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]

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

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

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]

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]

roflroflrofl

 

[Pastor]

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

A Ring spanner rofl

 

[ricki]

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]

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

A Ring spanner rofl

Granted that was pretty funny......

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

 

[deep thinker]

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.

Also read through the how to start freediving thread here, theres more info there that you can devour in a month. Then scan through it again and then go find a buddy and do a freediving intro coarse together this will leave you both on the same level and you can grow together as you or your buddy should be able to dive the same depth as the other.
If you cant find a buddy which I find unlikely or cant afford a coarse yet then when you practice make sure you are supervised by someone who knows what to look for and what to do in case you black out and dont push your limits in water till you have done a coarse or at least learned more about the sport, if you do want to push breathhold limits do it on dry land by using the tables and apnea excersises also available throughout this site

 

[f0ki187]

this site has everything ! thanks for the heads up

 

[Goran Colak]

Well just plain and simple... never dive alone! And that do not mean that you have life gourd at pool or some other random people... they will NOT look at you and will not recognize shit at time! You must have buddy ho will look at you specifically, at any of longer dives\statics... this is a must! The best will be if someone look all the time, but that is often not a possibility. So remember this as a holy rule of freediving, never, by any means, never dive alone.... And one more thing, NEVER dive alone dude!

 

[Vov]

Flying spanner, I am very glad you are with us, able to tell what happened...
Guess one major thing here - it was the pilot training you got that saved you... Flying under moderate and heavy G-forces gradually trains the brain (at a cost!!) to develop hidden and rarely used reserve capabilities to work under lack of blood/oxigen. I believe it helped me at least once. And it was the pilots ethics and education that made you share your mistake. Congratulations and Thanks God you are safe and sound!
Now the worst part is that we cannot be in equally good shape every day, even during a day! Sometimes the diferences are so small, that they are suppressed by our DESIRE (to swim further, to dive deeper, to get THAT fish...) And we may not notice the 'small' difference untill it's too late.
To avoid this I am trying to :
1. Watch myself all the time.
2. Every time I go spearfishing I start diving in the shallow, GRADUALLY increasing the depths and trying to feel my shape.
3. I do not compromise diving for drinking, eating too much, too soon, always try to have a good sleep before diving (sounds familiar,eh?).
4. If I feel something is wrong I go out.
Safe dives to all.

 

[Mafnet]

The Buddy System works, good luck getting to three and four laps