How safe is freediving?

gsk3 · Jun 29, 2011

I'm considering learning freediving because I think it would improve my in-water comfort on SCUBA and because I can't always drag a bunch of equipment with me around the world. There are risks to every sport, and SCUBA is certainly not as safe as sitting at home wrapped up in pillows, but on SCUBA if you are careful about gas management, use the buddy system, carry appropriate signaling devices, and so forth the risk is quite low.

Is it possible to bring freediving to the same level of risk? That is to say, if you only ever freedive with a buddy using the one-up-one-down system, don't hyperventilate, and so forth, is it possible to bring freediving to the same level of risk as recreational-level SCUBA dives? Or is SWB always a risk no matter how careful you are? And are there other risks other than SWB? DCS doesn't seem to much affect non-competitive freedivers, but what else can cause trouble?

Thanks!

Akimbo · Jun 29, 2011

Quantifying risk is always a basis for an argument, but what the heck; this is Scubaboard

The most insidious risk is shallow water blackout, which you can read about here or find some excellent articles on the Web. The best option is to take a freediving course such as Performance Freediving (there are others as well). They are expensive and may be a bit much depending on your interest.

How would you describe your freediving skills now? Are there any experienced freedivers in your area you can dive with? Freediving is one of those skills that is initially unpleasant for many Scuba divers until you get over the hump. Unfortunately, getting over the hump is when it can become the most dangerous.

All that said, freediving is one of the very best skills a Scuba diver can have. I took the PFI Intermediate course last year and learned aspects of physiology you can't find in Scuba classes.

dumpsterDiver · Jun 29, 2011

Freediving is considerably more dangerous than scuba diving in my opinion. I feel much safer diving solo to 180 on scuba than freediving to 60 feet without a buddy.

You seem to be under the impression that following safe freediving practices will prevent a SWB. This is not true.

However, if you follow safe practices AND have an attentive and well trained buddy who can see you during the dive, it is very likely that should you have a BO, you will be recovered and will not be injured.

A good freediving class will definitely make you a better scuba diver in my opinion.

gsk3 · Jun 29, 2011

Thanks for some sane and very helpful responses so far. I've been pondering this for some time, but I'm in France right now, where SCUBA is difficult and freediving is pretty common. So the timeline for potentially learning got bumped up a bit.

I'm pretty darn risk-averse, so I'd likely limit it to 30 feet and not incredibly long times. The point is more to learn the skill than to reach places I can't otherwise--that's what SCUBA's for.

Akimbo · Jun 29, 2011

gsk3:
but I'm in France right now, where SCUBA is difficult and freediving is pretty common
I'm pretty darn risk-averse, so I'd likely limit it to 30 feet and not incredibly long times...

I assume you are in the Med rather than the Channel. There are a lot of world-class apnea divers there and maybe you could find a class. You could also contact PFI to see if hey can suggest any. Have you made any friends who are accomplished freedivers? You might find Manual-Freediving-Underwater-Single-Breath a useful introduction.

Relatively speaking, you are probably be safer with no training and surfacing as soon as you feel the CO2-induced urge to breath than reading this book and freediving alone. 30 is no guarantee, depleting O2 is the problem. The reason that casual snorkelers and Abalone divers arent dropping like flies is the urge to breath is so strong and they have not developed the ability to ignore it. If I ever scare myself enough or hit the lottery I will invest in The Freedivers Recovery Vest

I would guess about a third of the PFI course is on rescue, which most freedivers dont learn. Nobody is immune from SWB, but the likelihood goes up dramatically once you learn to manage CO2 symptoms.

aquaregia · Jun 29, 2011

I'm in Germany right now, and I've been curious about a freediving course for a while. I'm pretty much a non-freediver at this point, but if you found a class in the right part of France, taught in English, I might be interested in joining.

gsk3 · Jun 29, 2011

Sadly, I'm in neither but in the Seine. There are some freediving classes here held in pools and "pits" (deep pools) however. The country's lousy with them.

I'd like to take the PFI course, but that kind of cash and travel time are not in the cards for the forseeable future.... But the write-up of it last year was awesome.

Not sure how much rescue an apnée class would teach here, but I'll definitely be checking that out before I take any such class.

Akimbo:
I assume you are in the Med rather than the Channel. There are a lot of world-class apnea divers there and maybe you could find a class. You could also contact PFI to see if hey can suggest any. Have you made any friends who are accomplished freedivers? You might find Manual-Freediving-Underwater-Single-Breath a useful introduction.

Relatively speaking, you are probably be safer with no training and surfacing as soon as you feel the CO2-induced urge to breath than reading this book and freediving alone. 30’ is no guarantee, depleting O2 is the problem. The reason that casual snorkelers and Abalone divers aren’t dropping like flies is the urge to breath is so strong and they have not developed the ability to ignore it. If I ever scare myself enough or hit the lottery I will invest in The Freedivers Recovery Vest

I would guess about a third of the PFI course is on rescue, which most freedivers don’t learn. Nobody is immune from SWB, but the likelihood goes up dramatically once you learn to “manage” CO2 symptoms.

gsk3 · Jun 29, 2011

aquaregia:
I'm in Germany right now, and I've been curious about a freediving course for a while. I'm pretty much a non-freediver at this point, but if you found a class in the right part of France, taught in English, I might be interested in joining.

Not sure about the English part, but I'll ask. I assume the right part of France is northern?

fdog · Jun 29, 2011

If you're interested, here is a review I did on the PFI course

Fdog Review: Performance Freediving Course

As a preview, you should know the freediving blackout "Rule of 9's":

90% of blackouts: on the surface
9% of blackouts: 15' or less
0.9% of blackouts: 80' or less

<edit: Oops, I see you've seen this before...!>

All the best, James

gsk3 · Jun 29, 2011

fdog:
If you're interested, here is a review I did on the PFI course

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to. It sparked my interest in freediving. Thanks for posting such a detailed and enjoyable review.

How safe is freediving?

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