Open to the Public • Free Event
Caspar Campground, 14441 Point Cabrillo Dr, Mendocino
May 16–17

Let’s bring the dive community together for intros to freediving and spearfishing!

Join NorCal Underwater Hunters for a weekend-long introduction to freediving and spearfishing, open to the public and free to attend.

What you need to bring

• You don’t need to bring anything to participate in the event. All the training will be demonstrated on the gear brought by NCHU and Odyssey. The majority of the training will NOT be hands-on.

• If you wish to dive or spear after the event (see below), you will need to bring all your own equipment.

Freediving Instruction

The weekend will be hosted by Brandon Burke, owner and operator of Odyssey Freediving. Brandon will lead the morning sessions, covering:

• Basic freediving gear

• Freediving techniques

• Safety practices and protocols

Spearfishing Instruction

Following the freediving portion, Jason O’Donnell, Brandon Burke, and Matt Mattison will present an introduction to spearfishing, including:

• Types of spearguns and their uses

• Gear selection for Northern California vs. Southern California vs. blue water

• Speargun maintenance and rigging

Camping fees are not included, so please make your campsite reservation directly with the Caspar Campground office.

This event is about bringing the diving community together, sharing knowledge, and helping everyone become safer, more confident, and more capable divers. Whether you’re brand new or highly experienced, there will be something valuable for you to learn.

Diving

After official event activities conclude, participants are welcome to connect and, if they choose, organize independent dives among themselves. Please note that any post-event diving is informal and not part of the NorCal Underwater Hunters event, and will not be supervised or led by event organizers. Participants assume full responsibility for their own safety and decisions during any such activities.

Participation in freediving and spearfishing activities involves inherent risks, including but not limited to physical exertion, breath-hold diving risks, drowning, encounters with marine life, environmental conditions (waves, currents, tides), collisions with underwater objects, speargun and equipment use, and other hazards associated with being in or near the ocean. By participating, you voluntarily assume all risks, whether known or unknown, associated with the event.