I wont go past 65 ft.

  • I don't know.


    This is the limit I set myself. I always dive alone so I gotta watch out for myself. But I feel I can go past 65 ft. and wanna do it, but I FEAR the BO.


    I feel that the FEAR limits my potential.


    I can't get a buddy because there's only about 50 freedivers (that know what to do incase of BO and I don't know them) out of 100 million people in my country.


    Basically, I'm just asking from your experience. Is hovering around 65 ft safe enough? Can I go deeper? I just have so many doubts because of the FEAR.


    Thanks!

  • Why do you need to go deeper? Are there not fish at and above 65'?
    If it is about pushing yourself, def get a buddy and dive as deep as you can while safe. If it is about fish, I would work on being the most stealth and efficient diver I could be and I expect you will get more fish.

    i like to spear fish

  • Trying not to sound rude but I think you need to do a bit more research. Setting depth limits will in no way protect you from a blackout. The cause of blackouts is pushing your limits, this can be diving to 65+ or this could be in 30 ft. If you tried to do a 2 min + dive in 65ft you run more risk than a 1 min dive to 70. Of course there are many other factors that contribute but I just wanted to clear up this one.


    The closest I have ever seen a dive buddy get to blacking out was in 20ft of water lobstering. He was chasing a particularly elusive lobster all around a little rock. He started to come up and the lobster came out so he went back down after it. Seeing this from the surface and knowing my friend was pushing it, I was prepared and ready if something happened. When he eventually did come to the surface I immediately grabbed him under the armpit and supported him. He just stared at me blankly for a good five seconds. Eventually he snapped out of it and realized what was going on. He didn't black out but he was damn close. He would have been in trouble if I wasn't there.


    I didn't include this story to scare you or dissuade you from diving beyond 65. I personally love diving deep. Pushing myself and enjoying the environment are two of my favorite aspects of diving. But every time we dive there is risk involved. I wish there was a way to say "if you stay less than this depth for x amount of time you will be fine" but it simply doesn't work that way. You need to learn to understand your body and feelings. It will help a lot.


    Good luck and stay safe.

  • No dive or fish or lobster or abalone or testing endurance and limits nor any creature of the sea is worth a life period. And now that I am older, yes wiser too I can convey that I truly believe youth, Ego and Testosterone perhaps and always poor judgement is the #1 reason why there are deaths in the sport.
    Been diving for 40 years.


  • 1. NEVER DIVE ALONE
    2. Take a freediver class
    2. Buy Dr. Maas Freediver Recovery Vest and wear it EVERY dive. FRV Oceanic Safety Systems
    IF you SWB and die, you will feel no pain, BUT your FAMILY, FRIENDS and the SPORT will suffer for years for YOUR decision to be unsafe.
    hope this helps


    pullbouy---I like your avitar name :)

    SPEARFISHING and RECREATIONAL FISHING NEEDS THE NRA
    Spearfishing Store

    Edited once, last by hau ().

  • hau, lets get real.. you don't do any of those 3 things, and you'd buy another pair of $200 Ice blades before you put this money towards a freediving course or the vest, so why give that advice?


    I like what Wishihadgills said. But on the practical side, anything deeper than 50' is a cue for me to be on high alert. Simply because the safety margin becomes very small if something were to not go as planned. So if a fish appears towards the end of my breath hold, my trained response is first to make a quick assessment of the situation and how long I've been down. At 45' I don't have these concerns, I'm much more relaxed.

  • hau, lets get real.. you don't do any of those 3 things, and you'd buy another pair of $200 Ice blades before you put this money towards a freediving course or the vest, so why give that advice?


    Do you think my advise to pullbouy is poor advise?
    My attempt was to help him be a safer diver. NOT to advise him to be like me.

  • Advice that's likely not be taken at all is probably poor advice. Better is advice that's easier to implement. The best advice here was from Xan, and it basically amounts to making pullboy realize that he has the wrong attitude in the first place which is the pursuit of depth, which is promoted precisely by freediving courses. The best way to avoid BO is to stay well within your limits until there is a good reason to push further, and you've slowly and naturally reached the point where you can do it safely. Then there will be no blackout. Setting a predetermined depth goes against this principle, that's why there are so many deaths as a result of freediving courses and their promotion.

  • The fear is caused by your ego and Id working in conflict with one another to keep you alive. You should be more concerned when this mechanism is no longer working. Fear is good.

  • I can't drive... FIFTY FIVE!!!


    Drive or DIVE? :confused1:


    Back on topic, you can blackout in a swimming pool, so dept is not the reason. Is pushing your limits beyond your capacities.


    I find that my best piece of gear for my safety is my freediving computer. I control my diving and recovery times, my dept and can see how I am that particular day. But I have been freediving for more than 30 years...

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

  • I agree 100% with Marco. One of my good friends (Alex Felax) drowned in a club pool in South Africa, he was a Pipin Trained freediver
    that had dove with me several times to 100' plus.
    Don't push if you dive alone, and stay out of caves/ledges with out a skilled life saver as back up.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

  • Practicing being a sneaky bastard will get you more fish than practicing to go deeper. :D at least in my limited experience.


    Thanks for the dating tips.:laughing:


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

  • Thanks for more tips.


    I get it. It's comfort level and not pushing when alone. I'm quite comfortable there, so I have a "superman" feeling that I can go further. I won't. Unless I got a buddy watching.


    I should concentrate more on spearing fish than depth. I actually started freediving before spearing, just an evolution on my end. Just trying to change my mindset.


    Best regards.

  • What is the layout of the terrain where you dive?


    If I were trying to be able to dive deeper I would want to figure out what was keeping me from getting the fish I seek at the depths I dive.
    Sometimes the answer to that question is just because the fish are deeper. If that is the case I would say the only real answer is to get a dive buddy. You are taking a risk diving period. This is made worse the deeper you dive. I don't know any magic number, I think it changes for everyone, but the depth at which a dive is easy or not. For me it is 45-50'. Any time I go deeper than that I better have mark or frank at my back.
    I can, and do, dive deeper than that, but that's my "safety needed" depth.


    I would always advocate having a buddy for all dives but I don't do that. Spearing generally results in guys getting separated and not watching and then you are in no position to help at all. Because of that, I focus on hunting areas where that allow me to get to the fish or we make a dive plan to be on watch strictly.
    I don't know if any of that is at all relevant to you or your dive areas

    i like to spear fish

  • As already stated, depth adds risk but you can easily black out from shallow dives. I blacked out ascending from a 45' dive, and if not for my dive buddy and girlfriend I'd be gone. Be safe out there and if at all possible, have a good spotter.

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