It's nearly spring, and that means it's free diving season on the west-central coast of Florida. You can see the bottom in 20 to 50 feet, and the surface temperature in some areas has hit 70. It's 5 degrees colder on the bottom in most areas.
Thursday on the St. Pete Artificial Reef there were 8- to 9-pound sheepshead all over the barge, tanks and culvert piles, and they were moaning like foghorns. The horizontal visibility was 20 feet, which makes for good spearfishing, and there were nice mangrove snapper. The grouper were small, except for one 11-pound gag that wasn't fast enough to escape.
There is nothing more frightening to a free diver than hearing a fast-moving propeller above. I was reminded Thursday, when a boat powered up quickly and ran right above me, that even experienced boaters have little awareness of free divers. The law in open water requires boaters to stay 100 away from all boats flying a red and white, diagonally striped dive flag.
Boaters will see no bubbles to show a free diver's location, and good divers are capable of swimming 75 feet or more laterally during a 1- to 2-minute dive. Free divers can't determine the direction from which the boat is approaching, and unlike scuba divers they have only seconds to ascend. There will be many free divers practicing for the State Spearfishing Championship on April 17th in Bayport. Please give them a wide berth.
- Chad Carney teaches free diving, scuba & spearfishing and runs charters out of St. Petersburg. Call 727 423-7775 or e-mail info@mobilescuba.com
