By Robert Trosser
Freedive Safety
I have been Freediving and Spearfishing since I was a young boy and never gave a second thought to safety or rules. I always knew to come up before you pass out, and that kept me alive, by sheer luck, during my childhood.
I took my first Freediving class when I was an adult. It was an eye opening experience! I learned that almost everything I had been doing was not only wrong but also dangerous.
What I’m writing here is not a substitute for proper training from a professional Freediving instructor. Go Get Certified!
Our 2 big concerns while Freediving are a loss of motor control or a blackout situation. Both are easily treated but can be fatal if not addressed immediately. A blackout is where the person runs out of oxygen and the body goes into a protective mode. Like putting a computer in sleep mode. The Loss of Motor Control (LMC) is where the oxygen levels are just low enough that the person is unable to control the body but is still conscious. LMC is far more dangerous in my opinion but the real problem with either is drowning if nothing is done.
The first rule, I will never break again, is to always dive with a buddy! Even if I am in a few feet of water I always have a trained buddy in the water with me ready to assist if needed. The buddy system is there to prevent small problems from turning into large tragedies. A properly trained dive buddy will be able to immediately assist when a blackout or LMC happens. I have experienced more than a few dive buddies blacking out and am happy to say that all are still diving to this day.
The other rules all fall in line with having a trained dive buddy. Always surface within an arms distance of your buddy, give the ok signal as a test of motor skills, and wait 30 seconds before the safety diver starts their dive. These are almost a checklist to make sure the diver is actually ok after a dive.
In the basic Freediving course these rules are taught and the safety procedures are repeated until they are second nature. The only way to be sure your dive buddies are capable of performing a rescue in an emergency is to practice the skills and follow the rules at every Freediving session. Go get certified!
The ultimate reason for Freediving is to enjoy the ocean. Whether it is to explore the reef or spearfish we need to be safe to make sure we come back from the adventure. Take the time and educate yourself and have a safe day on the water.
Robert Trosset
FINZ Dive Center
5130 Overseas Hiwy,Key West • 305-395-0880
www.Finzdivecenter.com • Info@Finzdivecenter.com