Freediving Pool

[superhornet59]

okay. heres the idea. if i had the leftover money (long story about that ), you could make a freediving pool. heres my idea. get some people that are specialy trained in digging wells. so get them to drill you a 100 foot deep 5-5 meter (minimum) pool. then hire a pool company to spray on the lining and all that. and heres a cool though, at the bottom put a "cave" (sorta like how the beavers do it) that you could go into, that would have air (just be sure to blow bubbles onthe way back up, as it would be compressed air!) im sure it would cost plenty of cash, but nothing TOO huge. just sacrifice $100,000 on it by buying a smaller house.
you woudl also need something to keep it warm, as i imagine it will get cold down there. i say just take surface water (which could be solar heated) or an extra heated pool and pump water (like a heat exchanger) between the two pools.

what do you think?

oh and there would be a special building around it in the winter, to 1 keep it warm, and 2 to let me get dry before hypothermia lol

PS, of course i could make it more then 100 feet, but i unno if i would ever reach my cave without tanks lol

 

[JPPLAY]

The Cave idea is very dangerous. You have to blow out all your air and accent very slowly. Panic can easily set in. I would never want to do it unless with someone trained in teaching it. Sounds like it would cost allot more then you think.

 

[superhornet59]

well, you could have a pony tank in the cave, so itll give you more time to accend i guess. besides, why is blowing bubbles so dangerous anyway, if the pressure inside your lungs gets to high the bubbles will come out faster themselves, so it doesnt sound that bad. and how much could something like hat possibly cost? also depends what gas is in the cave, something like nitrox wont be as bad if you go up fast.

 

[DeepThought]

Breathing compressed air belongs to the realm of scuba and there are a lot of reasons for that. Try reading on decompression sickness.

 

[commonerg]

Another issue... is a pool this deep feasible? I've never heard of a pool being much deeper than 20 feet or so (NASA has a deep pool for weightless training) other than the HMS Dolphin. I have done a number of google searches looking for other deep pools and found nothing. I can't think of any reason actually building the pool wouldn't be possible. Actually lining the shaft to prevent leaks might be hard though. How wide were you thinking this deep area would be? And what about insurance?


I've dreamed about a pool like this too. If you ever get it completed, you'd better invite us all out for a BBQ. :friday

 

[BennyB]

Just head to the Dolphin, it's nice and warm in there

 

[matrixed82]

I think they are at least a couple of pools that are about 100 feet deep, theres the SETT tank in the UK and Nemo 33 in Belgium. On the Nemo 33 website they mention something about caves and a pit but I'm not sure if it has an air pocket.

Did anyone here freedive in the nemo 33 yet? If I'm ever in Belgium it will definitely be the first stop on my list.

 

[Ricochet]

Some weeks/months ago I saw a documentary about a dive tank in germany that had air pockets every 5 meters or so, where the (free)divers used to rest.
But hey, thats like cheating and quite dangerous.

 

[commonerg]

I think they are at least a couple of pools that are about 100 feet deep, theres the SETT tank in the UK and Nemo 33 in Belgium.

I forgot about the Nemo. That looks like a wonderful place. I could live in there.

 

[Erik]

Last I heard, freediving was not allowed in Nemo.
Peace,
Erik Y.

 

[OceanMan]

In France and I think in Europe in general there are a lot of pools from 10 to 20 meters deep. I know at least 5 of them and 3 around Paris. These are diving pools essentially for scuba training but freedivers enjoy them too. Basically it's a cylinder, 10m diameter and 15-20m deep, sometimes more like nemo.

 

[superhornet59]

ya. before going on dives at nemo 33 you can snorkel, but the pit is off limits. that is a large complicated pool that also has a 100 foot pit. my idea pool would be pretty much a vertical shaft going somewhere around 100 feet deep, and it would be a ten or so meter circle. enough to not bump into walls when going down. the cave (or better described air pocket) could have a pressure sealed door to leave through a spiral staircase. unfeasable? yes. but still a cool prospect. a 100 foot deep shaft sounds like something that could get boring. the best thing would be an upside down mushroom type thing, with an artificial reef or something. but it would be compromised, because at 100 feet you wouldnt have much down time with the fish before having to surface, so it would be reserved for scuba or the pool would be shallow. that or you could make the reef at like 50 feet, but in the middle of the reef the pit continues, in a t like patern. that would be cool, but during construction i would imagine it would be prone to collapse. honestly i couldnt afford a pool like that now... but im looking into stuff .

 

[jimdoe2you]

OK, ............I'm jumping into this thread.

The upside down mushroom is a big No-No. :naughty Whenever a diver is in an overhead environment, that diver needs to be certified in either cave, wreck, or cavern diving technique. I understand there are many professional diving certifying agencies around the world, and most of them differ slightly in their rules and definitions, but here in the states a basic scuba or freediver is not to swim under an overhead environment. If a problem should occur (say the diver gets suddenly spooked by a big fish or another diver), that diver needs a direct ascent path straight up to the surface and not be subject to any type of required lateral swimming.

In Florida we have a lot of fresh water cave systems that are quite beautiful, but just as dangerous. As I posted in another thread not too long ago, I had to pull the lifeless body out a young girl who was not cave certified out and to the surface. She survived but I bet she won't try that again!

Jim

P.S. If I have to bring your body up, ........I will drop your mask and weight belt, then go back for it later and add it to my collection.

There is an unspoken agrrement amongst cave divers that goes like this, "If I have to retreive your body, I get to keep your gear because a dead cave diver doesn't need his gear anymore". :t

 

[superhornet59]

nice, your a cave diver? i always wanted to get into that. okay, well what if the muchroom or t idea had some sort of air pocket at the top, just in case. and when you say freedivers cant do that only certified divers? what about certified divers that are freediving lol? thanks, Matt.

P.S. i live in canada so the laws are different

 

[JPPLAY]

nice, your a cave diver? i always wanted to get into that. okay, well what if the muchroom or t idea had some sort of air pocket at the top, just in case. and when you say freedivers cant do that only certified divers? what about certified divers that are freediving lol? thanks, Matt.

P.S. i live in canada so the laws are different

Basically what he is saying is hardcore cave diving. I know of many freedivers and scuba divers that do enter areas with a ceiling above them. Is this safe well it matters. It just like solo diving. Lots of solo diving is done especially spearfishing.
Remember those certificates are for scuba divers not freedivers. I don't even have a scuba divers certificate but I have spent more time underwater then allot. We should maybe discuss what a freedivers needs to watch out for when entering an overhead environment. Number one I would say is dive with a partner.

 

[superhornet59]

you are very right, whether or not you are in an overhead environment there are thing that can happen, for example you could become dissorientated (at 30 feet where your boyouncy is 0 you can lose which way is up, happend to me a few times. its better to have a partner then a passage strait up, as many freedivers drown on a sand flat bottom with a clear path up, all because they were alone.

 

[ZAquaman]

Why don't you just live on a boat? Let the ocean be your "ultimate freediving pool"?

 

[bjpete]

I hate to kick sand in your face about your idea, but the insurance cost would be unbearly high. I'm afraid the only people who would really enjoy your pool would those blood sucking,ambulance chasing lawyers.

 

[superhornet59]

ya i guess so. i dont get it though, the deeper the pool the higher the insurance? it must plateau eventualy, at say 20 feet or so?

and ZAquaman, your idea is great. i would like to own a boat. i have a... financial plan for myslelf, and plan on buying a private island one day (there not THAT expenive, like as much as a pretty big house. yup they can be under 400,000) that would be real cool. i hope my plan works, if so ill sink some exotic stuff and make a cool reef (with trained sharks!) for you to explore and spearfish in,

Cheers -Matt :friday

 

[Scuby]

Got some land? Wnat your own 'poor mans' Dolphin SETT tank?

Buy a used vertical storage tank / silo - simple!

Visit your local friendly neighhbourhood 2nd hand tank seller http://www.regaltanks.co.uk and you could pick up this 13 foot diameter 67 foot deep second hand tank (only weighs 20 tons!)....
http://www.regaltanks.co.uk/search/details.php3?used=RT0965

Or get them to build you a new one to your own spec - probably best to win the Euro lottery first though, eh?