With Scuba or not with Scuba?

[dewdropsonrosa]

One thing to keep in mind for ZUBA/SNUBA-type equipment is that those activities are surface-supplied diving, with an air delivery mechanism connecting you to the surface. My (very, very basic) understanding is that this can pose additional hazards in certain environments (e.g., entanglement).

Could someone with more experience in surface-supplied diving weigh in on this?

 

[Subcooled]

I like the style and nature of freediving, but I heard it is very dangerous and could easily black out and die.

Well... no. You could not "easily" black out. Read on.

I am not a master freediver but I have done some freediving. I will roughly and without excessive detail explain some basic facts below.

You should know that roughly speaking there are two gasses in blood: oxygen (O2) keeps you alive, and carbon dioxide (CO2) is the waste gas that triggers the need to breathe. You can't get any meaningfull amounts of extra oxygen from breathing air, but you could get rid of a lot of CO2.

Running low on oxygen in blood causes unconsciousness. It could (in some well known situations) happen without you noticing it. Hence, it is avoidable. And even at this point your freediving safety diver would bring you to the surface and save your life. You never freedive alone. If you do not hyperventilate (breathe fast and deep and a lot) prior to the dive then you are basically safe. This means that you should not artificially lower the CO2 level by forcefull breathing (no matter how much you breathe, the blood oxygen content will not rise). The pressure drop after a deep dive is another factor, but depth comes with exerience so you will know what you are doing. AIDA has some excellent courses. AIDA International

This passing out will not (in correctly executed freediving) happen without you knowing it, as the waste gas (CO2) accumulates in your blood stream and you go through various stages.

First come the pelvic thrusts that try to make you breathe, several of those, and they don't feel bad at all once you get used to them. You will notice and count them. Then your muscles start using anaerobic energy (you can feel that) and your blood also becomes more acidic (which I feel in my nose). A lot is going on that you notice and are familiar with. You also know your dive history and what you every time achieve and what is your maximum limit. You will feel how the increasing carbon dioxide levels affect you. As time passes, holding your breath will become a challenge, but you can actually hold your breath untill you pass out. This however will NOT happen without you noticing it if you just avoided a few risk factors. If you forcibly ignore the warnings, then the world may fade out... More experienced freedivers may explain these thing to you in greater detail.

Freediving is pure joy. Free, light, quiet. You are one with the water.

One compromise would be to get a wetsuit, a side mount belt harness, minimal weights, and two three litre cylinders. The dive time would be limited (but 10x longer than in freediving) but the equipment would be extraordinary light. The bubbles can be really annoying though.

---------- Post added April 14th, 2015 at 03:19 PM ----------

Two commercials, but worth seeing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sv_Bv1H7BQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ahQYqho7w4

You will want both

 

[CT-Rich]

I am not sure what your expectation with us or the sport is. You say you don't want all the funky weird gear of scuba, but you don't want the risk of free diving. Then you want us to look up the name and phone number of a instructor.
The basic gear you need for diving of any type in South Florida is:

• Mask
• Fins
• Snorkel

If you choose SCUBA you will additionally need

• Tank
• Regulator (a primary and an octopus, Pressure gauge, dive computer)
• BCD

For either you will need some level of training. You may want some extras like and exposure suit and weights, lights, spear, guns, camera, flags and floats (required for anything other than a charter) reels, scooters, a rebreather, signal flairs, GPS locator/ beacon and full service yacht.


Personally Ms. Bisset, does not look at all weird in all this weird equipment. You get to choose how complicated you make it. But if you want better answers I would suggest doing a google search on local business that can more specifically answer your questions.

 

[Squirttle37]

I have just made my decision. As terms of like right now, I am going to choose Skin diving, the milder version of Freediving. I am planning to complete the course via PADI Snorkeling and Skin Diving Course. I have been snorkeling once on a high school field trip when I was 17, but that's about it. When I go skin diving, my gear woould be snorkel, fins, mask, and a life vest. Even tough I have rarely been in the water, I really want to go thgere and know all about some diving dangers, like Shallow Water Blackout.
Then, when I master my underwater skills, then I'll move on to Hookah diving with Scuba tank on the float and diving to like only 20 feet. But before I do that, I would get Open Water SCUBA certified since Hookah diving has the same risk as SCUBA diving.

 

[Keith.M]

Snorkel, skin dive. Free dive, really they are all basically the same. I don't understand your issues with the gear required for scuba.

Are you physically handicapped and can't carry the gear?

 

[spoolin01]

After reading your post a couple of times, I think you might like snuba - you can dive to moderate depths of 20 or 30 ft (or more) if you like, and have fairly unfettered mobility and plenty of air so you can take your time to look at things. As mentioned, you should take the open water scuba class so you understand the risks and protocols peculiar to breathing air under water. On the other hand, if you just want to see the fish and shallow reefs in Florida with the least delay and expense, snorkeling and freediving with a bit of lead weight to help you dive down can also be done in a quite relaxing fashion. With a little practice you will be able to hold your breath long enough to make each dive interesting, and it's not at all necessary to push yourself to the kind of extreme that would invite shallow water blackout, or any sort of distress.

 

[TMHeimer]

I have just made my decision. As terms of like right now, I am going to choose Skin diving, the milder version of Freediving. I am planning to complete the course via PADI Snorkeling and Skin Diving Course. I have been snorkeling once on a high school field trip when I was 17, but that's about it. When I go skin diving, my gear woould be snorkel, fins, mask, and a life vest. Even tough I have rarely been in the water, I really want to go thgere and know all about some diving dangers, like Shallow Water Blackout.
Then, when I master my underwater skills, then I'll move on to Hookah diving with Scuba tank on the float and diving to like only 20 feet. But before I do that, I would get Open Water SCUBA certified since Hookah diving has the same risk as SCUBA diving.

Good attitude. Wish all OW students would take this route first.

---------- Post added April 21st, 2015 at 12:44 AM ----------

Snorkel, skin dive. Free dive, really they are all basically the same. I don't understand your issues with the gear required for scuba.

Are you physically handicapped and can't carry the gear?

Agree--They're all the same. I always related "free diving" as those who go deeper than maybe 10'.

 

[AirBuddy]

I am interested in diving in but heard about how bulky and wierd the Cousteau type tanks are. I like the style and nature of freediving, but I heard it is very dangerous and could easily black out and die. I am trying to find something or an activity that would get me underwater safely without any air tanks or wierd equipment. Is there anything that would let me dive in a freediving-like style safely (NOT actually freediving tough. Do such things that satisfy what I want exist or is very close to being real (I am not talking about that Like-A-Fish stuff)?

Hi all,

we have been asking ourselves the same question for quite some time. As much as we like SCUBA diving, we felt there are times when we would just like to go for a quick shore dive in shallow water - e.g. reef diving on holidays in Fiji, quick dive after work, when travelling along the coast in a campervan, etc. We didn't really find any equipment on the market that would serve this purpose, so currently pursue this idea developing AirBuddy, a small, light-weight and easy to use hookah equipment. Have a look at AirBuddy: Diving. Easier. - AirBuddy: Diving. Easier.. Our vision is to bring the ease of snorkeling into the fascinating world of diving so that more people can explore and appreciate our marine life. Let us know what you think And please don't forget to leave your email address by clicking "Stay in Touch" if you wish to be among the first to get informed about the development and pre-orders.

Cheers, AirBuddy team.

 

[Steve_C]

I like to relax and watch the underwater world slowly evolve around me. If I see something over a little ways I like to cruise over and look at it. In an hour on a reef I like to spend the whole hour down. Not going up and down. For me anyway, the answer is scuba.

 

[Storker]

We didn't really find any equipment on the market that would serve this purpose, so currently pursue this idea developing AirBuddy, a small, light-weight and easy to use hookah equipment.

So... Your project is to sell gear that delivers compressed air underwater to people who haven't received training in the risks associated with that?

Sounds like a killer plan. Hope you've got a solid liability insurance.