Polish diver dies in world record attempt to 333m

[dcbill]

I would hate to see scuba diving go the route of alpine mountaineering in that regard. Not only does the commercialism suck but then people are just all in it for themselves and trying crazy dangerous things for a little money and a moment in the spotlight. Seeing what has happened on Everest with people stepping over the dead and dying to make it to the top—damn that’s sad.

 

[michael-fisch]

So I guess that we all should take the PADI Deep Diver course, and be satisfied with the depths achieved. (Sarcasim now off)
I cavedive and also do deep dives if there is something to look at, but I told myself years ago that no dive is worth dieing for.

Eastern Europeans, in the last 25 years, have done a disproportionate number of dives that they thought were worth dieing for.
I doubt that their parents, wives and children think the same.

Michael

 

[RainPilot]

I had the privilege of doing a few dives with and spending some time with Ahmed Gabr, privilege not because he holds the world record but because he is a genuinely wonderful human being. We spent quite a bit of time discussing his dive, specifically the planning and preparation. He spent a lot of time talking to Nuno about his dive, and changed some procedures to minimise some of the issues Nuno had.

Ahmed told me directly that he still hasn't recovered completely from the dive, it took Nuno years to get to a "normal" point after his. These were dives that went exactly to plan, mind. This was after over a year of working with dive physicians just on calibrating a deco algorithm to his physiology.

Ahmed also told me that in hindsight, he probably wouldn't have done it, knowing what he does now.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Eastern Europeans, in the last 25 years, have done a disproportionate number of dives that they thought were worth dieing for.
I doubt that their parents, wives and children think the same.
Michael

This man was attempting a world record. He should be compared to formula 1 racers, or mountaineers that climb the Everest, or others who try extreme and risky records. Honestly I would not say that Eastern Europeans are not well trained and risk more than the others. Some people go to the limit and then one step beyond, to prove they take the challenge. I respect them and I would not have the guts to do that, even if I had the skills

 

[Sbiriguda]

I would hate to see scuba diving go the route of alpine mountaineering in that regard. Not only does the commercialism suck but then people are just all in it for themselves and trying crazy dangerous things for a little money and a moment in the spotlight. Seeing what has happened on Everest with people stepping over the dead and dying to make it to the top—damn that’s sad.

I was born close to the Alps and I can tell you that the good old days of non commercialism were a long way worse. You wouldn’t believe how many people died in ‘low’ mountains in Europe, say the north face of Badile or Eiger. I was shocked when I saw the original equipment. They had hemp ropes, when they got wet with the snow their weight doubled. IMHO Sponsors made things better, the equipment is much safer, the trips are better planned, and there is much more assistance. The same applies to freediving I guess. In the 1960s a world record by Maiorca or Mayol was like 60 meters...

 

[Chidiver1]

I had the privilege of doing a few dives with and spending some time with Ahmed Gabr, privilege not because he holds the world record but because he is a genuinely wonderful human being. We spent quite a bit of time discussing his dive, specifically the planning and preparation. He spent a lot of time talking to Nuno about his dive, and changed some procedures to minimise some of the issues Nuno had.

Ahmed told me directly that he still hasn't recovered completely from the dive, it took Nuno years to get to a "normal" point after his. These were dives that went exactly to plan, mind. This was after over a year of working with dive physicians just on calibrating a deco algorithm to his physiology.

Ahmed also told me that in hindsight, he probably wouldn't have done it, knowing what he does now.

Wow, what symptoms or issues does he have as a result of doing it?

 

[RainPilot]

Wow, what symptoms or issues does he have as a result of doing it?

It's not my place to comment on specific issues that were told to me. As far as publicly available info goes, I know that Nuno had a lot of back issues afterwards, which is fairly general knowledge. Nuno had "The Monster" on his back the whole dive, Ahmed decided to go to side mounted deco as soon as possible, getting weight off his back. He also did, in his words, "underwater yoga" during deco to assist blood flow. The theory was that the continuous pressure on the back may lead to gas perfusion issues, basically leading to localised DCS if I understood correctly. Ahmed said he definitely had an easier time of it post dive wrt back issues than Nuno did.

 

[scubaozy]

I would not say that Eastern Europeans are not well trained and risk more than the others.

I very much agree with your comment, I think such generalisations are not appropriate.

 

[Hiszpan]

Some newest "info" from FB chatter:

- weather was bad that day at lake Garda
- there were waves and strong currents
- the whole team was not in agreement that day and was advising Sebastian not to attempt that day, but he had none of it
- Frederic Swierczynski was supposed to be the missing diver supporting at 200m, he failed to show up
- stage bottles along the guide line were not properly staged to the point that Sebastian got entangled twice in his own equipment lines

 

[chillyinCanada]

What happened to Fredric?