Is Freediving Safe?

This is a question that everyone asks themselves before embarking on their first freedive. Not only that, but experienced freedivers also have to ask themselves that same question before going on each individual dive. In this article, we will explore the dangers and risks that come with freediving and what you can do to minimize these.

What are the dangers of freediving?

Environment – Whenever you freedive, be it in the ocean or a lake, you are at the mercy of your environment. The problem with the environment is that it is completely out of your control. Currents can change without warning, An unannounced wave can come out of nowhere and dump you onto a rock or sandbar. The possibilities are endless.

Additionally, the local wildlife of your diving environment can be a factor when freediving. Shark attacks, although rare, are a possibility. Additionally, poisonous fish and serpents are possible encounters while freediving and jellyfish can wash in unannounced. The environment in which you are diving can be the most challenging aspect of freediving that you will experience.

Unpredictability – This plays into the issue of the environment. When you freedive, proper planning is crucial for your own survival. However, when you are diving in the ocean, the changes and variable of the environment can torpedo even the most well-prepared freediver. Freedivers need to be able to think on their toes when batting the unknown depths of the ocean.

Visibility – Depending on where you are freediving, visibility can be an issue. Lakes are often murky but the ocean can also be short on visibility. Storms way out on the ocean horizon can stir the ocean water and churn the sea bed which results in debris circulating in the water that can make it difficult to see farther away than an arm’s length. Additionally, the deeper you dive, the less sunlight that can penetrate the water at that depth. This usually is more of a problem at much deeper depths than the average person can freedive to, but it is something that divers of any depth need to be aware of.

Temperature – Water temperature in the ocean is not uniform. Temperatures can vary drastically as pockets of water glide past one another. The change in water temperature from warm to cool can cause a reaction in a diver’s body similar to a subtle shock. When your body becomes suddenly cooler, muscles in your body will often contract naturally. This sudden change in tension within your body can cause fatigue over time, which if not addressed early on, can result in the tiring of a diver. Becoming tired is never something you want to experience when you are many meters beneath the surface of the water.

Latent Hypoxia – Hypoxia itself is simply the condition in which your tissues within your body are deprived of oxygen. Although this is often a general term for deprivation of oxygen, hypoxia can be serious when we talk about oxygen deprivation to the brain. Latent Hypoxia occurs when a freediver has sufficient oxygen in their body to sustain consciousness at the heightened pressure at a particular depth. However, as the diver ascends to the surface, the oxygen concentration within the diver’s body is no longer sufficient to maintain consciousness at surface pressure. This can result in freediving blackouts.

Freediving Blackouts – These are a loss of consciousness caused by deprivation of oxygen to the brain specifically. This typically occurs at the end of a breath-hold and usually happens unsuspectingly to a diver because they haven’t actually felt the reflexive urge to breathe. Since they think that they still have time to maintain their breath-hold, they don’t realize that their brain is suffering from a depletion of oxygen and they lose consciousness unsuspectingly. If you don’t have a spotter or dive-buddy nearby, this could result in death.

Muscle Fatigue – Freediving consists of manipulating your body’s position against the resistance of the surrounding water. This requires the constant firing of various muscles throughout your body. Anytime you are contracting most of the muscles in your body over and over again, you are going to eventually become fatigued. Normally, this isn’t a problem if you are on land. As you become tired, you can simply take a seat and recuperate. The same cannot be said for freediving. If you become fatigued while submerged on a dive, you still have to muster up the strength to swim back to the surface. Not only that, but you will also have to swim back to your boat or even the beach, depending on your situation. Exhaustion is a real threat while freediving and a diver must be aware of their own physical condition so they can conserve enough energy to complete the swim to “home” once the dive is over.

What Can You Do To Be Safe While Freediving?

Spotter – One of the best ways to stay safe while freediving is to have a spotter or a dive-buddy accompany you on your dive. This is a person who can watch out for you and keep an eye out for any dangers that you might miss on your own. Also, if for some reason you should find yourself in distress (i.e. you become fatigued or lose consciousness), your dive-buddy will be there to rescue you.

If you decide to go freediving alone, be sure to at least let someone know where you will be diving and when you expect to return. Make a plan to at least call that person once you are out of the water. That way, if for some reason they do not hear from you by the designated time, they know to go looking for you. If there is a lifeguard on duty, tell them that you will be diving so they know to keep an eye on you periodically. They may be the closest person to saving you in the event of an accident.

Know Your Environment – Be sure to check local warnings for things like strong currents, larger waves, schools of jellyfish or even sharks. Also, be sure to research the terrain of the area in which you will be freediving. If there are jagged rocks or structures under the water that you could potentially injure yourself on, you need to be aware of these before you go diving.

Check The Weather – Storms and changing pressure systems can stir up the water and blow around debris. This can result in limited visibility. Additionally, weather can play a factor in the migration of jellyfish and other aquatic life. Keep an eye out for any strong or unusual weather that might affect your dive site.

Proper Training – As with any sort of athletic activity, proper preparation is essential. You wouldn’t sign up for a marathon without at least jogging a little beforehand. The same should be said for freediving. Be sure you are doing full-body strength training to prepare yourself for the physical exertion that comes with freediving. Also, you should work on developing your breath-holds and conditioning yourself for the buildup of carbon dioxide that comes with freediving.

For more information on improving your freediving abilities, check out our article HERE.

For more information on how to hold your breath longer while freediving, see our article HERE.

Proper Equipment – Just because you are diving without any sort of assisted oxygen apparatus, that doesn’t mean that you have to dive without any equipment at all. Aside from a good dive mask and a set of flippers, there are several things that you can bring with you that can add an element of safety to your dive.

One such item is a diving flashlight. This can be a lifesaver if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to be rescued. A flashlight can be used to signal to a rescue crew. Additionally, a flashlight is a good thing to have on a freedive when exploring dark underwater terrains and crevices.

Another handy item to have is a good diving knife. This can be used as an emergency tool while freediving and, in extreme circumstances, can be used as a form of defense when approached by curious aquatic life.

So, Is Freediving Safe?

Ultimately, the safety of freediving is dependent upon the amount of planning and preparation that you put into it. Freediving certainly isn’t without its own set of risks but the rewards of the sport far exceed them. Just be smart about your freediving and limit unnecessary risk and refrain from diving alone and you will have a great freediving experience.