Doug Peterson Author of Spearfishing, How to Get Started is a Dentist who runs his own practice in New Jersey (Little Silver Dental Care). He began his journey into spearfishing in 1998. In exchange for some dental work Doug earned a SCUBA certification and some equipment, which then opened the door for him into freediving and spearfishing. Since starting spearfishing he has not put on a tank since, although he still exchanges fillings for good dive gear!
Doug has helped many friends get started spearfishing and after someone mentioned to him that he should write a book about it, he took up the challenge , You can view his book on Amazon here
Trevor Ketchion is our first featured local legend. He qualifies in the legend capacity for a few reasons.
Number 1: Trevor has shared his knowledge and experience with many up and coming guys and girls, that has helped them become more effective and safer spearo’s.
Number 2: He has shot some awesome fish and continues to do so regularly while maintaining humility and the ability to have a laugh at himself.
Number 3: When the weather gets wild and Turbo is crying and cuddling himself at home just thinking about going out, Trevor is already 25km offshore laughing and having a good time
Trevor Ketchion Local Brisbane Spearo
Interview Times Quick-Guide – Fast Navigation for Reference
4:00 Speargun aim technique and advice
6:00 Local Brisbane and southern Queensland spearfishing conditions
8:00 Guide to doing reconnaissance for new ground
14:00 The Haines Hunter spearfishing boat
15:00 Veterans Vault – Heading out on your first trips on other spearos boats. Do’s and Donts
17:00 Seasickness Advice
23:00 Great White sharks and spearfishing
26:00 Fast Five Facts for Noobs
29:00 Crucial Kit for Noobs
34:00 Turbo’s Polespear Q&A
He also shares his thoughts on everything from spearguns to ethics – Enjoy!
Featured Local Legend Trevor Ketchion
Here are some links that are mentioned in the show.
This article started with Shrek suggesting we write a couple of articles about topics we know about and are qualified to write on. “That seems logical,” I say to myself. I start thinking about hunting techniques for pelagics, gun choices, basically all the cool stuff in the world of spearfishing. He then say’s “why don’t you write about sea sickness?” Thanks mate… so anyway here are my tips to prevent seasickness.
As you might have already guessed, I’m not a doctor, but I am an expert at throwing my stomach contents over the side of a boat in as little as 10 knots. Many a time I’ve sat on the back of a boat with teary eyes, a snot bubble pulsing from a nostril and vomit blending in seamlessly with my Italian designed camo wetsuit all the time cursing my good mate J-lo who I can still hear saying “you don’t need sea sick pills mate it’s going to be flat”.
One of the problems with getting sea sick is that generally you’re not going to get too much sympathy from blokes you consider mates (good mates like Champ). When you get sick on a boat you pretty much just have to ride it out looking like a scene from the exorcist while all your mates have a great day diving. And if they don’t have a great day diving they have a great day watching you throw a semi digested service station pie all over yourself. Sometimes the skipper has something similar to a conscience, takes pity on you and he calls it a day. If this happens it’s not a good thing! I repeat It’s NOT A GOOD THING!
Overcoming Seasickness
You’ve just caused the crew to cut short the most important day of the week.
Allow me to elaborate, as I’ve been this guy a few times. It’s midweek and pretty much every spearo is already thinking about shooting fish on the weekend. They’ll then go on to spend painful hours with their wives and girlfriends looking at house improvement products they don’t care about, all the while laying the foundations for the argument that is “why they should go spearing for the fourth weekend in a row”. Friday finally comes around and they’ve resisted the temptation of drowning beers all night so they can drag themselves out of warm beds at ungentlemanly hours. They chip in for fuel and head on out with hopeful anticipation and HEY PRESTO! It’s time to go home because you’ can’t hold your sausage and egg McMuffin down in a slight breeze.
So here’s what I do to avoid becoming a chunder cannon.
Here are my 10 Tips to Prevent Seasickness
No.1. Keep a really good eye on the weather forecast.
Get as much information on the conditions as you can, so you can decide whether you should go or not. I often turn down really rough days because I know I’m not going to enjoy myself.
No.2 Take your seasick pills early.
They work better if you take them a couple of hours earlier. They don’t work at all if you can’t keep them down.
No.3 Gear Up Early
Get your suit on and gear up before you get on the boat or out of the harbor. Nothing gets you sicker faster than being head down in your dive bag while the boat is rocking.
No.4 Stay At The Stern
To prevent seasickness, stay at the stern of the boat, and stay low and central. Not only will your spine thank you but it’s also the least rough part of the boat.
No.5 Get In The Water ASAP
Get in the water as quick as you can, leave boat duties to those made of tougher stuff. The longer you spend on the rocking horse the more likely you’ll get sick.
No.6 Focus on the Horizon
Focus on the horizon or land. This doesn’t seem to work for me but it’s something everyone suggests so I chucked it in (no pun intended).
No.7 Stay positive
Try not to focus on getting sick. A study was conducted on two Israeli Navy crews on the same day. One crew was told that the conditions were horrible and they would all likely become seasick. The other crew was told the opposite and guess what? Both crews experienced the conditions they were told to expect despite being out in exactly the same style vessels on exactly the same day.
No.8 Lookout for Early Warning Signs
Learn the early signs of getting sick. I start to burp and get gassy. This is the signal for me to go into damage control.
No. 9 No Night Before Brews
Refrain from getting on the firewater the night before.
No.10 Tough it out.
The last two times I’ve been out I’ve been sick. So I just had a spew and kept on diving. I got straight in first at every spot and kept going. I shot a few fish and lasted out the whole day. I plan on doing this more often in the hope of getting over it.
Here are some follow up tips to prevent seasickness from the Noob Spearo Community
*Seek professional Medical advice first!
“Kwells, problem solved.” – Andrew Harvey
“I used to have a Dive shop and ran trips every weekend. My observations of seasickness sufferers and the techniques that helped are;
1. Legendary Paihia Bombs that used to be available (before the “secret ingredient” was removed)…
2. Bundaberg Ginger Beer settles the stomach.
3. Staring at the horizon, fresh air, “thinking flat thoughts” and staying out of enclosed spaces on the boat.
4. Avoid cigarette smokers at all costs!!!” –Paul Berry
“Avomine over the counter. Pretty cheap too. Every chemist will have it. Makes you drowsy a bit and increases the effects of alcohol significantly so having a beer while filleting at the end of the day will send you gah gah. Take one when you wake up morning of the dive. Or if it’s really going to be rough one the night before and one the morning of. You’ll be a bit sleepy but I doubt you’ll throw up. You get used to them.” – Daniel Mann
Dr Doug Peterson has invented a method to overcome his own seasickness issues titled the P-MAV Seasickness Prevention Manual, you can find a copy here on Amazon
For more information and/or laughs you can listen in to our interview with Simon Trippe where we talk more about seasickness and get his tips.
Thanks for reading my tips on how to prevent seasickness and if you have some tips of your own please leave them in the comments below!
The crew at the Radio Operators and First Aid Course. Chandler November 2014
Last Saturday was pretty full on, Turbo and myself interviewed a popular North American Spearo for our Podcast. The interview was at 4:30AM which was super early but we ended up having a great time. We followed that up with a big breakfast and contemplated the reality of sitting in the First Aid and Radio Operators Course classroom all day. We were both apprehensive about the commitment we had made to do the first aid and radio operators course as free Saturdays are few and far between. We were also both wondering if it was going to be like the 25 other first aid courses we all seem to have to do these days. We were in for a shock.
AUFQ Shoutout
The Australian Underwater Federation Queensland (AUFQ) had organised this highly subsidised First Aid and Radio Operators Course care of Judy Breeze and Mark Grandfils from the Tweed Spearfishing Club (thanks for that Mark). We turned up at the Chandler Complex on time (a first for turbo who has a nickname not indicative of much apart from his meager breathhold) and were met by quite a diverse group. We had an underwater hockey player, 2 SCUBA instructors, 2 freedivers, and 5 spearo’s plus an instructor who has spent a lot of time in the water and above it. Anthony (Tony) Little from Workplace First Aid Training on the Gold Coast is an ex ambo, avid mariner, keen scuba diver and he also enjoys a bit of spearfishing. He was our instructor for both radio and first aid and brings a wealth of knowledge to both. Despite bureaucratic requirements he is able to keep the training hands on and extremely pragmatic.
Anthony Little demonstrating technique before Turbo takes over. Mark Grandfils watches on.
Here is a quick summary of the First Aid and Radio operator course
First Aid Course – 3 simple points
1. When you have an unconscious person and they are not breathing, immediately begin chest compressions. Hopefully you have had training but if not do it anyway. Dont worry about checking for pulse – just get into it ASAP
2. Compressions are more important than the breaths that you might give an unconscious person. If you are doing the compressions right, their lungs will be taking in more oxygenated air anyway. Preferably maintain a 30 compressions – 2 breaths but if you cant do that keep the compressions going. Chest compression are top priority.
Turbo takes over with only 3 or 4 red flashes from the dummy.
3. You get buggered fast, keeping someone alive is hard work! A team effort is best, although in an emergency you dont get to choose.
Turbo giving that dummy his best
Radio Operator Course 3 Simple Takeaways
1. Channel 16 is the emergency channel with 67 the supplementary – do not talk fishing on these channels.
2. Radio Calls, Key terms
Mayday – Means Emergency, repeats 3 times at beginning of broadcast. Standby to record details
Pan Pan – Signifies that there is an urgency. No one is in immediate danger
Seelonce – French term that we use for silence.
Sécurité— Maritime safety call. Repeated three times. Has priority over routine calls.
3. Radio’s come in at various price points for a reason. Digital Selective Calling (DSC) is a great feature when used in combination with Automatic ID System (AIS) and your Global Positioning System (GPS). DSC allows boats to communicate to other boats across 2-way radios without anyone able to listen in. You need to ensure that you know your mates AIS and he knows yours then you can communicate privately on channel 70, which is a dedicated digital only channel. Also if your radio(with DSC) is hooked into your GPS people can see where your boat is at anytime, anywhere in the world. You can view all boats that are equipped here or here at vesselfinder.com
(I think I got all that right)
I want to add some emphasis to these final points – bear with me;
Two essential points for spearo’s boats, because shit happens
[Tweet “1. First Aid Kit needs to be stocked, accessible and everyone on board needs to know how to get to it.”]
[Tweet “2. Radio’s are there for a reason, use them especially to sign in and out of Coastguard or Marine Rescue centres.”]
If you have some stories of your own or points to add please leave some comments.
To find out about Tony’s Course’s, his mobile phone number is 0418737831 or you can email him at wftqld@bogpond.com. Anthony Little is located in Helensvale and travels up and down the coast teaching first aid and radio courses – highly recommend!
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