Pete Thomas Outdoors

Orcas and freedivers mingle off Cabo San Lucas in rare and mesmerizing encounter; video

Video screen grab

By Pete Thomas

Freedivers off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, spent nearly three hours Friday in the company of curious orcas.

The accompanying footage, captured by Regi Domingo of Pelagic Safari, shows one orca remaining almost totally motionless in a vertical position for several seconds while watching a diver and his camera.

 

Domingo said the encounter occurred five miles offshore, in the Sea of Cortez, and that the sleek mammals seemed as mesmerized as the divers were.

The company wrote on Facebook: “Believe it or not... Cabo San Lucas! An absolutely epic day on the water. Orcas in Baja are like the holy grail and yesterday we were fortunate enough to have three hours of playtime with a friendly pod.”

There were at least a dozen orcas, or killer whales, and all but one juvenile were females, Domingo said.

Photo courtesy of ©Pelagic Safari

She added that this family unit has been spotted recently elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez, feeding on a type of rays called mobulas, as well as small sharks and humpback whale calves.

The female orcas were protective of the juvenile male, but curious of the divers.

“They were exhibiting really interesting behaviors with us,” Domingo said. “They were staying vertical, checking us out. But they were super calm.”

Photo courtesy of @Pelagic Safari

They would drift back, and come back in for close looks at the divers. Some would open their mouths slightly while looking at the divers in what Domingo described as “strange movements.”

On Monday, the same orca family unit was spotted off La Paz, 70 miles to the north, but the Cabo San Lucas diving community is hopeful that the iconic mammals will return.

Mobula rays, known for their spectacular leaping abilities, are found throughout the southern Sea of Cortez.

Rare catch: Pacific dog snapper speared off Palos Verdes

Todd Bergenbring with his 20-pound snapper

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Last year was marked by several peculiar catches off Southern California, thanks to unusual and persistent warm temperatures that allowed exotic species such as yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo, and blue marlin to venture much farther north of their typical range.

So deep into winter, however, those species have long since returned to familiar surroundings–notably, off Mexico.

But spear fisherman Todd Bergenberg proved recently that not all of the exotic visitors have gone home. While plying the waters off Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County on December 29,

Bergenbring speared a 20-pound Pacific dog snapper.

This rare visitor's typical northern range is off the southern Baja California peninsula, and in Mexico's Sea of Cortez.

“When I came around and I could see the body, I could see that it was short and stout and I thought maybe it was a black seabass,” Bergenbrind told the Daily Breeze. “I finally got 10 feet away and a little light came through and I could see an orange tint as it started to turn away and I knew immediately what it was and I thought, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ ”

Environmental scientist Ryan Denton said these fish are rarely found in California.

David Bader, director of education for the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long beach, said in reference to this and other odd catches made during the past several months:

“I think the biggest story here is that we have a really dynamic biodiversity hot spot here in Southern California. Warm water currents come up, spin around and bring with them fishes typically found further south and leave them with us. Then we have the California Current drop off northern fish and leave them here with us as well.”

Bergenbring, 48, has been freediving with a speargun off Southern California for 21 years and had never seen anything so rare.

Hence, he will have the 34-inch fish mounted as a trophy, and prominently displayed. “This is just unheard of,” he told the Daily Breeze. “It’s amazing.”

Related articles

Great white sharks videotaped attacking plastic seal

Wisdom, world's oldest albatross, is a mom-to-be once more

Pro surfer Mark Healey stiff-arms a tiger shark (video)

Mark Healey, a big-wave surfer and passionate freediver, is seen stiff-arming a tiger shark in the accompanying photo and video (video posted below).

What's not shown is Healey riding the same tiger shark 30 minutes before he issued the football move to the advancing predator.

A handful of freedivers have recently taken to riding sharks by gently grabbing onto their dorsal fins, and Healey was asked by Surfing magazine why he does this and whether it's a smart idea. He answered: "The whole point of doing it is to make people think about how they perceive sharks. If more people are feeling comfortable with sharks and seeing them in different ways, then that's a good thing."

What he means, and what other freedivers have tried to explain, is that this is one way to show that sharks are not the bloodthirsty killers many people still believe them to be.

Sharks most definitely are not bloodthirsty man-eaters. But by riding large sharks–including great whites–freedivers appear to be taking for granted that these wild creatures are never going to turn and bite in response to this kind of intrusion.

However, Healey, who lives in Hawaii and has spent much of his life in the ocean, might be smarter than some people think.

When asked by Surfing if he thinks "someone who's inexperienced will get hurt trying something like this," the athlete responded:

"Well, it's a numbers game. The more you're around sharks, the more likely it is you'll get hit."

He added: "But if you’re inexperienced, you’ll probably be all skittish and scare the shark away, anyway. Because it’s not like you’re forcing them to do anything, they make the conscious decision to let you be there with them. But at the end of the day it’s natural selection."

Healey recalled that he was once asked by Surfing magazine how surfers can prevent more deaths in big waves, and said that answer applies with shark diving as well.

"The answer is to stop surfing big waves. That’s basically it," he said. "Because you can dance next to the fire in a calculated way but there’s a certain amount of risk that will never be taken out of the equation. These things aren’t safe and they never will be."

That said, Healey is eagerly anticipating the winter surfing season and the swells it brings. The bigger, the better...

–Pete Thomas

–Note: Pete also writes for GrindTv

Legal for minors to carry firearms while hunting?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: An issue has come up regarding minors in possession of a firearm, and so we would appreciate some clarification. The question is in regard to teenage hunters who hunt on an adult license (16 years and older) but are still considered minors (less than 18 years). This seems to be a "gray zone" because these teens can drive to shoot or hunt, have a license to hunt with a firearm, but still need parental presence or written permission. Here is the question:

Can a minor (someone less than 18 years old, but holding an adult California hunting license for individuals 16 years or older) be in possession of a firearm and ammunition for that firearm, without the presence of an adult supervisor OR written permission of an adult on their person? (James S.)

Answer: Nothing in the Fish and Game Code or its implementing regulations prohibits a juvenile who has passed a hunter education class and obtained the appropriate license or tag from carrying a gun while hunting. There are specific prohibitions and restrictions regarding the transfer or sale of guns to minors within the Penal Code, but Penal Code section 27505 provides specific exemptions that allow for minors to possess firearms for lawful purposes, such as hunting.

For more information, please contact the California Bureau of Firearms at http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/faq.php just to make certain.

Q: I’m an avid free diver and spear fisherman, as well as a frequent clammer. While diving for Dungeness crab recently, I noticed a number of enormous clam siphons in the silty mud bottom in 4-8 feet of water. Having previously dug for horseneck clams (Tresus capax) on a number of occasions, it was clear to me that these were horseneck siphons, or "shows". These clams are all well below the low tide line and would thus be impossible to dig in the traditional way. Would it be legal for me to harvest these clams using a homemade PVC "clam gun" to excavate the mud in which they are encased? Looking at the regulations pertaining to horseneck clams, underwater harvest is neither specifically permitted nor forbidden. (Carter J.)

Freedivers circled by great white shark off Australia (video)

Two Australian freedivers had hoped to spear some fish for dinner during a recent expedition near Drummond Cove, but a 12-foot great white shark changed their plans. Nathan Podmore and Dave Richards sensed danger soon after diving in, then the shark materialized and began to circle the pair.

 

"She was probably there 25 seconds before we even knew she was there — the video shows it," Prodmore told the West Australian.

Richards had a camera strapped to his head and filmed the frightening encounter.

Richards explained the beginning of the encounter to the newspaper:

"Nathan was on the top of the water getting ready to go down and I felt something moving behind me. I turned around and all I saw was the back section of the shark. Mate, it was a meter away. My heart sank and I just tried to get Nathan’s attention."

Said Prodmore: "As soon as Dave screamed my name out and I was face-to-face I knew it was a great white."

But the divers managed to remain calm, perhaps aware that panic might invite disaster. Instead of swimming toward their boat, which was 150 feet away, or shooting the shark, they stood their ground and merely poked at the shark when it swam too closely.

Ultimately, the shark swam off and the divers made a careful dash for the boat. 

Prodmore recalled: “When we got to the boat I didn’t take my head out of the water until I knew I had a three or four seconds to get on to the boat."

-- Hat tip to SharkDiver

Can glitter be used as a baitfish attractant?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly Q&A column:

Question: I have been studying up on different methods of spearfishing while freediving and have read about the use of "glitter" as an attractant for baitfish. I have an idea to sprinkle glitter in the water so that when the baitfish come to investigate, the large game fish will follow and be caught as they attack the baitfish!

What are your views and the legal ramifications of this method? I understand chumming is not legal for taking game animals in our state, but the use of artificial lures is. With my idea the game fish would not be chummed by this method but instead just attracted by the collection of baitfish. If this method actually works, would it be legal?  (Theodore G., Stockton)

Answer: You have an innovative idea there. Unfortunately, even if your plan to lure unsuspecting fish to you by sprinkling shiny, sparkling glitter in the water were to work, you could be cited for doing so. Placing glitter in the water is littering and is prohibited under Fish and Game Code, section 5652.

The activity you describe would be considered chumming. According to DFG Game Warden Michele Budish, chumming is defined as "placing any material in the water, other than on a hook while angling, for the purpose of attracting fish to a particular area in order that they may be taken" (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 1.32). Chumming in the ocean is allowed, but chumming in freshwater is permissible only in specific areas and for certain fish species (see CCR Title14, sections 2.30 and 2.40).

Q: I was diving in Sonoma County last weekend (Aug. 28) in Fisk Mill Cove. The water was dirty, as if there was a plankton bloom, and visibility was only four to five feet. On my very first dive to about 12 feet I looked into a cave in the rocks with my light and saw something I’ve never seen before in 50 years of diving for abalone. There was an abalone laying upside down and clinging to a piece of kelp rather than clinging to a rock like usual. My dive partner told me he picked up two similar abalone on one dive. They were also in a rock cave just laying upside down on the rocks. Later we met two other divers who had been diving at Timber Cove the day before and they too came across a couple of abalone laying upside down on their shells among the rocks.

Have you heard or seen this before? Are these abalone dying? Is the plankton bloom doing something to the abs? Are the abs suffocating from the plankton bloom? Are the abalone ok to eat? (T. Yamashita)

Freediver's record 100-meter plunge caught on video

It'll be overlooked by many, given that freediving is an obscure sport with a niche following, but William Trubridge's recent plunge to 328 feet, on a single breath and without fins or any type of assistance, ought to be regarded as one of the more remarkable feats of human achievement in 2010.

I spoke with the New Zealander on Dec. 13, the day of his record dive at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas, and posted a story on the GrindTv.com outdoors blog. It briefly made the Yahoo homepage and received more than 1 million views, so Trubridge at least gained some mainstream notoriety.

I'm mentioning this because Trubridge today released a video of his dive, and it's worth a look. Consider that he set the new unassisted freediving record -- breaking his own record -- and cracked the historic 100-meter mark using no weighted sleds or balloons. Then try to imagine yourself swimming to 300-plus feet, and back up again, using only your arms and legs for propulsion.

The dive lasted 4 minutes, 10 seconds, but I'm guessing it felt like an eternity. Enjoy the video:

The HECTOMETER freedive from william trubridge on Vimeo.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of William Trubridge after his dive is courtesy of Igor Liberti

Freediver's 'BASE jump' into abyss a surrealistic journey

World freediving champion Guillaume Nery had for some time wanted to establish a link between his sport -- which requires diving to incredible depths on a single breath -- and BASE jumping, which involves free-falling and parachuting from stationary objects.

Thanks to exceptional camerawork by fellow French freediver Julie Gautier, Nery has succeeded in breathtaking fashion.

The pair took advantage of a recent competition at Dean's Blue Hole west of the Bahamas, in Gautier's words, "to make a short movie."

In the movie, Nery steals a breath, marches downward across a sandy moonscape to the edge of the world's deepest underwater sink hole (638 feet). He then falls forward, like a BASE-jumper from a cliff, and begins a head-first descent.

He seems to fall through space, arms at his sides, hair flowing behind his mask, body silhouetted by the fading light above, until reaching what appears to be the bottom of the blue hole. Nery then springs upward and scales the sinkhole's walls like a rock-climber in zero-gravity, ultimately reaching the surface -- and stealing another breath -- after almost four minutes underwater.

The problem is, Guillaume did not reach the bottom and did not mean to imply that he did. (At least one report stated he did just that. Others suggested he and Gautier filmed this in one dive during actual competition.)

"I never pretended to reach the bottom. It's impossible and no one will ever do it," Guillaume said via email, emphasizing that the movie was an artistic creation -- "a fiction movie" -- that took four afternoons of diving "to get all the shots."

"We just wanted to show another approach of freediving," he explained. "For me freediving means to be in harmony with the elements, it means freedom, it means exploring the unknown. We tried to express this feeling in one video."

Gautier, a French freediving champion and model, said on her blog: "Our goal was to emphasize on aesthetic images and innovative camera moves."

Did they accomplish their goals? You be the judge.

-- Pete Thomas

Editor's note: This post also appear on the GrindTv outdoors blog