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We all love that opening underwater scene from the classic movie, Le Grand Bleu where a diver is trapped in a shipwreck, certainly doomed to never come out until Enzo heroically freedives deep into the wreck to save the lost diver in a way that seems superhuman. In fact, Le Grand Bleu is what inspired so many people to try freediving for the first time, and created a whole new generation of apneists. However, as you start to discover more about this sport you’ll realize a few freediving myths. And if you’ve never tried freediving, maybe you’re holding on to a few yourself. In this article, I will be covering many of the common (and not so common) misconceptions about the unique sport of freediving.
The first rule of freediving is always the same, never dive alone. It may seem that freediving, as long as you are diving within what you believe to be your limits, is a safe and practical thing to do. However, this is not the case. Ask any seasoned freediver and they will always tell you to freedive under the supervision of a competent buddy.
A buddy's role is to act as a safety for their fellow diver and should be able to properly assess the physical conditions of a freediver both in the water and on the surface. A buddy should also know the rescue procedure for a diver in distress and be endurant enough to tow their buddy back to land. There are many different signs both below and above the water that a buddy must assess for their diver in order to keep her/him safe.
Buddies are there to stop what is generally a small incident into a fatality. An unfortunate example of this occurring was back in 2011 when a 200+ meter (no-limits) Belgian diver tragically passed away in his own swimming pool while doing routine breath holds without a safety present. Also, not a year goes by when we don’t read about a spearo who has tragically passed away while doing what they love, diving alone.
You never know when a fellow diver has exceeded their own limits, that's why it is of the utmost importance to be trained and proficient in safetying as a freediver. If you are going to begin training, I would highly recommend taking a freediving course with a qualified instructor. If you don't have access to a course in your area, you can also take a theory course and an examination online to better prepare yourself. This is not only for your buddies sake, but you also need to know the warning signs and what it feels like to be near your own limits as a diver. So whether you're diving in the deep ocean or sitting in your pool at home, never hold your breath in the water without a buddy!
It may sound logical to hyperventilate before freediving. You are taking in more oxygen and it makes diving easier! Right? This is not only incorrect, but hyperventilation is actually an incredibly dangerous thing to do before holding your breath in water!
Simply put, hyperventilation is any form of breathing that exceeds the need that the body has for oxygen, and for the removal of CO2. What comes to mind when we think of hyperventilation is fast and rapid breathing- what you see when someone is in a panic. But off-gassing too much CO2 can also come in the form of deep and slow breathing, this is actually the most common and least detectable type of hyperventilation done before a dive.
If I were to read your O2 saturation while you're sitting and reading this article, your blood's oxygen saturation is most likely already near its max (around 96-99 percent oxygenated) . This is because a healthy human body is excellent at keeping itself in homeostasis or, in other words, a state of stable equilibrium between all of its elements (O2 saturation, CO2 saturation, blood acidity, etc.)
With a rise in CO2, hemoglobin is more likely to give up oxygen to the tissues, which is where it’s needed when we freedive. So remember, CO2 is your friend!
Not only does hyperventilation decrease the amount of oxygen available to you during your breath-hold because hemoglobin holds into O2 and doesn’t release it, but it also decreases your urge to breathe. This means that if you hyperventilate before a dive, your chances of injury are much higher because your urge to breathe is compromised making the time you feel you should resurface inaccurate.
Although it may seem like a smart idea to start your descent with an extra couple of pounds, this is not a wise tactic. Instructors will see this unsafe practice with inexperienced freedivers, but most commonly in spearfishermen. Some speros will get in the habit of overweighting themselves for more time underwater and a more effortless descent.
Being overweighted on the surface means you have to work harder to stay up, so you never fully relax while you breathe up. If you descend too quickly, you will consistently struggle to maintain a good position in the water and resurfacing becomes much more difficult. Not only does this make for a less enjoyable dive, but in emergency situations can put you into a panic and make a rescue more challenging for your buddy. This is why we always perform a neutral buoyancy check and surface exhale test to establish that we are properly weighted before each session.