Free DIving the corsair

I got the go from the Doc to dive with a monofin. I wasn't going to question. After 6 weeks of sitting around playing the cello and holding my breath in the pool I was ready to get some depth in. The list of interesting places to hit depth is pretty short:

Seatiger: Lots of rain the previous night so vis probably wont reach the wreck. plus its prime spot for the scuba guys and I wanted to be out of the water before the winds picked up to the projected 20mph.

YO257/San Pedro: the Atlantis submarine is also fun. With all the hot tourist in there one day im bound to spot my future wife in there . But not this weekend. While this would probably be the most protected from the winds, I just feel that I've played out the san pedro and wanted something more suitable for depth.


The Mahi: Usually has poor vis. And the west side is pretty difficult to get Paul to drive that far. Especially now that he has wrecks in his back yard.

THe corsair: little protection from the winds... but with outstanding visibility every time ive gone there. A line that goes to a great depth of 105'-109' and something pretty interesting to film. The corsair comes out to be our dive of choice for yesterdays dive.

As we head out to the wreck my boat lightly bounces over wind chopped ocean, The sun rising above its blue vibrance. As we near the corsairs location we needlessly pull out the gps. At a 100+ feet below, The wreck is plainly visible from the surface even through the rough waters.
Suited up and boat tied to the mooring I jump into the warm summer waters of the Pacific. With no mask I let water Flow across my face. Eyes closed I breath in and out of my snorkle.
Slowly i e x h a l e ........... and then I am still
Baah bump........ baah bump . Two heart beats
then I Inhale
Baah bump ,..... Baah bump....
Slowly I e x h a l e .
After 4 minutes of this I feel I have relaxed into my "zone" and am first to start warming up with pull downs. I am usually last to start and a little twinge of hope bounces into my mind. Maybe the extra start will allow me to push the wreck a little harder.
I grab the rope and submerge myself in into the water. Slowly like a chameleon hiding from birds I pull down the rope. Exaggerating Every pull until finally after a minute and fifteen seconds I finally reach 30' . Then I wait.
My contractions come hard as expected being the first dive. But I hold on knowing that the more I suffer now the more Adapted my body will become. Making the days dives easier. The feeling is similar to being Punch and kicked in the gut. Soon I cant stand it anymore and I slowly try to rise to the surface.
I continue with 2 more pull downs. My second is to 60' and my third to 90'. The contractions are not getting any easier and my dive times are sub-par with normal. I decide to do one more warm up and barely pass the 2 minute mark. Paul has finished his warm ups and has already put the camera in place. Camera in posistion I figure its time to put the monofin on and start diving.
This is the first real time I've put any pressure on my knee, Nor have I worked it for any period of time. As I try to wiggle my feet into the foot pockets my knee stings in protest. I jump back in and the worm underwater. Im instantly propelled forward but not without protest from the knee. I head up current from the wreck and breath up. Once I am above the wreck I spit out my snorkel and fin down.
hard thrust as I worm down.
beep beep : my f10 goes off.. 30ft
worm, worm, worm.
beep beep beep. : 60'
light worm, wo... aaggh screw it my knee hurts.
I take a turn. I glide over the wreck starting with its tail on to its one wing... I wonder if its broken off or just buried in the sand. Then on to its propeller. At 20' above the wreck the resident eel is unidentifiable .

On our 9-10 dive we are greeted by the SEAFOX. When I first saw them I saw them floating over the second mooring to the west of the wing. I was happy that they didnt try to hassle us. Paul starts to ascend and I swim over to his location. Swimming over I look up and see WTF... the SEAFOX floating directly above pauls location... I sign a warning saying that a boat is above him.. Seeing the boat Paul is easily able to avoid bumping his head. Divers exfill the boat navy seal style all around him... and book it towards my boat?
For some reason they decided they needed my line to pull themselves down with. So for 6 minutes I have twelve bubble-makers all around my inflatable. In the past I've had scuba guys tie my anchor line in knots around mooring buoys while at the seatiger.. Trying to untie a knot at 75' really sucks. So at this point im getting a little nervous watching all these tankers around my boat. But they go on their way down to sight see and sharing the dive with Island Divers goes off without a hitch. Knowing about the past encounters we and other spearos have had with them I was really pleased by their behavior this time around.
We on the other don't let the chance to "impress" the divers go to waist. As they descend and ascend we dive down and wave... do circles and do a little bit of rabbit ears when they're looking in the wrong direction.
Overall A fun dive, even tho my contractions never do get any easier.