Free diving, tank sharing fatality - Australia

[DandyDon]

Excerpting from Tributes for music producer killed in free-diving accident

Mr Young was known as an experienced diver and had been free-diving in the months leading up to the tragedy.
Last month he made headlines after swimming with hammerhead sharks off Point Peron, hoping to dispel people's fears about the predators.
It is understood My Young was sharing oxygen with a female friend who was scuba diving with him and he had taken a breath before returning to the surface.
It is unclear exactly what happened but experts say breath-held divers can be affected by shallow-water blackouts, which can cause drowning.
"You've come to the surface with not enough left in the tank basically, in the body and you've ignored the signals and you blackout because you've run out of oxygen," expert Tania Douthwaite said.
Ms Douthwaite said free-diving with a scuba diver can be dangerous.
"Whenever you are free-diving always have somebody there who is diving within your limits," she said.

 

[drrich2]

Lung over-expansion injury is a possibility, particularly if he neglected to exhale on ascent after taking a breath of pressurized air at depth. Even someone who knows better could be a bit absent minded and fall into usual practices, such as a free diver holding his breath.

 

[GreggS]

^Exactly what I was thinking when I read the article. Take a breathe of comressed air, then surface. Not a sequence of events.

 

[Johnoly]

Many readers may not know this,,,,but there are several Certification Agencies for Freediving, (including PADI) just like there are Scuba Diving certification agencies. Yep, there are different levels and C-cards just like scuba certifications.
No way would a certified Freediver ever attempt this nor without a surface buddy diver. Training and certification is key in any underwater sport.

Worldwide, freediving activities are many times bigger than scuba diving activities.

 

[seeker242]

^Exactly what I was thinking when I read the article. Take a breathe of comressed air, then surface. Not a sequence of events.

And prohibited by all freedive training, everywhere. As well as not having a dedicated buddy. Both are HUGE nos.

 

[drrich2]

He's described as an experienced diver (I speculate experienced free diver, whether he ever did scuba or not?), and apparently was known/influential enough to get sufficient press attention that his actives with hammerheads (not something I'd expect a newbie to be involved in) were able to generate 'headlines.'

Yep, there are different levels and C-cards just like scuba certifications.

I didn't know their formal training options were that elaborate. Does anyone know whether free divers are routinely taught about the dangerous of breathing compressed air off a scuba diver's reg. at depth, then ascending?

Years ago I read about a guy doing just that, and dying; later when I went back hunting the reference, I never could find it. But as I recall, this particular dynamic is more than just a theoretical danger.

No way to know if that's what killed Mr. Young. Sympathies to the family for their loss.

 

[Johnoly]

...I didn't know their formal training options were that elaborate.

Different courses go by different names. Fii agency does level 1 to ~66ft ,,,,level 2 down to about 80-100. Then there are entire courses to train on well advanced breath hold by several minute, deep spearfishing breath hold and then private instruction that can involve personal best depths and record training. And just like scuba there are instructor levels and many other levels and certs available.

..Does anyone know whether free divers are routinely taught about the dangerous of breathing compressed air off a scuba diver's reg. at depth, then ascending?

YES,, in your very first course you are taught the effects of breathing off a tank at depth as well as shallow water blackout and what to do.

Just my opinion, but all the course really started to get going 10 years ago when parents were losing so many of their children to freediving mistakes. Now there are multi-level courses to teach them safety and also technique, because you know they are going to go there anyway so why not do it right.

 

[Bob DBF]

No way would a certified Freediver ever attempt this nor without a surface buddy diver. Training and certification is key in any underwater sport.

As well as not having a dedicated buddy. Both are HUGE nos.

Scuba agencies had the same rules for a long time as well, some still do. I would guess certified freedivers have a better compliance rate, however I've known a number that have gone solo on benign dives. Haven't seen any take a hit off a reg, but the viz isn't that great where I dive. I haven't been formally trained so my practices are irrelevant.

I wouldn't expect shallow water blackout if he he went to the surface after breathing on scuba as the article says, however if he used it to extend his dive...


Bob

 

[Griffo]

He's described as an experienced diver (I speculate experienced free diver, whether he ever did scuba or not?), and apparently was known/influential enough to get sufficient press attention that his actives with hammerheads (not something I'd expect a newbie to be involved in) were able to generate 'headlines.'
.

You're talking about a pretty crappy weekend tabloid paper with circulation of 100k... it doesn't take much to get a "headline" in that paper the day before xmas if it involves sharks.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/sh...counter-with-hammerhead-sharks-ng-b881058971z

 

[American Digger In Europe]

Most likely a lung expansion injury. RIP.