Freediver Rescue Question

[1_T_Submariner]

Ok this question is hypothetical just got me thinking.

I was watching a story about a free diver going to 165+' she had saftey divers what appeared to be at some interval on the rope she was following.

My question is if she should get into trouble how would they rescue her if something where to go wrong?

The air in her lungs is at 1 atm so would they give her compressed gas (not sure what the diver at 165' was breathing)?

If anyone is involved in this type of safety diving maybe just an explanation of the plan would be great.

 

[Shawley]

Wouldnt they have an extra tank with correct gas for her........ not sure just a guess

 

[shakespear]

Not to threadjack but I have seen what you are talking about. What was that awsome free diving movie from the 80s?

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Not to threadjack but I have seen what you are talking about. What was that awsome free diving movie from the 80s?

This was actually on "Ripelys Believe it or not".

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Wouldnt they have an extra tank with correct gas for her........ not sure just a guess

I guessed that also just wanted a little more detail.

 

[fisheater]

Wouldnt they have an extra tank with correct gas for her........ not sure just a guess

I could be wrong (but I doubt it), but she would have to breath the air at the same pressure that the safety diver was breathing, ambient water pressure at that depth. Otherwise, her lungs would be unable to expand underwater.

This shouldn't be problem physiologically. The problem with breathing compressed gasses at depth and holding your breath is when you're going up, not down.

Right?

 

[nereas]

The problem for the freediver is not "holding your breath," it is staying conscious during the ascent. The divers are there simply to effect a recovery. Remember Audrey Mestre?

Audrey Mestre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Hickdive]

AIUI the safety divers will provide emergency gas to the freediver and there is a decompression schedule worked out in advance for the freediver.

The safety divers all have their own decompression schedules and, in an emergency, will pass the freediver from safety diver to safety diver as they ascend so that everyone can keep to their own schedules.

Timing is all-important. The deepest safety diver will take some time to reach depth and has very little time at maximum depth. Therefore deploying the safety divers needs careful choreography and has to coincide with the freediver completing their pre-dive routine and starting their dive.

According to Pippin's own book on the matter. Audrey Mestre died as a result of the pony cylinder used to inflate her lift bag for the ascent being empty and no-one checking it properly prior to her dive.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

AIUI the safety divers will provide emergency gas to the freediver and there is a decompression schedule worked out in advance for the freediver.

The safety divers all have their own decompression schedules and, in an emergency, will pass the freediver from safety diver to safety diver as they ascend so that everyone can keep to their own schedules.

Timing is all-important. The deepest safety diver will take some time to reach depth and has very little time at maximum depth. Therefore deploying the safety divers needs careful choreography and has to coincide with the freediver completing their pre-dive routine and starting their dive.

According to Pippin's own book on the matter. Audrey Mestre died as a result of the pony cylinder used to inflate her lift bag for the ascent being empty and no-one checking it properly prior to her dive.

Thanks for the response and description of a plan.

 

[wreckchick]

I know almost nothing about this but I did ask an avid freediver the same question and the response I got was that the safety divers could do almost nothing because as the lungs collapse during a deep dive, fluid fills the lung space to prevent collapse and the addition of compressed gas at depth is physiologically unhelpful at best. I really don't have any details beyond that and I could be full of crap but that's how it was explained to me.

Rachel