I little issue

[IllyrianYoungster]

Hi, im new to this forums and came here to seek som advice.
Im 16years old (it says im 17 but i did not feel that my real birthday was rather important) and have been freediving for some time.
I made it down to 15meters without finns last year and i cant wait to break the record this year.
So far its all good but i´ve got some big safety problems.
Im in the sea each day during the entire summer holidays, and i dont have anny friends nor relatives that can dive 2+ meters, so i dive alone.
I´ve seen the posts about not diving alone and feel that my life is not worth risking.
The thing is that i do not enjoy diving with strangers whom are 10years older than me and im not shure how i may continue alone without killing myself.
Are there anny other possibilities or do i have to find a shady divingbuddy?

 

[REVAN]

The age isn't important. You can learn a lot from an experienced dive partner. As long as you are learning, I don't think they would care much about your age either, as long as you have consent from your parents to be doing what you are doing.

Otherwise, keep your dives shallow and short. Don't dive into and beyond contractions. Like you said, it's not worth killing yourself over breaking your old record. You are the only one who cares about that in the first place, so don't be vain and get yourself into trouble over nothing.

 

[cdavis]

Think again about finding a much older dive buddy. Many older divers will very much enjoy diving with a young diver. I had an extremely enjoyable week last summer diving with a 13 year old. The boy was quite good and it was a pleasure to watch him grow and adapt to an environment he was unfamiliar with. Maybe 25 year olds are a bit macho, but a 45 or 50 year old will appreciate your youth.

 

[REVAN]

If you are in the Mediterranean, look for a freediving club. The sport is popular enough in that area, I'd think you would be able to find one that would take you in and work with you.

 

[IllyrianYoungster]

Ok so im looking for a diving buddy/group but i cant hang out with them for 2entire months 24/7, so what do you guys regard as a safe descend/duration of a dive for a person like me when i dive alone?

 

[REVAN]

Depth and time are not good metrics. How deep and or long you can dive depends on way too many factors to use those as metrics.

Usually, if you stay away from diving into breathing contractions, you'll be alright. That is assuming that you are not hyperventilating, and I've heard rumors of people who claim not to get contractions, but if these things don't apply to you, surfacing at the onset of contractions should work. At least, it worked for me when I was your age and diving alone like you are.

Just don't hyperventilate, because I did get into trouble with that once when a little older than you, and it scared me plenty. If you believe believe in the multiverse concept of the universe, I probably died in over half of them at that critical moment.

 

[IllyrianYoungster]

ok so i guess i got all my questions solved now
Thnx for the advices guys

 

[baiyoke]

Usually, if you stay away from diving into breathing contractions, you'll be alright.

Sorry Ron, but this one I perceive differently. There's a thousand ways this guy could hurt himself, especially with the attitude toward freediving and diving with a buddy. He's heading for a disaster...

ok so i guess i got all my questions solved now
Thnx for the advices guys

Dude!!!! Stop there for a moment. How have you "solved" your question???

Ok so im looking for a diving buddy/group but i cant hang out with them for 2entire months 24/7

Why would you? Just dive with them...

so what do you guys regard as a safe descend/duration of a dive for a person like me when i dive alone?

Non is safe.

Yoy are looking forward to 2 months of diving alone - trying to break your no-fins record beyond 15m all alone. You parents and family are in for a hell of a summer if you don't take this more serious...

Thousands of people have been i your position. Like the guy below. Please read this:

found dead --> https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/diver-down.84282/

same guy asking about safety --> https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/hypothermia-question.80595/
eeperblue.com/threads/hypothermia-question.80595/

Please do a course first thing before you do anything else. It will hopefully change the way you look at safety, buddies and freediving.

 

[REVAN]

Sorry Ron, but this one I perceive differently. There's a thousand ways this guy could hurt himself, especially with the attitude toward freediving and diving with a buddy. He's heading for a disaster...

Agreed. Diving alone is dangerous, no getting around that. Still, a lot of people do it, and far too many of them die. It is especially dangerous when you have the attitude of a young immortal. All we can do is encourage him to dive with someone, and try to tell him ways to improve his chances of surviving long enough to learn how to do it right even if/when he insists to dive alone despite the warnings.

Good thinking to link the other threads. It is sobering to read and helps put things into perspective. Thanks for that.

@IllyrianYoungster, use the forums to try to find a dive buddy near you.

https://forums.deeperblue.com/forums/europe-mediterranean.92/

Would you rather dive with a someone, especially if that can lead to a lifelong friendship, or go out and buy one of these:
https://www.deeperblue.com/the-next-generation-of-freedivers-recovery-vest/

Having a good friend is less expensive.

 

[HydroApprentice]

I must admit that I got the shivers reading the two posts above. It's important to get reminded of the risks of diving alone more often. You dive once alone, you dive twice alone, nothing happens and the perceived risk gets less and less.

I'd like to use this occasion to mention a current initiative of DB-member @Pote, which could eventually prevent such tragedies from happening... The idea is to have a tool to find buddies for freediving. Obviously, such a tool can only be effective if enough people start using it. So maybe one or the other member here at DB might want to have a look into this:

https://forums.deeperblue.com/index.php?threads/103092/

I think it's important to keep an open dialogue on this topic. Obviously, when talking about not diving alone, there's always an elephant in the room.
Many of us have dived alone, or do it on occasion. Just because nobody talks about it doesn't mean it's not being practiced. I dived alone quite a lot of times, but I never enjoyed it as much as diving with buddies, knowing that I'm safe. Which is the central foundation to really enjoy the freediving experience, and to develop your potential as a freediver.
There is no line we can draw to distinguish safe and unsafe diving. Dive alone, and you risk your life. Always.

Safe diving everyone.

 

[Lehmann108]

When you're 16 you feel invulnerable. We've all been there. Obviously you are smart enough to come to this board to seek advice. So now, please follow it. Do not dive alone. Your dive buddy's age is truly irrelevant. "Shady" what are you even talking about? Please live a long healthy life. Dive with a buddy.

 

[IllyrianYoungster]

ok so i didnt express myself as good as i hoped, and i just want to say that i came here asking the pros for advice rather than thinking im a master of some sort. The arguments that you all presented made me conclude with the following points.
1) Im searching for a divebuddy and im no longer focused on beating the 15meter mark, nor diving alone.
2) The guy that died was obviously better than i am and i do not want to sleep with the fishes.
3) A freediving course could be helpfull.

Besides i came here because i realized i was in fact heading for disaster and didnt know how freediving safety worked out. I never took anny courses and realized that i wasnt the average tourist snorkling annymore.
So i thank all of you for your honesty
Happy diving

 

[baiyoke]

This is a great turn for this thread and for you

Just remember that it is your actions that count, not what you know or write down. The case before shows that.

I do not condone freediving alone or even playing around in a pool alone and I have obviously suffered from a lack of judgement due to not having been freediving in so long.

So thank you for the harsh words of warning and do not worry as I have started doing some breathing exercises on dry land but I wish I could find someone to freedive with.:vangry

-------

So now that you are getting serious about safety, don't dwell too long on the sadness behind the message, rather focus on what you CAN do and learn about freediving and safety - and perhaps even about people and friendships ahead.

Happy and safe diving to you too.

 

[baiyoke]

I'd like to use this occasion to mention a current initiative of DB-member @Pote, which could eventually prevent such tragedies from happening... The idea is to have a tool to find buddies for freediving. Obviously, such a tool can only be effective if enough people start using it. So maybe one or the other member here at DB might want to have a look into this:

https://forums.deeperblue.com/index.php?threads/103092/

I almost forgot to comment on this. Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes we (I) get all focused on the individual learning safety and getting skills and knowledge. But more than often in this world peoples behavior is an outcome of what is (or is not) and happens around them. It is obvious to me that many accidents could be avoided through such a toll if effective.... Allthough if no buddy is found, there's still a ton of things that can be done by the individual proactively: Search more, use facebook, Put up posters, start your own club or small training group - even for just a holiday it might be possible to somehow find a buddy if searching unconventionally.

I think it's important to keep an open dialogue on this topic. Obviously, when talking about not diving alone, there's always an elephant in the room.

Yes, it's a dilemma. I honestly don't know what to say to all the people I know that are spearfishers... It's difficult to relate to when a "freediver only" like me. Of course it depends on what you do, where, how, guidelines, other safety precautions etc. etc. But if you're "unlucky" i doesn't depend on that either...!

But I know that the thing I do in depth is not to be done alone. And that if I should dive alone, I would be so cautious that there would be allmost nothing, or not much left of the things I like (It would swimming basically, I've done it a few times in the past, but it's not close to being what I want). The only time I dive alone is in the public pool doing "underwater swims"/technique training/light CO2 training doing less than 25% of my max., telling the lifeguard lifeguard that I don't do long dives, and don't lay still (because it matters to them).


IllyrianYoungster, this is for you to read from another thread. Perhaps you wil find some peace in knowing that others got the same problem, and why we all sometimes can get the idea of doing something we actually don't think we should do... (couldn't find it yesterday):

I do honestly not know exactly what to write or comment on your thread jago25_98, but I will however respond and make things up along the way.... because it's important to you, your family, to me, and the freediving community, that you get an answer, when you write about such dangerous things: Holding your breath is not in itself dangerous. Staying underwater in itself is not. But there's something that is really, really, really dangerous. It's a cocktail. Some people have had it and survived, some didn't. It consists of the following:
- Discovering FREEDIVING, wich is GREAT (good for you, so congrats...
- Not knowing what's going on in the body and mind doing breathhold.
- not realising the potential danger because it seems so peaceful, good, beautiful... and so easy to do, on the couch, in bed, walking or... in a bathtub.
- a strong urge to freedive (great, but needs to be
- the lack of a school, buddy or training partners...
- The frustrating thoughts and feelings of finding something as GREAT as freediving...but not (presumably) being able to really get to do it....
- The dilemma that places you in... "should I do it alone?".

I am not an experienced freediver or anything, but my short time in freediving has allready learnt me, that there are some inherent forces at work here, and they are STRONG... Some relates to the feeling we get from playing with freediving/apnea... perhaps there's a big physical and mental reward for us, since we do something like that, despite the strong urge to breath. Perhaps people that discover freediving NEED freediving... Also it can be difficult to see what's up and down in this strange sport where people stop breathing... What is dangerous and what's not... And third sometimes people likes to stare death in the eyes, saying stuff like.. "to hell with it, I'm doing this, becuse I want to..."...

I don't know if the above is understandable, or if you can relate to it or not, but I wanted to write that before I write the following:

I strongle advice you to learn more about freediving, and change the way you are currently thinking and acting. You can channel your energy to other ways of learning and practising freediving.

There have been many people writing almost exactly what you are writing and thinking (yes believe or not, but very much the same). It is very often about training alone + hyperventilating, but not realising it.

There has been debate on what to write back to people, who is in your situation. I will try a more positive direction for now:

You have discoverd a great, great thing: Freediving. It will perhaps draw your attention like almost no other sport has done before. It can be lifechanging, and it's a really, really good thing. But just like other things in life, you/we need to learn and be respectfull, because we cannot master things immediately... Try to channel your energy into positive things about this sport. Don't get too preoccupied witj the frustration, if you cannot just freedive antime you want. This is not jogging or walking in the park Respect that, and respect yourself enough to make that choice Try to find others with whom you can share this. Take a course. Make you next holiday be a freedive holiday, next weekend visit someone somewhere etc. etc. Don't let the limitations drive you to do dangerous stuff, instead seek possibilities, and learn along the way....

I wish you good luck discovering this great world of freediving...

I will remember this thread and my post, and next time I see a similar thread, I will copy-paste it to the next person. And these thoughts and questions will come back again and again, that's completely understandable... The important thing is how we answer...

Thomas

from here https://forums.deeperblue.com/threa...-4-hour-bod-by-tim-ferriss.96065/#post-894266

 

[John B Griffith Jr]

So...I have read through all the posts here, and followed the threads that were cited...and this is why I prefer this forum to every other one out there. Experienced, talented and level-headed people giving good, sound advice to a newly minted member of the freediving community...without being condescending or harshly judgmental. That is encouraging and, more to the point, how our sport will grow and thrive with a minimum of injuries or deaths. The post quoted above by "Thomas" is an excellent example of how to convey the safety first message in a beautiful way..."You have discovered a great, great thing: Freediving. It will perhaps draw your attention like almost no other sport has done before. It can be lifechanging, and it's a really, really good thing. But just like other things in life, you/we need to learn and be respectfull, because we cannot master things immediately... Try to channel your energy into positive things about this sport. Don't get too preoccupied witj the frustration, if you cannot just freedive antime you want. This is not jogging or walking in the park Respect that, and respect yourself enough to make that choice Try to find others with whom you can share this. Take a course. Make you next holiday be a freedive holiday, next weekend visit someone somewhere etc. etc. Don't let the limitations drive you to do dangerous stuff, instead seek possibilities, and learn along the way.... " Rather awesome words, Thomas!