Safety is paramount when freediving

American, who set up a diving safety organisation after two of her sons blacked out while in the water, offers safety tips.

ABU DHABI // Julie Richardson founded DiveWise, an international organisation for diving safety, after her two sons both blacked out while freediving together, as one tried to rescue the other.

Friends found them floating face down, purple, bleeding from their mouths and unresponsive, she said.

They both survived but the near-tragedy motivated her to spread awareness about the sport’s risks.

At least 308 people are known to have died while freediving between 2006 and 2011, although Ms Richardson, an American, believes many more deaths go unreported.

She said freediving’s risks can be lessened and participants should follow these guidelines:

• Dive with a partner with comparable skills or tailor the dive to the diver with the least skill.

• Dive with one partner up and one down, maintaining constant visual contact.

• Do not hyperventilate excessively before diving and avoid fast, shallow breathing or slow, deep breathing.

• Maintain close, direct supervision of a freediver for 30 seconds after he or she surfaces. The diver is still in danger of blacking out during this time.

• Allow enough time to recover between dives by staying at the surface for at least twice the duration of the last dive.

• Be prepared for emergencies and discuss rescue procedures in case of a blackout.

Additional information about freediving safety is available at divewise.org.

* Lindsay Carroll