Getting Bent Shallow Freedives

[Sam Miller III]

@Dano

You market diving equipment to all levels of diving

In todays diving community there are a sufficient number of apparently almost novice divers who gain knowledge by repeating take courses seemingly taught by fuzzy faced instructors who can read up side down and backwards faster than the student can read right side up. Upon completing of the ":course " issues a certificate suitable for framing or a card to carry in their wallet.

One course it the "Free Diving " type course, were the student is instructed in diving with out Scuba to rater substantial depths.

Have you as a professional noticed or been aware of any recent cases of Taravana aka free diving bends (DCS)

Sam Miller;III

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Sam let's say friends of friends. there is still stigma associated with it. Last year's world spearfishing comp in Greece. Hunting well below 40 meters.

No names need to be mentioned, but the potential for deco injury is well recognized at the very elite level. Way out of the scope of the ops question

 

[Sam Miller III]

Dano.

I agree !

In my youth, the prime of my diving, I and so may of my departed buddies were doing repetitive free dives after California prized WSB to great depths with out much surface interval .

I hunted decent respectable depths , my dive buddy Ron Merker (@Dr.Bill instructor) would wave and disappear in to the haze of the depths.
And the great Herb Samson (Sampson spear gun) He would wave at Ron and keep on going out of sight

Yet God some how protected us ..

Sam

 

[BoltSnap]

WSB

What is that?

 

[northernone]

What is that?

Not to speak for @Sam Miller III but I believe that he is referring to White Sea Bass (Atractoscion nobilis). I may know their name but I an ignorant of how to spear them, their behavior or tendencies. I'd love to hear more.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[Blueringocto_73]

Wow, such great stories and info! Not planning on doing 100 repetitive shallow dives with short surface intervals. It was more to nail down the risk assessment. 25 is enough and shallow water blackout is the primary risk.

And blackout is a very real risk even with the 25 dives. I will be careful. Donning a flooded mask at depth and getting it cleared is the goal with each one. As well as ear clearing and a cardio workout.

And I'm putting a few drops of alcohol in my ears after these sessions to reduce the risk of clogging/infection.

If I had access to a deeper pool say 20 feet. I would do fewer and that would be even better training.

Edit: I'm grateful for the diving experiences I had when I was young. It's really amazing to me how it stayed with me. A feeling of confidence and bliss in the water.

Thanks

 

[USMC CPL.]

You can't get "bent" freediving. Read and reread Cameron's post to get an idea of what can happen. Only freedive with a buddy: one up, one down is the usual protocol. It can be just as dangerous as rebreather diving.

If you could please explain. I wondered if you could get bent from free diving and I found he answer to be yes. Is it possible. I am not trying to argue just wanting to learn. Thanks.

 

[northernone]

If you could please explain. I wondered if you could get bent from free diving and I found he answer to be yes. Is it possible. I am not trying to argue just wanting to learn. Thanks.

I agree with him. I took it he meant that the average person won't bend themselves freediving.

It takes an elite level to bend yourself free diving alone and likely years of training. Scuba diving plus free diving might bend you but that's the result of scuba diving.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[The Chairman]

If you could please explain. I wondered if you could get bent from free diving and I found he answer to be yes. Is it possible. I am not trying to argue just wanting to learn. Thanks.

Sure. When you do an apnea dive, you breathe in one atmosphere of air. At this point the air is in a semi-rigid container. IOW, it's not as affected by ambient pressures as a regulator would be. When you breathe off of a regulator, you're filling your lungs with air at ambient pressure.

Secondly, how long will you be down? For every two minute dive, you're probably going to have a 10 minute recovery.

Unless you do something to really change these two parameters, your chances of getting the bends from apnea diving is zero, nada and squat in precisely that order.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I agree with the Chairman
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The late Clay Blair Jr. was an early professionally trained diving writer. On of his last books was his 1960 book Diving for Pleasure and Treasure. (Yes there was diving prior to PADI)

It documented the efforts of (Sir) Robert Marx in diving in shallow depth for extremely long times --longer that any one to date had ever spent underwater -- days on end to excavate the treasure of the "Matanzero " off the coast of the Yucatan

One morning he demonstrated very bizarre symptoms and didn't dive that day-- the attending personnel were baffled with his strange diving symptoms -- until the next day and his dive ailment was diagnosed as the flu

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The AMAs of Japan and the Hae No (S) of Korea have been diving for centuries with out the benefit of modern dive medicine or technology.

After every dive they purse their lips and emit a shrill whistle, while pumping up for the next dive .

There to my knowledge been no reports of DCS
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I do not suspect you will have any problems free diving in your pool
I would suggest that you add a drop or two of mineral or olive oil to your alcohol ear drops -- if not you will dry out the EAM & TM

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WSB -- white sea bass - the prized fish for the California spearfishermen - very skittish seldom seen by bubble blowers
Often referred to a "ghost fish" sine they blend in and are difficult to spot.

Shots are often at great distances with long spears -- I used a 7 foot long Bottom Scratcher gun -- Only 120 were custom made -- I have my two setting next to my desk -- just incase a WSB swims 500 feet up the hill into gun range...


Sam Miller, III