Freedive safety in 2010s: Pulse-ox folklore · 413

The buddy, the surface protocol and why hyperventilation is not a trick — a safety chapter, not a medical manual. Freedive safety is a culture: a watching buddy, a conservative turn, no hyperventilation, and a surface protocol that lasts until the diver is clearly themselves again. Shallow-water blackout — loss of consciousness from hypoxia, often near the surface — is the distinctive hazard.

Wow factor is low on purpose. This chapter exists so the freediving topic does not have to carry the whole argument. Risk remains high because the physics does not care about a holiday mood. This is not medical advice, not a rescue certification, and not a live dive plan. AIDA and national bodies publish safety regulations for competitions; clubs copy the useful parts. Courses teach the hands-on skills this atlas will not.

Buddy systems and blackout drills are non-negotiable — no solo heroics. Federation or instructor standards gate depth progressions. Pool first, then known lines; local clubs beat anonymous boats. Freedive safety mapped for mechanisms, locale notes and limits. Freedive safety sits in the freedive atlas — mechanisms, locale notes and limits, not slogans.