RE: high incidence of SWB deaths in Hawaii among freedivers

[patymeboy]

if you ask me i believe that free divers aught to carry spair air.
This way if they start to get tunnel vision they can resort to it in a trained manner certainly. I am well aquainted with arms that feel like lead at the end of ones breath.

 

[Azza]

if you ask me i believe that free divers aught to carry spair air.
This way if they start to get tunnel vision they can resort to it in a trained manner certainly. I am well aquainted with arms that feel like lead at the end of ones breath.

Sounds like a good idea in theory but I think we would see an increase in A.G.E. cases.
The biggie with SWB is that it usually hits at around 6-3 metres and gives little to no warning (Just going on hearsay here-never swb personally before). One can feel fine at depth but thats because the PPo2 is higher....as one comes back up it drops to dangerously low levels that cause the brain to black out from lack of o2.
I would think one wouldn't have a chance to deploy spare air even if one felt symptomatic of swb.

 

[Cacia]

yes, Tim, I think they push it harder here. There is a cultural tradition of great respect for big fish, that feeds a big party. having said that...we have some awesome freedivers here.

 

[patymeboy]

well perhaps spair air could be used befor asent as a prophelactic against black out near the surface. They sell very small 2.7 cubic foot ones that don't take much room and can easily be filled from a dive tank. I know from personal experience that when ever I try to free dive I get to 30 feet and I emediatly want to surface before I can concentrate on finding a fish. I like the freedom of free diving but I don't have the endurance. So I am thinking of using a spair air to fascilitsate hunting just off shore without haveing to lug a lot of gear down the palosVerdes cliffs.

 

[Sharky1948]

well perhaps spair air could be used befor asent as a prophelactic against black out near the surface. They sell very small 2.7 cubic foot ones that don't take much room and can easily be filled from a dive tank. I know from personal experience that when ever I try to free dive I get to 30 feet and I emediatly want to surface before I can concentrate on finding a fish. I like the freedom of free diving but I don't have the endurance. So I am thinking of using a spair air to fascilitsate hunting just off shore without haveing to lug a lot of gear down the palosVerdes cliffs.

In my opinion, using the Spare Air as a bail out for freediving sounds like a disaster in the making. If you're out of breath and really need, you're going to suck that thing dry easily in the 30' to the surface. And, all of a sudden you've gone from a freediver to a scuba diver. If you take a breath at depth and then continue to freedive, you run the risk of a lung overexpansion injury. Just my opinion...

 

[Hank49]

I agree. A spare air could lead to a lot of quick decision making under stressful conditions. Not the best for making clear, well thought plans.
I would also agree that spear fishing can lead to swb more than just free diving to "look". More than a few times I was ready to start ascending from 40 feet of more and saw a big fish.....which I chased down....sometimes successful, sometimes not.....and then realizing "man, I need to surface....NOW. Most times I think I'm in control and will pass on it if I'm in need of breathing. But there is a pretty big gray area in there and that's what will lead to swb, I believe.

 

[Azza]

I know from personal experience that when ever I try to free dive I get to 30 feet and I emediatly want to surface before I can concentrate on finding a fish.

What about hanging a burley bag at 15 ft

I like the freedom of free diving but I don't have the endurance.

I understand completely. I am a relative newcomer to spearfishing and at 30ft I dont have a lot of time to hang around either. But I have been getting better over time so I think the more you do it the better you get. Also freediving courses are a good way to increase technique thereby extending ones stamina/endurance.
Personally I wouldnt use spare air for freediving as I think its not the right solution (Freediving course and practice would be IMHO the right solution) and would facilitate disaster in the long run... however thats just my humble opinion.

 

[Chad Carney]

The freediving fatality rate is way to high everywhere in my opinion.

There are a lot of highly experienced freedivers and trainers out there, and I've yet to hear one of these pros endorse using any kind of scuba system as a bailout device.

It is a proven fact that highly knowledgeable divers black out without warning, not ditching their weight belts. 90% make it to the surface and then black out, so obviously nothing that requires a choice of action very late in a dive is going to be beneficial.

Training, especially in safety practices, is a very good thing. Knowledge will always be the key. I know a freediver who is alive today only because a buddy became highly educated.

Quality equipment is also important. I religiously watch my freedive computer, and feel deprived if I forget to bring it. Freediving with short or stiff fins is a clear mismatch of gear for the purpose. Many wetsuits are not flexible enough for unrestricted breathing. Weightbelts for freediving need to stretch and contract inorder to stay in place below a divers diaphragm.

Dive safe!

Chad

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Chad,

That was very well said. I too am concerned about the freediving fatality rate. I've been taking some college courses (yes, an old guy can learn new things), and that has kept me from looking more closely at the study in the front of this thread. But freedivers are only a few seconds from blacking out on each dive. If something unexpected happens, without help they won't make it. On a different thread, there was a discussion of a new PFD that freedivers could use which would automatically inflate under circumstances programmed in it which indicate SWB. Does anyone have an update on this device?

SeaRat

 

[spectrum]

why so many more deaths in Hawaii?

As US states go it's the prime location.

Around here It's very rare that I can see the bottom if it's beyond 20 feet. Going deeper means starting the dive in "black water" and watching for the bottom to come into view. That means swimming into an entanglement is a concern. I can tell you that there is very little breathold diving happening around here. And if by freediving they mean in persuit of some significant depth I am not aweare of any, but I imagine there may be some.

In 2004 I did 91 "skin dives" (pre scuba)
In 2005 I was down to 43 and a lot were before getting certified in June.
This year despite the desire to do more I have only made 8 skin-dives. It's pretty much a fallback for times when I need a fix and lack a buddy. Buddies have been available 117 times this year, not much time left for skin-diving!

The season also grows shorter as you move away from Hawaii.

Pete