Most interesting insta-buddy

[navyhmc]

Diving off Cozumel on a day boat, I get insta-buddied with this guy about my age (20 or so) and we hit it off pretty well as far as skill level etc. The plan is for a drift dive at around 70' the DM prep has us going down the mooring line to about 60' and then drifting from there. No prob, right? Well, I get in the water first and wait for Neal to do a giant stride-the deck's about 5' above the water. Now I have seen all sorts of modifications to the standard giant stride, but this guy took first prize!

It started with a fairly loud "Yeee-haaaa!". Then, with both hands on mask and reg, he does a leaping backwards somersault, hitting the water with the upper third of the tank, keeps the rotation as he goes under unbtil he's head down and makes the fastest damned descent to 60' that I have ever seen and could never keep up with, even with my hardest kicking. Of course it didn't help that I was trying to breath and laugh almost unconrollably as I followed him.

I also was thinking "What have I gotten myself into?" Turns out once he got to the starting point, he was all business and in the top 10 of dive buddies as far as working with me, communicating and all. Our sac rates were similar because we both were the last divers out of the water-even though max depth was 70' he insisted on a 10' 3 min safety stop.

Why the grand entrance? He said he gets it out of his system first and then settles down. Also didn't have any problems clearing his ears on fast ascents-said it was easier for him.

[Zyxistal]

I wish someone there had a video camera.

[Foo2]

Sounds like a fun guy! Glad it turned out to be a good experience.

[Black-Gorrilla]

Originally Posted by Zyxistal

I wish someone there had a video camera.

+1

where was this guy from? name? maybe i get lucky and see this one day

[navyhmc]

Originally Posted by Black-Gorrilla

+1

where was this guy from? name? maybe i get lucky and see this one day

First name was Neal, never got his last name, He was from Charleston SC.

Yeah, it was obvious that he had done that type of entry many times before.

[KGNickl]

I thought the story was going keep going to a point where everyone would wonder how this person had not killed himself or another. Good start, boring end. Atleast it sounds like you had a good and safe time!

[mitchy]

Sounds like a great time. Maybe it's time to modify my entry.

[MLenyo]

that sounds awesome. i like being buddied up with smart divers.

[mwhities]

I'm glad to hear it worked out for the better. That'd be scary to see and I would've been iffy about diving with him. Although, if it was http://forum.scubatoys.com/members/hoobascooba.html, I KNOW I wouldn't have dove with him.

[Suther2136]

Let's just hope he clears the water out below him all of the time. Hate to get crashed into in 30ft of water.