From sports journalist Fontova comes this look at a group of New Orleans scuba-diving clubs whose members like to get together once a year, climb to the top of offshore oil platforms, and plunge deep into the water, where they try to spear enormous fish that are often larger than they are. They call themselves the Helldivers. The author, a Helldiver himself, captures the excitement and derring-do of this preposterous-sounding sport, but he doesn't try to whitewash the danger involved. A Helldiver quite literally takes his
life in his hands, trying to kill "monster fish" with only a spear gun, diving way past a safe depth (sometimes almost 100 feet deeper than recommended for scuba gear), and betting he can bag a fish before he runs out of air. The author's descriptions of the dark undersea world are vivid and more than a little scary; he captures the adrenaline rush the Helldivers experience, without in any way glamorizing what most would consider an absurdly reckless form of recreation. For fans of high-adventure stories, this is a must-read.
Named Works: The Helldivers' Rodeo: A Deadly, Extreme, Scuba-Diving, Spear Fishing Adventure amid the Offshore Oil-Platforms in the Murky Waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Book) Book reviews
Source Citation
Pitt, David. "The Helldivers' Rodeo: A Deadly, Extreme, Scuba-Diving, Spear Fishing Adventure amid the Offshore Oil-Platforms in the Murky Waters of the Gulf of Mexico." Booklist 1 Apr. 2001: 1442. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Jan. 2010.
Gale Document Number:A74091225
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