Photos of Anchors Setting

[poiu]

I scared myself stupid doing a free-dive. I was in the water for over an hour scraping the hull with just the snorkel and dropped my sucker handle. No problem, I'll dive down and get it. About 10m deep, so not too hard. The trouble is I got cramp in one of my legs just as I got to the bottom. I could hardly swim up as one leg doesn't swim at all efficiently without the other to work against. I have very little natural buoyancy and I used my hands to claw my way to the surface - I got there pretty frightened. Much deeper say at 15m and I think I would have been in real trouble. I found my limit. Take care.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

So... When I'm at the bottom, the panic first hits me when I look up at the surface. Is this when I should swallow twice then start looking around?

If that panic hits you when you look at the surface, that is your reptilian brain over-riding your rational brain. Otherwise, you wouldn't feel that way with that visual input. Over-riding this is a trained response that will get better as you recognize it and work out ways to take control of it.

The swallowing is a natural relaxation technique that somehow works on your brain. Everyone clears their ears differently - I hold my nose shut and apply a gentle pressure continually while I go down. Having my hand on my nose is a learned centering technique for me that lets my mind go inward and relax.

Relaxing when down is very similar to scuba - if you take much longer than others to blow through a tank, then just apply the same relaxation techniques to free diving.

Nothing is risk free and there are always examples of people coming to grief when extending their boundaries. If you plan to work regularly below 12 meters, then you should be swimming with a buddy. If you just need to nab some sunglasses on the bottom, worrying about others who have died at those depths is over-thinking things.

Be objectively aware of how your body is responding to your dives (your body, not your mind), and get out if something doesn't seem right (abnormal heartbeat, narrowed vision, inability to focus or relax, etc).

Mark

[colemj]

Originally Posted by poiu

I scared myself stupid doing a free-dive.

Well, there's your problem - I start out that way, so there is nothing to scare into…

Mark

[poiu]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

It is lovely clear water. So many colours get through too.

What happened to all the fish? There must be some around as the Greeks seem to eat plenty but I can't see any in your pictures - did the mermaid eat them all?

[mikereed100]

Might be a good time to mention that you don't want to hyperventilate before you dive. One or two deep breaths and down you go, just like a sea lion. Hyperventillating does help to blow off CO2 and fool your brain into thinking you don't need O2, but it is a good setup for "shallow water blackout".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_water_blackout

[thinwater]

While the Chesapeake Bay does not have clear water, I took these pictures of dingy anchors (~ 2.2 pounds) in the shallows. The first held 10X more than the second over many tests (load cell off my boat in deeper water), and the last held only 2X it's weight! All three of these were faultless through veers. I also tested a Guardian, and though I like Fortress as a kedge and second anchor, it just doesn't figure in this class, IMHO.

Interestingly, load cell numbers scaled-up quite well to full size in sand and mud (exponent = 1); hard bottoms are a separate subject. Why small anchors? Because I could generate enough force to drag them both individually and in tandem sets (very hard with a big Mantus + Fortress, for example).

Mantus Dingy. Under load it goes deep.


Claw. Sometimes it sets right-side-up, but not often. On the other hand, it always does something, even on short scope.


Folding Grapnel. As good as it gets, without something to catch on. Even then, the Mantus and Claw catch better. Ick.

[wsmurdoch]

[QUOTE=thinwater;1879133]
Mantus Dingy. Under load it goes deep.


We have done about the same thing with dinghy anchors. The Mantus dinghy anchor was the best of the lot we tested, if, and only if, it was not upside down. Upside down, it could not right itself, and it could not dig into the bottom at all. That said, every time we dropped it into deeper water it landed right side up.

Look at Richard Winkel's blog

Georgetown April 2015 – Picture Post 1 | Exceeding the Drift

The fifth through ninth pictures on that page show our testing. We tried a Cooper, Danforth, Bruce, grapnel, Mantus, and a 25 lb lead lump.

As Richard said...

Straight holding power winner Mantus, Danforth, Bruce tied at greater than 2.00 kid power.

Right side up setting speed: 1st – Mantus, 2nd Danforth Bruce tied.

Upside down setting speed: Bruce and Danforth tied.

[noelex 77]

Thanks everyone for all the diving tips. This is a skill that is worth learning, and not just for taking anchor photos . If you can get comfortable underwater, it is much easier to deal with the inevitable rope around the prop or stuck anchor.

The best free divers have honed their skills spear fishing. There are some slight differences in technique when taking anchor photos. One difference is in buoyancy control. When spearfishing, it is important to descend with a minimum of fuss to avoid scaring the fish. Anchors don't get scared and move (hopefully ).

Even a little bit of sediment effects the photo, so it is important not to stir up the sand around the anchor. For this reason I think it is better to have slightly less weight than when spearfishing. This is also a bit safer.

If you are still positively buoyant on the bottom, you will be kicking with fins pointing up to the surface. This keeps the force away from stirring up the sand. If you are negatively buoyant you will be kicking with the fins towards the bottom, particularly when rising back to the surface. As it usually takes a few dives to get good photos, it is especially helpful to make as little disturbance as possible.

I would love to see more photos. There are some cheap underwater cameras now readily available. Anchor photography will teach you useful skills. As Ken's experience in post #1571 shows, with a little practice you will see a rapid improvement in your free diving skills. It is great to know what your and your neighbours' anchors are doing. By getting right down to the bottom you get a significantly better impression of how the anchor is performing. It is hard to detect heaping up and if the underside of the fluke is still exposed, even from only a couple of metres above the anchor.

My only warning is that the "hobby" will cost you money. You won't be content with a second rate anchor once you start watching how anchors perform.

Images don't have to be great to show roughly what the anchor doing, so please post any photos you manage to take.

[Sos]

Originally Posted by colemj

I bet at the end of a minute, if you saw a beautiful naked woman swim by making becoming gestures at you (or a big fat grouper - they work the same), you would spend another 30 seconds staring at her and forgetting all about your near panic of running out of air.

Mark

Never seen a grouper but boy they must be something else!!

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by poiu

What happened to all the fish? There must be some around as the Greeks seem to eat plenty but I can't see any in your pictures - did the mermaid eat them all?

.
In Australia I love looking at anchors, but often get distracted by fish and coral and turtles. In the Med there is not much wildlife so I can concentrate on anchors.

I do sometimes wait for some small fish to swim into the frame as I think it adds interest and without them the water here is so clear it looks like the the photos have been taken on the beach .

I did wait for some fish when taking the "shark" photo, but in the end a smudge in the blue background slightly spoiled this image so I went for the earlier photo without fish. Here is the "shark" + "fish" frame to show there is the very occasional small fish in the Med.



BTW one the biggest tips for underwater photos is to try and keep yourself and the camera very still when taking the photo. It is not easy, especially as you cannot use your hands because they are holding the camera. Blur is a constant problem. I was pleased to see the two "shark"photos were taken from virtually the same spot and camera angle indicating I was keeping everything steady.

This is the earlier photo:

[colemj]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

My only warning is that the "hobby" will cost you money. You won't be content with a second rate anchor once you start watching how anchors perform.

Oh, it goes beyond that. You also will not be content with your second rate camera or your second rate dive gear.

Mark

[noelex 77]

The wind rotatated about 130°.

In the initial set the Mantus was a bit precariously balanced between the sand and the weed substrates. The weed was elevated well above sand, but there is dip or gutter between these two substrates. At only 3:1 and on an overall downslope these were very difficult conditions for the anchor to "shuffle".

Nevertheless, the Mantus has managed to rotate without otherwise changing position. It has developed a high list and the fluke has not remained buried anywhere near as well as it would normally manage, particularly when viewed from down on the seabed. Given the circumstances, I think it did a good job refusing to break out despite some severe provocation.

The drop was a while back, so as a reminder this is how it looked:



These next two photos are after the wind change:

[Kenomac]

..We dropped our 45kg Ultra in a familiar anchorage during 25-30 knots of wind into bottom sod in 4 meters depth. Let out 40 meters of chain and went to bed at 2am. The wind did most of the set work along with 2000rpm from the engine.

The next morning the wind kicked up to a steady 35 knots with 40 knots gusts for six hours. The 30 meter Swan "White lies" next to us ended up on the rocks across the small bay off Portisco, Sardinia. They were using a CQR, and were successfully pulled off the rocks by two small tugs after the wind let up. Then they anchored in the same place, and when the wind kicked up late in the afternoon, the first 25 knot gust sent them back towards the rocks at light speed. The Swan ended up in the marina.

Ours held fine. That's an old drag mark behind our anchor, note the new growth in the deep "V." I don't deny being nervous having dropped the anchor blind in the middle of night when the 40 knot wind began the next morning.... so I let out a total of 70 meters of chain. That's all that can be seen of the Ultra, it's buried along with the first few feet of chain.

[noelex 77]

Ken, it looks like your Ultra just paid for itself .

Glad to see you have got an underwater camera working again.

[kas_1611]

You pay hundreds of thousands for a Swan and fit it with a CQR, that's like putting remoulds on a Ferrari.