Free Diving same day as Scuba?!

[DandyDon]

Yeah, I know better, but I don't remember where and when I learned. Is the prohibition not taught in OW...?

I recently hit the Key Largo wrecks with Mulit-card Newbie, several training cards but little ocean experience, and we had fun - learning from challenges and all. On day 2, after 2 dives on the Duane, I dropped him off at a Dolphin facility to snorkel, while I took a nap.

3 hours later over a late lunch, the conversation turned to how they'd told him to freedive to get the Dolphins to play, and he'd been down to 15 feet several times! I called DAN right away!! They told me to make sure he was hydrated and watch him for problems.

His only symptom was a headache, which dissappered with hydration, so he was fine in the long run, but that was close - I think. I know that he had to be loaded with Nitrogen even with Nitrox dives on the Duane, and that was way too soon to be shaking his blood gases up.

So, are instructors not covering this...?

If so, what needs to be done...?

thanks, don

 

[H2Andy]

mine didn't.

one thing that could be done is a revamp of how DCS and DCI
are taught at the OW level. yes, it's boring and kind of scary,
but i had NO CLUE about these issues for the first
10 or 15 dives of my life, until i happened to read an article
about it and decided to further educate myself.

i just got lucky, like most of us.

 

[crpntr133]

I don't recall anything either and I just finished my OW training a few months ago. Guess I should take a looksee.

 

[christopher1260]

I actually just got back from a spring break trip with my instructor. He not only encouraged, but participated in snorkeling and spearfishing after 2 morning dives. The spearfishing took us to at least 20 feet, but he didn't seem to be concerned. I trust him, as he has over 2000 dives. I wasn't even aware that there was a snorkeling limitation after a couple of dives.

 

[dvoodoo83]

theres a snorkeling limit i just got my OW (when i say just i mean on last friday) and they never said anything about it will some one explan please

 

[Gary D.]

Yeah, I know better, but I don't remember where and when I learned. Is the prohibition not taught in OW...?

I recently hit the Key Largo wrecks with Mulit-card Newbie, several training cards but little ocean experience, and we had fun - learning from challenges and all. On day 2, after 2 dives on the Duane, I dropped him off at a Dolphin facility to snorkel, while I took a nap.

3 hours later over a late lunch, the conversation turned to how they'd told him to freedive to get the Dolphins to play, and he'd been down to 15 feet several times! I called DAN right away!! They told me to make sure he was hydrated and watch him for problems.

His only symptom was a headache, which dissappered with hydration, so he was fine in the long run, but that was close - I think. I know that he had to be loaded with Nitrogen even with Nitrox dives on the Duane, and that was way too soon to be shaking his blood gases up.

So, are instructors not covering this...?

If so, what needs to be done...?

thanks, don

Did I miss something?

Why did you call DAN over a few 15' free dives conversation over lunch? Did he have a headache already?

After a couple of deeper dives on a second day of diving and then some free diving could very easily bring on dehydration.

One key to this is what was he drinking at other meals and on the boat? Coffee, Soda Pop, Tea, alochol, ect.. Anything other than good old H2O wouldn't be that good and could help lead to the dehydration problems.

When in doubt make the call. Better safe than sorry.

Gary D.

 

[mikelegurra]

this topic was covered in my OW, as a big no-no.

i was told severall times not to do it and the topic was even debated when we were on the boat because one of the divemasters on board was telling a story about an instructor who had died a month or so before, with shallow water blackout, diving alone.

 

[Scuba Cowboy]

The real concern would be repeated freedives with fast ascents after already built up a significant nitrogen load. I know of at least one person who developed a pretty good case of Decompression sickness due to freediving after scuba dives. Some bubbling of nitrogen, although not enough to be symptomatic, can be there after dives. Repeated free dives with associated rapid ascents will force these bubbles back into solution and out again causing them to grow. Many have been known to get away with it, but why take a chance?

 

[Tao of the Dive]

My instructor stressed in every class session not to do it. In fact, he seemed to have a list of things that he would go back over in each class session, so as to drill it into our heads.

 

[pipedope]

Read this;
http://www.wkpp.org/articles/Decompression/why_we_do_not_bounce_dive_after_diving.htm

All of the people I have known who had a bad DCI hit had done a bounce dive or free dive after a deep dive.