WEEKLY DEEP - Episode 6 - Justin Lee Spearfishing, Kona Freediving, Surf-Fur Living

Last week we were in the middle of our Kona freediving camp, and we finished the week off with the usual suspects of some rock star freedivers hitting PBs (personal bests), breakthroughs that led to comfortable and easy deep dives (as they all should!) and of course some of the local marine mammals! There is nothing more rewarding for us than watching a group of divers truly level up their freediving capabilities, and we have found there is nothing more conducive to that than taking a week or more of time to consistently dive. Everything is fresh, sharp, and the results speak for themselves. Having a couple different instructors ensures getting different perspectives and feedback on the float, and it doesn’t hurt to have easy access to depth in warm, clear water.
Since it’s so darn nice here we decided to stay for a few more days, and were joined by our favorite tropical fish known as the Gaby. We got to meet and dive with some of the local legends out here, including none other than Justin Lee. Justin helps run a non-profit in Kona called Freedive Safe, where they focus on training local divers in spearfishing safety and technique. Watching Justin in the water confirmed his status as one of the greats, and there are even fewer who can share and communicate knowledge in such an approachable and humble manner. I was constantly blown away at how he could spot a perfectly camouflaged tako, or octopus, that was 50’ down and not even a blip on my radar. We also got to watch him successfully hunt Mu, which Martin Stepanek swears can see how blue a divers lips are turning and only comes within range at the very end of a long breath hold. Can confirm this observation is accurate!
freedivesafe.org/
On this dive and others we were able to explore the incredible underwater structure, interact with some sharks and an eagle ray, rid the reef of some invasive Roi, and test out some new game changing fins! Nathan discovered these CarbonTek fins…I’m not sure how he found them, he just knows people and things…and over the past few months we have been putting them through their paces with different configurations and uses. We got 4 different types of carbon blades, and they are far and away the best fins we have used…and yes, we have used Cetmas. Not only that, but the price point is THE best we have been able to find for this level of performance. We are putting in an order of these next week, and not only are we putting a 15% discount on this first order only and the blades cost between $200 and $400, depending on which type you get.
carbontek.es/
Shoot us a message or an email and we will get this order put in next week, while we’re still adjusting to the cold water that is waiting for us in San Diego which brings us to our DiveViz forecast.
The seas are pretty choppy right now but are slowly settling out. The winds on Saturday are making it look like the best day to get offshore, but a south wind picks up overnight that will make the Coronados a slog to get to on Sunday. Fortunately Point La Jolla will block these winds so our Sunday line diving won’t be too impacted. The wind lessens but continues on Monday, with Tuesday looking doable and Wednesday and Thursday the best dive days next week. Swell is fairly minimal, though we have a small S swell in the water which will hopefully bring us a little warmer water, but with it being so small we don’t think it’ll make a huge difference. Keep in mind we have a heavy red tide bloom throughout much of the near coastal area which gave us 2’ visibility down to 70’ last Sunday, so that will be the X factor we will be watching to see when it clears out. We will be posting any updates we hear, please tag us with your reports!
This weeks episode is brought to you by our favorite sponsor, Surffur. We have been staying at their guest house up the hill in Kona, enjoying the sauna and ice bath, and getting to know their pup Buddy and the neighboring horse Victoria. We were lucky enough to dive with Cindy and Zenon who are both incredible divers, and their passion for diving inspired one of our favorite products of theirs, the parka. Not only is this a changing towel, but it will keep you warm and toasty after a dive, and especially on long days on the boat. It’s water proof and wind resistant yet breathable, and many of our charter guests remark that it’s one of the best dive related products they’ve ever used. We stand by that and bring it on every trip with us, and recommend you do the same! We have their parkas and hoodies in the shop, and if you want to stay at their place shoot them an email, we’ve included it in the show notes. Until next time we hope to see you in the water when we get back home!
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[@Coastalcam_]

These just keep gettin better and better! Awesome edit 👏🏽

[@justgetwet_]

Thanks so much Cam!