Please Learn From My Mistake

[flying_spanner]

Okay, so here I am. I haven't done a freediving course yet, in fact I'm presently in trying to prepare for my upcomming course in three weeks, by swimming every night that I can at the pool handy to where I live.

This leads me onto my incident. (Yes I know, I've already had an incident after only 5 weeks of freediving.)

I was swimming lengths dynamic apnea with no fins. Swim a length, rest, swim another. A few weeks ago I realised that doing a single length has started to get easier. Then I pushed to one and a half lengths, til eventually that started to get easier. Thought to myself "I've gotta do two!"

BAD IDEA!!

I managed one and a half lengths fine, pushed myself further, even tho my lungs were screaming. Tunnel vision started setting in, and I lost definition of the line painted in the bottom to mark out the swimming lane.

Thankfully I knew my body's warning signs. The effects that were building up felt like the build up to GILOC (Geforce Induced Loss Of Consciousness) which I have experenced a couple of times while flying Aerobatics in a Pitts Special Bi Plane. It was like a warning buzzer going off, followed by that inner voice saying "Get the Duck outer here!!!"

I surfaced immediatly. I looked around and realised that it's 7pm, & I'm the only one in the pool. If I'd blacked out then no one would know to tip me up the right way for maybe a couple of hours.

I now drag a mate who I trust down to the pool every evening. He's aware of what I'm doing and knows what to look for, aswell as what to do should things ever go pear shaped.

To think what could've been still sends shudders down my spine. Please learn from my mistake, ALWAYS DIVE WITH A BUDDY, even if you are in the "safety" of a pool.

[naiad]

Glad you are OK, and thanks for warning others. A very lucky escape. Many of us have taken serious risks before we knew any better.

All training should be done with a buddy, but for a max attempt it is absolutely vital.

Lucia

[atomichaggis]

Sounds like this post almost never happened and We could have been none the wiser for Your demise... Chilling. Glad you are alright!

[Morg]

Wow I am also glad you are alright. That would be very scary.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

[ricki]

Glad you came through and thanks for sharing. Interesting that it reminded you of something like GILOC. I haven't come all that close in limited powered aerobatic flying, I think. Had a brown out during a hang glider cliff launch when I bottomed out a dive just after launch. Lucky it was a very short brown out. I can recall the sensation even now and will try to remember what you experienced for future dives.

[flying_spanner]

[quote=Morg;670205]Wow I am also glad you are alright. That would be very scary. [quote]

I wouldn't say scary so much, Just stupid more than anything.

It's the old saying you know "a little bit of knowledge is dangerous" well I seem to know enough to get myself into a lot of trouble.

I'd better wait until after my course before I do something else stupid.

But like I said I now take a buddy with me every evening. And if I'm alone don't push my luck. The whole incident has become one of those never again occurances.

[deep thinker]

I must say this thread didnt go the way I expected it to, normally posts like yours gets taken apart by people saying that you should not have been in the pool alone and a whole lot of other things all of which is absolutely true BTW and you seem to know all this.
Glad your still with us and let us know how that coarse went.
O and hats for posting and sharing by the way, hopefully someone will learn from it...

[fcallagy]

Glad your ok flying spanner.
Ricki please explain what a brown out is? I presume its a little like a blackout. Not what I'm thinking I hope!!!!!

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by fcallagy

Ricki please explain what a brown out is? I presume its a little like a blackout. Not what I'm thinking I hope!!!!!

I'd hate to ask when G forces are involved

[deep thinker]

[Pastor]

Tell you what! You'd certainly need a "Flying Spanner" to fix that one

A Ring spanner

[ricki]

Originally Posted by fcallagy

Glad your ok flying spanner.
Ricki please explain what a brown out is? I presume its a little like a blackout. Not what I'm thinking I hope!!!!!

It was a typical diving day in the Intracoastal Waterway, before boat sewage holding tanks. Some truth in that.

Actually, it is a lighter form of G force induced blackout. More about it at: Airline Pilot Central - 6G Fun!

They estimate it might happen at 6 to 8 G. I pulled up to 5.5 G in powered aerobatics without ill effects, aside from wanting to throw up after too many spins, whoops.

It happened during my first cliff launch hang gliding years back. In Florida we normally tow up. The instructor said to hold the bar in and yelled it at me after launch. Fortunately, I decided to pull out of the dive before hitting the trees and managed to avoid stalling the glider.

Diving and blackout, a bad combination no matter where you are.

[f0ki187]

I am new to this and if someone can tell me the signs and symptom to look for so I don't black out and all that. THAT SOUNDS SO SCARY. But before I start pushing myself i would like to know more about the safety stuff, like what to do, how to practice when to stop, how much to push yourself. Well before doing any training i would really like for someone to tell me whats up, to be on the safe side. I am glad you are okay and you saved yourself by knowing when to stop.

[flying_spanner]

Since my mistake, I've been doing a lot of reading on Shallow Water Blackout. (If knowledge is power, I plan to be President).

Just Google "Shallow Water Blackout" there are plenty of sites/articles that go into the symptoms and what causes it. From what I can tell different people/sircimstances may result different signs/symptoms.

Someone may realise what's happening (this is what happened to me). Other people are recussitated with CPR after blacking out, and when they come to, have no idea what just happened!!!

You want to know what is scary??? Google "shallow water blackout" and look at how many experienced freedivers/swimmers have died as a result of this. Most of these people were fit as buggery and should have known better, but aren't here today.

My Sincere Condolince's go out there to any of the families affected.

Now this may be a morbid post, but I believe everyone should know the risk's. If someone learns from this thread and doesn't make the same stupid mistake I nearly did..... then I've achieved something.

[flying_spanner]

Originally Posted by Pastor

Tell you what! You'd certainly need a "Flying Spanner" to fix that one

A Ring spanner

Granted that was pretty funny......

Don't you worry I can cop flack no problems, but that'll keep.......