Tuckunder:
With respect, I think you're wrong. Free swimmers or not - it's an ancient debate and I'm fairly certain that an honestly compiled list of people who have died as a result of not carrying a diver would be horrifyingly long.
In 1978 I scrambled (771) to a light civvy fixed wing in the water and sat in the hover watching four people die just ten feet below the surface. It took about fifteen minutes for the air bubble in the canopy to bleed away.
The DAY before this truly horrible event the last of our divers had left the squadron in order to "fall in line" with the crabs. The day AFTER the event, all our divers came back.
In the '79 Fastnet race I can name quite a number of people who owe their lives to the RN carrying free swimmers. They might not have left the end of the winch wire but they sure as hell needed the oxygen bottles!