Thursday, July 9, 2009

MORE WORLD RECORDS with Sumora gear!

June 25, 2009

New World Record - that's three within a year!

  • Tai Menz shoots all time Weakfish World Record with Sumora's Rabitech Apex 110cm Carbon. See full listing at iusarecords.com. Congratulations Tai!

Sumora announces impressive World Record catches with signature Carbon Series.

Christopher Saxl

Black Drum 84 pounds here

August 24, 2003


Rabitech Stealth Carbon 120cm

Cameron Kirkconnell

Mangrove Snapper, 14 pounds here

June 20, 2005


Rabitech Apex Carbon 130cm

Cameron Kirkconnell

Dogtooth Tuna, 200.6 pounds here

February 4, 2006


Kill shot - Rabitech Apex Carbon 140cm

Casey Loesch

Spadefish, Atlantic 11.8 pounds here

June 28, 2008


Rabitech Apex Carbon 110cm

Corey Uhrich

Lake Trout, 26 pounds (requested picture not to be published)

Rabitech Stealth 80cm


Tai Menz

Gray Weakfish, 11.77 pounds here

May 25, 2009

Rabitech Apex Carbon 110cm


Ritchie Zacker

11.2 pounds Spadefish World Record (previous) here

Jacksonville, Florida

Rabitech Apex Carbon 110cm

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Baja Spearfishing video

I wanted to share my buddy Austin Derry's site with you guys. This video is of Richard Balta (4x World Record Holder) selectively shooting a 70# grouper at 60 ft when much larger ones could have been taken.


Allow a few minutes for it to load :)

Erik, Sumora Dive Tools
www.sumora.com

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Spearfishing brings the best food to the table



Pictures do the talking today.


Friends & great divers Richard Balta & Austin Derry

My dad ate well for Father's day - fresh scallops Medium


Little lime juice before Tapatio thrown atop
White Seabass Sandwich, cooked and prepared 30 minutes after catch.
Fillets from a 3.5 pound Sargo!

Spierre Fins Initial Thoughts - by Prodigal Son

By Prodigal Son

Spierre fins-Initial thoughts

My combined birthday/Father's Day gift was a pair of Spierre fins (kelp camo-Medium stiffness) to replace my old 20 Fathoms Matrix fins (#2 stiffness). I picked them up today from Erik Sun of Sumora. As usual, his service was great. He outfitted them with Picasso Black Team footpockets. The Spierre fins are about the same length as the Matrix fins, but are noticeably wider at the base (near the footpocket) and a little heavier. They also are angled blades. I just tried out the new fins in a pool. They're noticeably more powerful than my Matrix fins, and seemed more comfortable. Slow, gentle kicks propelled me underwater with less effort than before. The additional comfort may have been in part due to the footpocket since I was never comfortable with the Sporasubs on my Matrix fins. I can't determine yet whether the deeper angle on the fins makes a difference in surface swimming, but in the pool, it seemed like there was less strain on my ankles. My guess is that the Medium stiffness is the same as the Matrix #3 blades. I'm going halibut hunting this week (if the water conditions allow) to put these fins through their paces.

http://www.sumora.com/image.php?ID=1492

Friday, June 19, 2009

Croatian Amberjack

This 40kg amberjack was taken by Luka in Croatia while doing aspetto at 31Meters for Dentex. The size of the head was like a 50kg but it was a "skinny amberjack." Doesn't look too skinny to us!

Congratulations on a great fish.

Tai Menz New World Record


Tai Menz in New Jersey recently shot a Weakfish World Record with his Rabitech Apex Carbon 110cm fitted with open muzzle. Congratulations Tai for an All-Time World Record

5.34 kg., 11.77 lbs.
Weakfish, Gray Cynoscion regalis

Saturday, June 13, 2009

New Spearfishing bags


We just produced Two of our very own Spearfishing bags - Speargun & Gear Bags

They hold a lot of gear!

Sumora Speargun Bag:
Holds up to 5 Railguns or 2-3 Wooden guns with pouches for spears, YKK Zipper for durability and Nylon outer.

Dive anywhere!


Sumora Dive Bag:
Holds a ton of gear - floats, fins, floatlines, mono, 200meters of dyneema.... you name it.
Two mesh outer pockets for wet storage, large interior breathable compartment, and two nylon for dry items.













Thursday, June 4, 2009

South Africa National Results

Friday, May 8, 2009

SA Nationals - Individual's Results

Below are the individual results for the South African National spearfishing competition held on the Natal South Coast this week (5-8 May). We are happy to see how many of the top 25 divers are diving with Spierre fins, 5 of them placing in the top 10. 

Well done to Brod and Gyula for taking 1st and 2nd place.




Day 1Day 2Total%
1Brod Whittaker36.8169.55106.36100%Spierre Fins
2Gyula Plaganyi43.4256.8100.2294.23%Spierre Fins
3James Lawson-Smith38.855.9594.7589.08%
4Adriaan Kriel47.7344.6592.3886.86%Spierre Fins
5Angelo Spada39488781.80%
6Craig Heslop41.0244.685.6280.50%
7Neil Barnard46.5835.682.1877.27%Spierre Fins
8Fred Bester35.6639.775.3670.85%Spierre Fins
9John Girzda38.4936.574.9970.51%
10Richard Bruno38.1728.8567.0263.01%
11Graham Carlisle39.7425.565.2461.34%
12Renier Coetzee32.8229.762.5258.78%
13Jeremy Williams23.2738.862.0758.36%
14Robert Reynolds25.7635.361.0657.41%
15Andrew Henwwood18.214058.2154.73%Spierre Fins
16Chris West26.8730.4557.3253.89%
17Garrick Morris22.6134.757.3153.88%
18Brent Borstlap41.7314.856.5353.15%Spierre Fins
19Tony Heugh30.9925.3556.3452.97%
20Garret Staats26.8226.1552.9749.80%Spierre Fins
21Carl Werner22.6627.750.3647.35%
22Rob Willes21.5826.147.6844.83%
23Sean O'Connor17.0929.446.4943.71%
24Ian Ewing22.7223.6546.3743.60%Spierre Fins
25Chris Swart21.1523.945.0542.36%Spierre Fins
26Rick de Vries21.9622.1544.1141.47%
27Bartho Kotze22.3415.5537.8935.62%
28Owen Huxtable9.732736.7334.53%
29Greg Bisset23.4511.8535.333.19%
30Simon Karsten26.656.6533.331.31%
31Eugene van Wyngaardt15.5713.428.9727.24%
32Paul Putter16.212.7528.9527.22%
33Hylton Newcombe10.1716.226.3724.79%
34Trevor Burger16.559.7826.3324.76%
35Hardus Bouwer5.7418.8524.5923.12%
36Darryl Hiscock11.918.7520.6619.42%
37Christo Vermeulen16.41420.4119.19%
38John Little12.95.618.517.39%
39Craig Burmeister4.9410.8515.7914.85%
40Dane Salmon2.7712.515.2714.36%
41Glen van Ooten2.4212.5514.9714.07%
42Dave Coetzee3.111.214.313.44%
43Terrance Bellingan2.151214.1513.30%
44Andrew Kallman3.118.912.0111.29%
45Shane Strong2.336.38.638.11%
46Stuart Jardine7.7807.787.31%
47S Aiken6.5506.556.16%
48Fred Snyman3.542.055.595.26%
49Grant Teubes2.412.65.014.71%
50John Kallman01.951.951.83%

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

TREK! 5/30-5/31 turnaround


The turn of a key, the touch of a button, and POOF! I was on my way to the rugged Sonoma coast in an instant. What did my eagerness stem from? What had overcome me? I had never felt it before.

It’s just that – in my ten years of diving, I’ve never heard the words “flat” and “calm” used in the same sentence to describe Northern California’s water. 

So began my one thousand mile trek for three shells. That’s right. Not even enough to count one for each finger on both hands, let alone one. 
THREE shells. That’s all we’re allowed to have in possession – or risk Jail time. 

Thoughts wandered through my head as the staccatos of the music blaring from the car stereo music deafened as I tried to tune out unwilling thoughts while I cruised up the I-5. It was just a few years ago that famous diver Randy Fry was horrifically decapitated diving for Abalone on the Norcal coast.

Three Abalones (underwater snails, really) that people gristle and gripe and groan, grind and steal and hurt and kill for. 

What was the big deal? 

I had to find out…

I left Saturday morning after meeting a friend in Hollywood for a quick breakfast. Then on my way to grocery shop, pack dinner and lunch for the next day, a stove, a tent, my dive gear, and nothing else in search of three big Abs…
arriving to the campsite to set up and hear the bellows of the sea lions as I forced myself to sleep unwilling to think of the sealions as bait...

>>>
The next morning in search of a remote location I was greeted rudely by the pessimistic ocean. Even after a 45 minute hike with over 50 pounds of gear strapped to my back, and despite the calmness that resembled more a lake than the Pacific, my high hopes were popped as the milky green water said its first hellos. Plankton bloom. Everywhere. L I knew it would be near impossible to see past the stretch of one’s arm, a far cry from the endless visibility I was expecting due to the nonexistent swell. 

Regardless, my brow was now sweaty after traversing rocks, boulders, and slippery seaweed that near caused my early departure from this Earth…Hips sore, shoulders tired, my drenched-laden body couldn’t wait to douse itself in the chilly forty-eight degree water…


Here’s the pictures…

>>>
It was a great time…and who knows,

Maybe I’ll gristle and gripe and groan and…hold on. Let me get me a taste of some fresh abalone. 

-E

Tip over the cows!

Beautiful sunset
Going through the mountains is calming...
Rugged Sonoma Coastline...
No humongous abalone but 8 1/4" - 8 7/8"...fun for 3 foot visibility!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Spierre Pure Carbons



Deep is free.  Spierre.

National Geographic Photographer Fiona Ayerst photographing Spierre Diver w/ Pure Carbons

A shot I took in PV



The most important thing to bear in mind with our carbon blades is that although they may appear the same as any of the other carbons, they are manufactured from only carbon cloth throughout.  The majority of carbon fins in the market are constructed using one layer of carbon on the outside of the composite construction whereas the inside consists of multiple layers of fiberglass cloth.  By using pure carbon throughout the construction you are getting the maximum effect that carbon fiber can offer – superior return to original position, optimal memory etc.  Adding fiberglass to the inside diminishes on this as fiberglass has quite different properties to carbon fiber.

The carbon composites are not the same as the pure carbon blades and this becomes evident when diving deep.  The majority of divers purchasing our pure carbons are switching from other (well-known brands) of carbon blades, preferring the performance of our blades way above the blades they have been using.

 

Apart from the performance, the cost to manufacture a pure carbon blade using only carbon cloth throughout is obviously therefore close to double the cost of a normal carbon blade but we have chosen this route for one simple reason – to produce the very best blade possible.

  

Just out of interest, taken from the South African Spearfishing ranking website, the following is a list of the current top ranked SA divers using our pure carbons:

 

Gyula Plaganyi – ranked no. 1 (Captain)

James Lawson-Smith – ranked 2

Allen Fraser – ranked 4

Mark Jackson – ranked 5

Adriaan Kriel – ranked 7

Gareth Staats – ranked 9

Gletwyn Rubidge – ranked 10

 

As well as Springboks:

 

Tommy Botha – 12X National Champion

Jaco Blignaut – 5x National Champion

Erik Lombard

Ryan Burmeister

Marc White

Edward Hayman

Trevor Hutton – 2x World Freediving Record Holder 

And many more like

 

Rob Allen (RA spearguns)