Lessons learned - a SWB Story

[strangelove]

Thanks for sharing !

[Marwan]

I wish you a speedy recovery willer, good to have you with us still and thanks for sharing..

[naiad]

Thanks for sharing Colin, very scary story. You are so lucky. Hope you are fully recovered soon.

[Pastor]

Were you using those old Cressi fins? I think it might be time to move on to a more efficient carbon pair if you're hunting at that depth.

[Amphibious]

thanks for the well wishes guys, feeling a lot better now, but very tired

Originally Posted by Pastor

Were you using those old Cressi fins? I think it might be time to move on to a more efficient carbon pair if you're hunting at that depth.

those old cressi's have carried me to 30m and back many many times. I don;t think it has anything to do with the fins I was using. (I was wearing omer green milleniums at the time)

[Pocoshower]

Thanks for sharing Amphibius. You are very lucky and very brave. I am glad you are still with us. I wish you a fast and good recovering. I am one of those diving solos because the lack of budys.... Your story realy had shaken me. Saludos

Carlos

[Jonny250]

Glad you made it Amphibious. Thanks for sharing your story and I'll pray for your speedy recovery. Interesting about diving alone but that's another thread. Take it easy.

[Pastor]

Millenniums are pretty inefficient for deep dives like that, I think you would be wise to thinking about an upgrade mate. The difference in efficiency might have got you home safely that time. Put all the things together that could have caused it and any advantage you can get yourself has to be worth a fistful of dollars

[podge]

SHIT!!
Glad you’re still in the land of the living and I also send my very best and hope for a speedy recovery and a safe return to the water.
Best
Paul

[azapa]

what a shocker! glad to hear that you are OK. the crazy thing is, and the biggest lesson, is you say it felt like a great dive on the way up.... there really is NO warning, and NO symptom in your case. If you don't mind me asking: were you more tired than normal before the dive? a few drinks the night before? any medication? did you eat/drink anything a little unusual? dehydration? illness?

thanks for sharing, and I wish you a quick recovery.

[Fondueset]

Colin - Holy Crap!

We can glean that you have one bitchin survival urge dude. I've never heard of anyone recovering like that. No doubt partly due to smart weighting.
Spaghetti - we can assume he lost a chunk of time after the reel check.

Seriously glad you remain among us, my friend.

[harbour seal]

amphibious,

very sobering story, glad you are ok.

did you inhale any boat exhaust? for example, when you were hanging off the rope tied to the boat, was it running?

even a small amount of carbon monoxide inhalation could help explain what happened.

hope you feel better soon,

sean
vancouver, canada

[naiad]

Originally Posted by Amphibious

As I don’t know of anyone that has had a SWB alone and survived I consider myself very very lucky and I ask those that have to just read this to not make the same mistake I did. don’t be an fool (like me), ignorance and over confidence nearly cost me my life. Always dive with a buddy. It doesn’t matter how good you think you are, or how long you have been diving, this could happen to you. It’s instantaneous, gives no warning signs and hits like a freight train.

I also haven't heard of anyone else who survived a SWB alone. Again, glad you are OK. I hope the solo divers here read this and think again. There really is no warning at all.

[efattah]

Colin, glad you're still with us... by the way, if you concentrate and mentally visualize the dive over and over, particularly the last seconds, then eventually you may be able to remember everything, but it could take weeks for the memories to appear. In particular, although you can't remember anything from 30ft, it is very likely that you made it to the surface still conscious, as the memory lapse goes back many seconds.

Boat exhaust can be fatal as Sean mentioned, I had it happen to me before.

To say that there is no warning is still sometimes incorrect. In Colin's case, his memory ends at 30ft. However, what could have occurred is that as he ascended to 15ft or 10ft, he may have felt very hypoxic and suddenly realized a blackout was imminent. However, since that region is not in memory (yet), what memory remains makes it appear as though it happened out of the blue.

In my case, my first ocean blackout seemed 'out of the blue', and upon awakening I was amazed that I had blacked out. However, after that and a few more sambas/BOs (under controlled conditions), I began to develop a better ability to feel the problem coming. That is not to say that such a sense is reliable, but certainly in my case I was able to develop it, but only after many blackouts in controlled conditions. For that reason, having deliberate blackouts in a course such as PFI can actually be beneficial to improve your sense of imminent hypoxia.

Spearfishing or concentrating on some task takes your mind away from subtle inner sensations, and any feeling of hypoxia may go unnoticed. Another reason why I consider 'pure' freediving safer than a concentrated activity like hunting.

[Amphibious]

Originally Posted by azapa

what a shocker! glad to hear that you are OK. the crazy thing is, and the biggest lesson, is you say it felt like a great dive on the way up.... there really is NO warning, and NO symptom in your case. If you don't mind me asking: were you more tired than normal before the dive? a few drinks the night before? any medication? did you eat/drink anything a little unusual? dehydration? illness?

thanks for sharing, and I wish you a quick recovery.

no drinks the night before
no unusual diet
no meds
no illness
was well hydrated

boat was not running.

will keep rolling it over in my head. still goes from 25ish feet to the surface with nothing in between....