Keeping recreational freediving safe

[x_yeti]

Hi All

I'm putting together some material on ways of making recreational freediving safe and would like your input. By recreational I'm referring to snorkelling with some freedivng mixed in. Most scenarios would be the same as open water scuba diving, reaching depths of 5-20m, with the aim of looking at the sealife. The more obvious ideas are:

- Always freedive with a partner
- Keep dive times below 1:30.
- Try to maintain visual contact at all times.
- Dive with a marker buoy so that boats don't carve you up.

On the more creative side:
- If visibility is bad, use a buoyant marker line attached to wrist with elastic band so that your partner can follow your movements from the surface. The line is not attached to anything on the surface so it won't snag on kelp or coral. (an idea that came from spearfishing in bad vis in kelp beds)

Any other ideas or criticisms of what I have so far?

Edit: Could one of the admins move this to the Safety sub-forum for me? Did not see it when I posted.

 

[Azrael3000]

Well I can only see a problem with the marker line if you do wreck diving or dive through an arch. Otherwise it's not a bad idea.

 

[x_yeti]

Yeah a wreck dive would be a problem, but that would also be no-no, so I'll add it to the list:

- Do not enter caves or wrecks

Arches or swimthroughs shouldn't be too much of a problem though as the line should feed through without getting stuck. If it does, then it'll only take a second to pull the elastic off the wrist and hopefully there isn't a problem on the ascent... but for this scenario I can add:

- If the marker line gets stuck and has to be removed, then the freediver should immediately surface.

Edit: Ok you're right about swimthroughs because when the line feeds through, it will 'sink' and make it impossible for the dive buddy to follow from the surface. So for safety reasons I'd have to add:

- Do not enter arches or swimthroughs

 

[azapa]

all good ideas. I think the single biggest challenge in freedive or spearing saftey is getting everyone to play by the agreed rule. How many times does it happen: perfect safety drill, all clear buddy scheme. Then 10 minutes in the Ocean and everyone having a great time, it all goes to hell. Dive with great rules, but always assume nobody is really watching you, because, at least in the Ocean, half the time no one is.

 

[Mullins]

Can't really have one time limit for everybody, or a depth limit for that matter. In order to be safe it would have to be something like 5m and 30 seconds. There are plenty of people for whom 1:30 is a very unsafe dive time. It's so variable that I don't think a number is useful.

If you're going to add things like "don't go through caves or arches" you're better off just saying "stay out of the water."

The buddy system is fine in many places but only really applies in good vis. In bad vis, current, etc you're effectively on your own. So it might be good to note that i.e. "dive with a buddy but in poor visibility assume that they will be of no assistance to you and adjust depths/times accordingly."

Hyperventilation is an important one to include.

 

[growingupninja]

I don't think wearing a line is particularly safe--it is a bother to the swimmer, presents opportunities for entanglement, etc. Perhaps it is better to suggest wearing a swimsuit with a high visibilty?

And yeah, numbers are not so useful since their will be an incredible amount of variance between individuals. I think 'know your limits and maintain a healthy safety margin' is a better phrasing.

 

[x_yeti]

Can't really have one time limit for everybody, or a depth limit for that matter. In order to be safe it would have to be something like 5m and 30 seconds. There are plenty of people for whom 1:30 is a very unsafe dive time. It's so variable that I don't think a number is useful.

Good points!

The idea behind the fixed dive time is not to force longer dives on a 'weaker' diver but rather as an indicator for the dive buddy to begin a rescue. I guess a better idea would be:

- Establish your own max dive time with your partner and keep dives within it. Set a dive alarm to alert you before you reach this limit.

If you're going to add things like "don't go through caves or arches" you're better off just saying "stay out of the water."

Hmmm... not too sure about that. I'm going on my own experience here having dived in places like Thailand, Mauritius, Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique and Egypt. Only Mauritius and Egypt have had proper swimthrough opportunities for me and they were below 25m. This material is aimed at beginner level freedivers who have completed a course so that they can freedive reefs instead of doing the scuba thing. I'm sure they will still be more than happy to check out the reef life without the excitement of swimthroughs... and if they do decide to do it and kill themselves well then they were warned not to.

The buddy system is fine in many places but only really applies in good vis. In bad vis, current, etc you're effectively on your own. So it might be good to note that i.e. "dive with a buddy but in poor visibility assume that they will be of no assistance to you and adjust depths/times accordingly."

Good point!

- Dive with a buddy but in poor visibility assume that they will be of no assistance to you and adjust depths/times accordingly.

Hyperventilation is an important one to include.

Yeah this would be covered in the main course material.

 

[x_yeti]

all good ideas. I think the single biggest challenge in freedive or spearing saftey is getting everyone to play by the agreed rule. How many times does it happen: perfect safety drill, all clear buddy scheme. Then 10 minutes in the Ocean and everyone having a great time, it all goes to hell. Dive with great rules, but always assume nobody is really watching you, because, at least in the Ocean, half the time no one is.

Totally true so maybe special emphasis should be placed on Dave's suggestion:

- Dive with a buddy but (in poor visibility) assume that they will be of no assistance to you and adjust depths/times accordingly.

 

[x_yeti]

I don't think wearing a line is particularly safe--it is a bother to the swimmer, presents opportunities for entanglement, etc.

I disagree. I have a spearo dive buddy who has had a marker line rigged to his gun for a long time now. We have been diving in thick kelp with rocks, mussels etc. and the line has never gotten stuck. Obviously he is aware of the line and doesn't swim in tight circles... which is the only way I can see the line getting stuck. BUT assuming it does, the line is attached to the wrist with an easily removed band. The marker line is just there as a visual aid for the dive buddy so if it does get stuck and is removed by the diver it shouldn't be too much of an issue if the diver immediately ascends. It definitely won't bother the swimmer unless he/she is completely useless in the water, in which case they shouldn't be freediving at all

 

[azapa]

yeti, its true what Dave says, but to be honest the viz is not the only issue in real scenarios of lost divers, its separation (accidental or whatever) caused by distraction. Simply put 5 spearos in the water together, and within 5 mins they have spread over a 200m radius and there is little to no safety for most of them.

I love the two-spearo-one-gun dive sessions, the other guy doesn't care if you are safe, but he DOES want the gun back for his go, and will look out for you for that reason. But, in 5 years spearing, I have convinced one buddy to do that for one dive day.

 

[azapa]

yeti, spearos don't use lines anymore attached to their bodies, they normally use a drop weight. Guns with reels have replaced the cumbersome need. I would never try to use a line to my body on a spearing dive over 25m deep, it would literally kill (or BO) me.
just what I have seen, maybe Auz or US is different?

 

[x_yeti]

yeti, spearos don't use lines anymore attached to their bodies, they normally use a drop weight. Guns with reels have replaced the cumbersome need. I would never try to use a line to my body on a spearing dive over 25m deep, it would literally kill (or BO) me.
just what I have seen, maybe Auz or US is different?

We still use the gun-line-buoy system in SA when shore diving. Those big teeth have hindered reel gun technology

Back to the recreational thing: the marker line isn't attached to a buoy, so there is no hassle of having to pull something around. The line just floats up to the surface, giving the dive buddy something to follow down should he/she have to do a rescue dive and to know in which direction the diver will surface.

 

[Mullins]

I'd only attach a line to my body if I was totally confident it could be ditched easily and reliably. Even then I'd prefer not to. I'd be too worried about wrapping it around something on the bottom, particularly in current. Happens with floatlines all the time.

Regarding swimthroughs - it's a bit like setting a time limit. Some are very dangerous, others are shallow/narrow and carry virtually no additional risk. So to make a general recommendation against them doesn't seem that helpful. Perhaps something like "exercise particular caution in overhead environments. Treat horizontal distance as added depth, i.e. consider a 5m swimthrough at 10m to be the same as a 15m dive."

 

[Apneaddict]

Simply put 5 spearos in the water together, and within 5 mins they have spread over a 200m radius and there is little to no safety for most of them.

I love the two-spearo-one-gun dive sessions, the other guy doesn't care if you are safe, but he DOES want the gun back for his go, and will look out for you for that reason. But, in 5 years spearing, I have convinced one buddy to do that for one dive day.

Brilliant!

This is the spearo equivalent to freediving's "always dive with a buddy"

LOVE IT!!!

 

[x_yeti]

yeti, its true what Dave says, but to be honest the viz is not the only issue in real scenarios of lost divers, its separation (accidental or whatever) caused by distraction. Simply put 5 spearos in the water together, and within 5 mins they have spread over a 200m radius and there is little to no safety for most of them.

I know! I have a lot of experience of this

This is why I want to include proper recreational safety theory and practice in what I'm working on. If students get drilled into a proper mindset right from the beginning then there is a good chance they won't do the typical spearo thing.

 

[x_yeti]

I'd only attach a line to my body if I was totally confident it could be ditched easily and reliably. Even then I'd prefer not to. I'd be too worried about wrapping it around something on the bottom, particularly in current. Happens with floatlines all the time.

The marker line is removable in seconds. Nothing like a lanyard. A good pull will do it.

Floatlines get stuck because there is a buoy attached, but point taken.