SWEBA - Anyone tried it

chasroberts

chasroberts

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Been offered a SWEBA (Shallow Water Emergenvy Breathing Apparatus) which as far as I can work out seems like a big bag of air which has to be kept pumped up by someone on the boat and a long breathing tube.

Thought it might come in useful for untangling anchors etc and seems to have considerably less weight than the normal Scuba equipment set up. I've not heard of this before and (apart from some porn channels) all I can find on Google is a reference to a cruising log from the 1980s (good read).

Anyone got any more info/experience?

Chas

<hr width=100% size=1>Semper in excretum sum. Sole profundum variat!
 
equipment is fine if the diver and attendant both understand what they are doing! Otherwise you could get into life-threatening problems.

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Never tried it, never heard of it, but as a qualified Diving Instructor I would say that it sounds dubious. I'm not sure I'd like to be even only 5 or 10m under breathing out of a tesco carrier bag and a hosepipe. I would use Scuba, but then I've got a shed full of the stuff at home so its not going to cost me anything., or invest in a mini breather which is a kind of all in one scuba backpack thingy. Or get a can of 'spare air' which is the little aerosol can thingy you see on baywatch. However unless you are a certified diver or REALLY understand the concepts of expanding air and not holding your breath then I would recommend none of the above.

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I don't understand. The air must be pressurised to allow it to be breathed only a few feet down. Certainly no human can suck air through a tube from 6 ft down without some help.

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Yes, I have.

I did some trials when the product first came out some seven or eight years ago.

It is a bit more sophisticated than has been suggested here and also a lot less dangerous than some have cautioned.

The system used lightly pressurised air and a proper scuba mouthpiece so you are not breathing recycled air or trying to suck in air from six feet away. The maximum depth was only six feet from memory so it really is no more dangerous than holding your breth and duck-diving to look at the prop/rudder/keel - in fact much less so because you cannot run out of air and, maybe, get tangled in something as you panic to come up for a breather. If you do get in a tizzy, a quick kick and your up. The depth is far too shallow to have to worry about breathing out on surfacing adn you probably won't even have to equalise pressure in your ears.

The sytem was expensive, British water is cold, and the problem with lobster pots was not as acute as it is now which may account for its lack of success over here. I thought at the time it was a much-have piece of equipment for larger, long term cruising boats. For smaller boats it was all a bit bulky, though less so, and much less expensive, than scuba equipment. You don't need qualifications, though a brief introductory session was recommended by the makers. As a Padi diver myself, I would certainly recommend spending some time with someone who knows the kit if you are thinking of buying one.

<hr width=100% size=1>JJ
 
Many thanks to all of you for your input. I'll do a bit more research I think before committing one way or the other.

Chas

<hr width=100% size=1>Semper in excretum sum. Sole profundum variat!
 
Do you have a name for the manufacturer? I have been looking for one of these for a while.

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if you are breathing air underwater it must be at the ambient pressure of the water - this is why a snorkel is only about a foot long, as the human diaphragm is incapable of exerting enough pressure on the lungs to breath through a tube any deeper. If you are breathing air at the water pressure - even at 3metres and you ascend whilst holding your breath it will do you serious damage. - it is not the same as taking a breath on the surface and duck diving as your lungs get smaller on the way down and come back to normal size on the way back up. I am not the sort of person who advocates nannying or turngin a bath into crisis, I was just cautioning that it can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, like most things.
The caribean and Africa often use a system called a hookah (sp?) which is a scuba tank on the boat with a very long hose and a scuba regulator on the end - I guess this SWEBA is essentially the same with an inflated bag in lieu of the tank.

However the air you breath underwater is still at the pressure of the water. Bear in mind that if you breath from a scuba tank at 2m under water that air will expand by 20% upon ascent to the surface if you hold your breath - most peoples lungs don't like getting 20% bigger.

Bottom line is don't hold your breath underwater and it is fine (oh yes and make sure the person pumping the bag is not your main benificiary!)

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Looking at the cost, I'll stick to my scuba gear. Seems to me this gear is more like an expensive toy with great limitations in depth and safety. No. I am afraid I personally am not impressed.

For £200~£250 one can buy a new cylinder and regulator - salvage one anchor and it has paid for its self.

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