WC2011 - descent line stolen to Sara Campbell!

[trux]

Well, there is already a thread for the WC in Kalamata, but I think this event deserves a separate thread!

From Michal Risian's Facebook status:

OK, today i had rather curious dive, really FREE immersion. I had nice dive, everything worked well, equalisation like never before, today I decided not to keep contact with the rope so i could be faster, I set my alarm to 83 m and when it beeped O kept my eyes closed and waited for a few seconds and then I raised my hand to catch the tag but something strange happened, I couldn't see any tags, any plate nor any rope, completely lost even when I turn up and down and around so I looked where is more light and start ascending by CNF style and then I tried to find the rope which I did at 60 meters and from then I used the line to pull up and after 3:34 i finished my dive, surprisingly without samba or BO. I didn't know it is not my line till they told me that. Feel happy for me feel sorry for Sara and other divers and organisers I scared them. It was last dive with the current lanyard, I promise ;-)

From Free Dive World (translated from Czech):

... Miško (Michal) came to the line. Lanyard check - locked, fluid goggles - check, noseclip - check. Countdown starts. Miško packs on the back. Official Top - Miško kicks out, kick away the sausage/noodle and dives.

Five seconds later, Utte, the judge, calls from the platform - What's floating there? Lanyard!!!!!! Shhh!!!!tt. Rémy, the safety, goes down immediately to try stopping Miško. Unfortunately he got just the lanyard. Miško was too fast, or we saw it too late, or we did not know what to do?

Blood stops circulating in everyone in that moment. Daan and Remy (safeties) breathe up, and get ready for a deep rescue. I am listening the calls from sonar, and when at 80m deep Miško disappears from the sonar, I almost had a heart-stroke. I dropped the camera a started diving, when I realized I'd drown long before Miško.

Rémy goes down and then Daan. They disappeared in the depth, and everyone on the surface starts feeling the heat rising. At a moment I happened to look underwater around myself and at the neighbor line I see a diver in Orca and a white swim cap ascending. A flash goes through my brain for a second - it is Miško, but I realize immediately: "It is not possible, it must be Antero. He dives in the same suit."

The safety came back to the surface - I'll remember their looks for a long time. Terror, awe, fear, sadness. Ten seconds later, Stavros comes and tells: "Michal came up at the other line." A moment later Miško come from behind the platform. Smile on the face, a little bit confused, but alive. At least 10 kg of stones fell down from the hearts of myself, the safeties, judges, and all around.

So, Miško fell, fell, and fell. At 83m the alarm went on. He continued to around 90m and then grabbed for the tag - eyes still closed. When he did not find anything, he opened the eyes, and ....... EVERYWHERE AROUND JUST BLUE. He did not panic, he started swimming no-fins ans searched the rope. Well, he found the rope - at around 60m - so he changed the CNF to the original FIM again and ascended. He came up on the line just in front of Sara Campbell a few seconds before her top She gave up

Video a photos will follow. Probably after the party. We have to have a few drinks on Miško's new birthday.

 

[apneaboy]

I heard part of the story, good strong diver with a poor lanyard. I feel bad for Sara and a lot of nervous safety divers... again

Glad everyone is safe and sound.

As a matter of interest does anyone have a picture of the exact lanyard and its design in case there is some learning to be had from it?

A quick release mechanism that has too quickly released or was it not attached in the first place? The video would show that.

I should go and find this other thread 'cos this has already probably been done.

Enjoy the party, wish I could be there to enjoy it

 

[trux]

I do not know for sure, but I think it might have been the velcro strap around the wrist that was not properly closed. The lanyard Michal uses is quite well made, but it may be old, and the velcro may be already inefficent. Seeing this, the question is whether velcro should not be banned on lanyards - dirt, sand, or seaweed may get in it, and on my mind it can happen even with a lanyard in an excellent shape.

 

[apneaboy]

We use sailing quick release mechanisms, a similar thing could happen.

I think that a quick release mechanism that it is completely impossible to mess up and it come unattached is an oxymoron.

What do you reckon Trux for a design?

 

[trux]

Well, I agree the quick release mechanism is a controversial "safety" option. Velcro itself, if properly used, can hold a lot, but if it is dirty, and not properly closed, or of insufficient quality and dimensions, it can always happen. However, using classical buckle would probably not help much - they can fail too. Perhaps each freediver should have a unremovable lanyard fixed for the life?

 

[apneaboy]

Perhaps each freediver should have a unremovable lanyard fixed for the life?

Very useful in certain situations.

But not most

 

[efattah]

Incredible that Michal managed to stay calm-- but I guess his PB in CNF is near 90m so he had the confidence that he could perhaps make it to the surface even without a line. This reminds me of Genoni's accident in NLT when at 145m both lift mechanisms failed and after 40-50 seconds of struggling on the bottom, he ascended free immersion from a no-limits dive, and made it to 10m before a BO in range of the safety freedivers. Only the real experts manage to escape such situations.

I myself have had several such experiences, in the days before the lanyard. I several times lost the line in complete blackness underwater (line was invisible) and ascended far away from the line when attempting a personal best (happened at least 3 times in 2000-2001).

I feel sorry for Sara, but on the bright side she wins another golden egg award.

 

[picasso]

I lost my line two times before in our dark quarry before but there is only 58m depth. Yesterday we saw the video from two bottom cameras and one surface camera and it pretty interesting. I was falling in about 15 degree angle away to 90 meters and in the simillar angle up to 60 m and then grabed the line and complaining on the surfice that safety touched me ...:ycard didn't know I am on different lane ... I didn't know in which dept I was, I saw no line so my first guess was I had to be around 100m. So my plan was to get to the surface, close to platform and rely on safety because I was expecting I would BO, but I met no safety to the surface (no one saw expecting me on the other line) and went conscious after 3:34 dive. Once I have the vid I post the link. In the attachment you find my shitty velcro band from its yesterday last dive and one that is safe and which i plan to use.

 

[apneaboy]

Composure certainly played its part as did expertise.


Well done, did you get your protocol in?

 

[picasso]

Composure certainly played its part as did expertise.


Well done, did you get your protocol in?

I did nice protocol, but didn't know that I surfaced on the other line .

 

[pehtran]

Mišal, I am very glad it turned out well! Congratulations on great performances. I feel sorry for Sara though.

 

[mermaidgirl]

here is the video

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_OoyM4MwAA]AIDA Freediving WC Kalamata FIM - YouTube[/ame]

poor Sara was snakebit. She witnessed a a bad accident right before he cwt WR attempt and couldn't regain her composure then while she breathing for the FIM WR attempt Michal popped up.

 

[trux]

"DON'T TOUCH ME! I am OK" - Excellent!!! rofl
Must be a new protocol!

 

[pingshui]

Wow, this video really scares me! He was so unbelievably lucky. But I really feel bad for Sara.

 

[trux]

Thinking about the case, I believe the AIDA Board, Comissions, and the Assembly should discuss it and set clear rules what to do in a case when a competitor dives, and the dive needs to be interrupted immediately for safety reasons. Perhaps using a laud UW speaker or a siren, and/or continusly pulling on the rope could be used to signal the competitor that he has to interrupt the dive immediatly and return back. Never mind if more competitors will be diving in the same time - it is better if they all have their dives cancelled (or have to repeat them), than losing a diver. If there was a safety diver with a scooter ready, he could have stopped Michal. But apparently there are no procedure, and no drills for such case, so even if the scooter was there, it is a question whether they'd react quick enough if the procedure was not trained.

EDIT: and in the same time, also for many other cases, I think there should be a way for the freediver to send a signal to the surface in distress. Not only in case of losing the rope, but also when entangled, having some medical problem, or in many other cases. One possibility is repeatadly pulling the line (if not lost) - but as long as such signal is not standardized and tought to both competitors and safeties, it risks not to be used, or not to be interpreted correctly or quickly enough. Some electronic singalling might be even better, and there are devices on the market that can even give its position and depth under water. I think it would be worth of investigating its use for competitions and record attempts (well for trainings finally too).

 

[Kars]

Wow, what an incident!

Well I guess the lanyard protocol regulations will be looked upon.

Indeed Sara looked very spooked!

Didn't she get a restart?

 

[apneaboy]

Thanks for posting the vid

 

[picasso]

Wow, what an incident!

Well I guess the lanyard protocol regulations will be looked upon.

Indeed Sara looked very spooked!

Didn't she get a restart?

Sara got the restart in the afternoon but after so much unexpected not pleasant experience she decided not to repeat. David King and me was quite enough for her. Sorry Sara, you make it next time .

 

[ThomasB]

here is the video

AIDA Freediving WC Kalamata FIM - YouTube

Scary. What if he didn't accidentally and luckily find another rope?
How about that lineyard falling apart at the beginning of the dive? Was it checked before ? This could have been a disaster.

 

[picasso]

In case of no rope/line I would had to do CNF way up and rely on my oxygen storage. My CNF PB at the competition was 84m so I would probably at least ascend by my self and rely that safety would find me.