On Thu, 25 Apr 2002 20:04:25 +1000, David Strike <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Here's the wurds wot i mentioned to John Nitrox.

I am not John Nitrox, but I can play one on TV!

< ginormous snip wif borrowed Kiwi shears >

>There's probably a lot of other things
>that should have been mentioned - feel free! :-)))
>
>Strike

I know an elderly, rotund, but nevertheless very handsome gentleman,
whom the locals in Cozumel seem to call Meejagee, who has done a
few of the shore dives Jeff introduced me to, during the Coz99NEDfest,
and the elderly, rotund gentleman encountered entry problems not
covered in your encyclopedic treatese on the subject.

As you may or may not recall, the best shore dives in Coz do not have
any of the entry problems covered in your treatese, but they DO have
a common problem of razor-sharp barnacles on top of lava rocks
separating the never-ending 30 feet (perhaps 10 meters would be a
better choice of term to use here) between the feet-killing entry point
(for a non-bootie foot-fin diver) and waist-deep territory where, thanks
to Achimedes (unquestionably a man of Principle), the displacement
of volume from half of a rotund body mercifully takes the torture off
those bare feet, if they are not bleeding profusely enough to call the
dive.

This rotund, handsome, Asian gentleman, who is a disbeliver of
reliance on any buddy, did yield to his feet to come up with an
ingenious solution of the use of his buddy (wife) who does wear
booties with her fins (not to mention whose body weight is a few
tons less than his), after a few torture treatments on his feet.   He
would bring and wear his booties for the SOLE <G> purpose of
negotiating the 10-meter (30 feet) razor-mind-field walk (until
Achimedes comes to the rescue), then takes his booties off and put
on the free-diving long foot-fins, so that his BUDDY can take the
booties back to shore and put them securely in the parked car  --
which is the only means of transportation to get one to such shore
dives.  Of course the entire process is reversed on exit.  Now THAT's
one good use of a buddy you seemed to have overlooked also, in
your shore-diving treatese.


Now the question:   Is there a better way of doing the entry and exit
on such shore dives?


I know the audience is already impatient with baited breath, chanting,
"Strike, Strike, Strike ..." as in "Springer, Springer, Springer ..." while
a few shouted, "Why doesm't Meejagee buy a pair of fins he can wear
with booties, that IDIOT?"

Ah, but that begs the question, and is almost like, "Why doesn't
Meejagee give up shore-diving in Cozumel?"  because that gentleman
does his shore dives about once every 200, and has already discarded
his bootie-fins long ago, while those shore dives do have the attraction
of economy and calm, while still have plenty of reef fishes, green eels,
humongous as well as juvenile drumfish, and even an occasional
spotted eagle ray at those sites.

Meeester Strike,  what is your advise to that elderly rotund gentleman
besides a crash-diet to lose a ton or two?

DPTRFT,

John Nitrox on TV