, but found it once again to be more hassle
then it's worth. No doubt the others on this list, being prone to overkill on
everything, will recommend flags and bells and whistles and flashing strobe
lights, etc., etc.. Generally, you will be diving near shore away from
traffic. Even if your further out, as long as you use some common sense and
don't leave your boat sitting in a high traffic area (like at the mouth of a
harbor) you should be OK. The rare idiot who is prone to run you over will do
so with or without bells and lights on your boat.
   In sunny Southern California we have miles and miles great diving and
spearfishing along our coast. If your looking for something more along the
lines of an extended trip then you can't beat our channel islands. It will
take some research and preparation to put together a trip out there, but I
think that's pretty much true of any kayaking trip. Another good choice would
be to head down to Mexico. Between our channel islands and Mexico you should
be able to put together some pretty great trips.

Scott
So.Cal.
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