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Commentary Diving Performance, Beyond Drag – Part 1
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Thread Status: Hello
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Read the original post on DeeperBlue.com...
Nice article, looking forward to some more. We need to think outside the box more often.
For sure, for me, one of the attractions of freediving relative to tank diving is freedom of movement, a major part of which is the speed with which you can get around. And you are right, if a diver has never experienced greater freedom of movement, he isn't aware of it.
A story to illustrate; Years ago I was doing a type of tank diving that required several miles a day of cruising across the bottom. Longfins had just come out and I switched from Jetfins. The difference was near miraculous. Cruising speed went up slightly, but effort went way, way down. We were in and out of the water too many times a day to measure dive time on each tank, , but it must have gone up with the lower effort. I did not miss the lack of mobility until I had a better alternative. Once experienced, I'd never go back.
A quibble: 3 knots underwater cruise is easy for a freediver in decent shape, with decent gear and technique. However to maintain that kind of cruise, the diver will be spending most of his swim on the surface. 3 knots on the surface is a lot harder, especially if the diver doesn't meet the above requirements.
For sure, for me, one of the attractions of freediving relative to tank diving is freedom of movement, a major part of which is the speed with which you can get around. And you are right, if a diver has never experienced greater freedom of movement, he isn't aware of it.
A story to illustrate; Years ago I was doing a type of tank diving that required several miles a day of cruising across the bottom. Longfins had just come out and I switched from Jetfins. The difference was near miraculous. Cruising speed went up slightly, but effort went way, way down. We were in and out of the water too many times a day to measure dive time on each tank, , but it must have gone up with the lower effort. I did not miss the lack of mobility until I had a better alternative. Once experienced, I'd never go back.
A quibble: 3 knots underwater cruise is easy for a freediver in decent shape, with decent gear and technique. However to maintain that kind of cruise, the diver will be spending most of his swim on the surface. 3 knots on the surface is a lot harder, especially if the diver doesn't meet the above requirements.
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This is a fairly exotic, but interesting, example of how divers are susceptible to moving water: https://www.deeperblue.com/diver-sucked-nuclear-power-plant-pipe-files-lawsuit/
Based on the flow rate and diameter of the pipe, the current getting sucked along this pipe was a little over 3 knots. The point of no return for a contemporary scuba diver will be about 20 feet outside the opening to the pipe, which makes getting sucked in a likely scenario if the diver is anywhere near the opening. However, a diver that can swim at 3 knots and sprint at 5 knots, should be able to react and extract from the area of the dangerous pipe opening before getting completely sucked into its darkness, as long as they are paying attention to the waters movements.
Based on the flow rate and diameter of the pipe, the current getting sucked along this pipe was a little over 3 knots. The point of no return for a contemporary scuba diver will be about 20 feet outside the opening to the pipe, which makes getting sucked in a likely scenario if the diver is anywhere near the opening. However, a diver that can swim at 3 knots and sprint at 5 knots, should be able to react and extract from the area of the dangerous pipe opening before getting completely sucked into its darkness, as long as they are paying attention to the waters movements.
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