Ran out of air
- Thread starter EddyMHD
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The above is correct. It is also important for the safety diver to continue to watch/monitor the diver who has just ascended. Probably the most common emergency situation is that the diver reaches the surface and then blacks out. Best to give them a good 15-20 seconds of a watchful eye as they recover even when they seem fine and give the OK signal.
Some of the aspects are not intuitive. Freediving sounds simple, but the reality is that to pursue the activity in the safest manner possible, it is essential to take a freedive class.
A three-man spear fishing team is often ideal, one guy is watching and resting on the surface, one guy is underwater and when the diver reaches the surface, the third diver (spearfisherman) can begin his dive (assuming the ascending diver appears to be fine with no problems). This kind of 3-person rotation helps to ensure an adequate surface interval and rest period and can be very efficient because you have a second diver who can assist with a second shot etc. and you still have a safety on the surface.
The protocol for strict freediving (rather than spearfishing) is more involved and requires closely predicted dive times and a safety diver descending to a depth of 30 feet or more to accompany the ascending diver on the last portion of the ascent - which is the most dangerous.
Some of the aspects are not intuitive. Freediving sounds simple, but the reality is that to pursue the activity in the safest manner possible, it is essential to take a freedive class.
A three-man spear fishing team is often ideal, one guy is watching and resting on the surface, one guy is underwater and when the diver reaches the surface, the third diver (spearfisherman) can begin his dive (assuming the ascending diver appears to be fine with no problems). This kind of 3-person rotation helps to ensure an adequate surface interval and rest period and can be very efficient because you have a second diver who can assist with a second shot etc. and you still have a safety on the surface.
The protocol for strict freediving (rather than spearfishing) is more involved and requires closely predicted dive times and a safety diver descending to a depth of 30 feet or more to accompany the ascending diver on the last portion of the ascent - which is the most dangerous.
This is MOST critical key!!!
I must add that the free diving class must be taken with a certified/qualified instructor who actually holds CURRENT instructor's credentials from a known diver training agency with standards and course support material. We suffer in Libya from charlatans who start teaching scuba and free diving courses who are NOT certified instructors, not even regular divers, basing their knowledge on what they see on YouTube and then they become "instructors."
rjgiddings
Contributor
To the OP - ok, just slow it down, dude. This is some reckless behavior and you won't be around to post here - or anything else - if you keep that up.
My maximumn depth of 4 meters seems .... patheticFreediving to 30 meters.... dayum...
I'm not going to pile on the OP for one simple reason. It is common for people to push the limits when they are SO CLOSE to their goal. Everest is known for climbers dying after summitting and not get back down fast enough for changing weather. When I was a ski patroller, we sometimes had people going out of bounds after large storms and some of them got lost and S&R had to go looking for them. They got stuck in the snow and could have frozen to death if people didn't go look and find them. They just underestimate the risks as what they want is right in front of them. My only deep dive on air to 55 meters, I thumbed the dive as I was absolutely narced, one buddy was even worse as he wouldn't signal OK back, and I knew it was dangerous that we were incapacitated that we could not handle an emergency if one occurred. The other buddy on a rebreather signaled no and keep going as we were so close to the target (wreck) that we were looking for. I never dived with those guys again after that.
So yeah, I get the OP because it happens in many sports.
@EddyMHD
My only advice is to set clear turnaround points, which in freediving would be time at depth, yes? Never waver from that. No fish is worth SWB/drowning.
Great advice.
i took a con-ed cave class from Jill Heinerth who was adamant about limits. She said if you are one more kick from your goal, but you hit your thirds (or whatever you're using) gas limit, you turn around. Period.
Yes, scuba diving at 180 fsw is quite deep on air, a long way from the surface (regardless of type of gas). "Requires" proper gear, training, and experience/technique. And even with all this, there is still a significantly increased risk.
Personal physiology is really very interesting. Some even experienced divers suffer almost debilitating narcosis shallow.
Given the challenge of procuring He these days, I wonder what the deep wreck divers are doing now. Are they "training up" (those who can)? Diving rebreathers? Or are they foregoing these dives altogether?
rx7diver
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